Welcome to our Advice page where you can get ideas for managing your own complaints.
You do a business or organisation a huge business favour when you complain to them about their bad service. It is up to them to use the opportunity to action your complaint to improve their business processes. Although you most probably do not want to, it is worth raising your complaint about bad service with businesses and organisations.
It is important for businesses to know what customers have complaints about. By knowing the basis of complaints, a business or organisation can improve the way it treats customers and make sure the customer won't tell others not to shop or to go to that business or organisation - which is bad for business.
Follow the steps below when making a complaint to a business or organisation:
- State very clearly that you are unhappy with the service.
- State exactly which aspect of the service you were unhappy with.
- Say what you wish to happen: an apology, a discount, the fault rectified.
- State when you want it fixed/dealt with by.
Following these steps is no guarantee that the business or organisation will listen to your complaint. They may try various ways to stop you complaining. One of the most frequently used ways of doing this is to ask you to put your complaint in writing.
If a business or organisation wishes you to put a complaint in writing refuse to do so.
You are doing them a favour pointing out where some aspect of their business is not working. It is up to them to capture the complaint in writing – not you. Get them to write your complaint down as you speak and then you can sign the complaint. It is their business, and it is their business to fix up things when they go wrong.
If the business has taken your complaint seriously you will notice certain things. The complaints and feedback systems of the business will be:
- Accessible
The complaints system is accessible and well publicised.
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Simple
The complaints system is simple and easy to use for both staff and for you.
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Speedy
The business has established speedy time limits for action and for keeping you informed of progress.
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Fair
The business is fair in that way it handles your complaint.
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Confidential
Your complaint is handles confidentially, respecting both you and the staff where necessary.
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Effective
All points of the complaint are addressed and resolved.
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Informative
Management is informed of all your complaints so that the business can improve its services.
If a business or organisation will not take your expression of dissatisfaction seriously, get serious with them. You may take your complaint to many places if you are unhappy with the service.
This site does not have an advocate’s role - we only publish your complaint.
If you wish to have somebody take up your complaint there are many agencies at both federal and state level that will provide advice
and if necessary act as your advocate.
Many of these agencies will not accept your complaint unless you have tried to resolve it with the business or organisation.
We suggest you may wish to contact one of the following agencies:
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