Cabinet Office

 

This information is being maintained for archive/historical purposes. 
It will not be updated.
Please see http://archive.cabinet-office.gov.uk for details.
The Service First and Modernising Government programmes have now been completed. The information held on this site is no longer being maintained but is retained for archive purposes.

To learn about reform of public services, you may find the following sites useful:

Prime Minister’s Office of Public Service Reform 
Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit
Civil Service Reform 

Charter Mark Website



If you work in the public sector, you can access our good practice database and other useful information via the Public Sector Benchmarking Service.

Link back to homepage What's new Performance information Better Government for Older People
Introduction People's Panel How to complain
National charters Quality networks Best practice
Charter Mark Joined-up Public Services Index

 

Previous chapter | Next chapter | Contents page  

 

Dealing with complaints:
top ten tips

 

 


 

  1. Keep it simple - avoid long forms.

  2. Use the phone more - don't automatically send a letter.

  3. Find out straight away what the person complaining wants you to do about the problem.

  4. For less serious complaints, a quick apology is better than a long letter.

  5. Give personal and specific replies - a standard reply will only make things worse.

  6. Follow the 'mother principle' - treat people as you'd like your mother to be treated.

  7. Don't pass the buck. If you do need to refer a complaint to someone else, make sure you give the customer full details.

  8. Be clear what remedies you can offer.

  9. Let your customers know about improvements made as a result of their complaints.

  10. And remember - more complaints can be good news! It shows that your customers trust you to take them seriously.

 

Previous chapter | Next chapter | Contents page