What would a better complaint handling world look like? Professor Cosmo Graham School of Law

What we know Complaint handling matters; consumers don’t want additional problems in making a complaint; service failures cost money and reputation; good complaints processes help to do the opposite; information from complaints is a valuable source of learning

Telecoms and complaints Large numbers of complaints –Australia – 230,065 TIO (08-09) –UK – 8,867 Customer service –Ofcom – 1,000 per month on CS –2006 Survey – UK telecoms complaint handling worse than retailers, banks and utilities –TIO/Otelo raise this as a problem

Principles - internal systems Accessibility Effectiveness Fairness and consistency Responsiveness Organisational ownership and commitment

Accessibility and effectiveness Accessibility –Easy access –Clear information –Free Effectiveness –Ability to respond to complaint –Organisational learning

Fairness and responsiveness Fairness –Objectivity Responsiveness –Dealing with the issue in a timely manner –Not moving the customer around

Organisational ownership and commitment Ownership by the leader –Sign that complaints matter –Front line versus higher ups –Relation to learning from complaints

Principles – external systems Accessibility Consumer support Fairness Effectiveness Redress Independence Accountability

Conclusions Complaint numbers too high Industry failure? Need to re-think regulatory arrangements? Devil in the detail