There is delegation and then there is abdication. Some organisation refer all complaints made to the Chief Executive (CE) back down the line to the responsible manager. So the complainant can find that their complaint is being dealt with by the person they are complaining about. In one resent example when the manager was informed of the intension to make a formal complaint they responded sarcastically they were sorry for any unhappiness but there was little point in emailing the CE as it would simply be forwarded back to them to deal with.
Generally customers only resort to complaining to an organisations higher management if they are frustrate with the response from the manager of the individual they have been dealing with. In my experience in local government, which I had always assumed responded to complaints in the same way as most organisations, the person complained about would not be the person responding. As a Director in a large organisation I did sometimes receive complaints from service users who had not been able to resolve their complaint informally with the local manager. I would request a written briefing from the area manager which would be the bases of a reply from me to the complainant or the brief for an independent investigation. I understood that the person complaining wanted me to know what was going on with my staff in my organisation and so would expect me to be familiar with the case and for the response to come from me.
In the example from the sarcastic manager the implication was that the CE wouldn’t even bother reading the complaint but just automatically forward it back to the manager to resolve/reply.
Unfortunately many organisations have a standard response to complaints about service which goes along the lines of thanking the individual for the feedback, a reassurance that this will be treated seriously, an explanation that it is very difficult to recruit good staff at the moment, an apology and the hope that this will not put the individual off future use of the service. And in some cases a statement that if the individual does use the service again to “let us know in advance and we will do our best to ensure you have a positive experience.” But this is a standard response given to all complainants from a manager who only pretends to care.
Blair Mcpherson former director author and blogger www.blairmcpherson.co.uk
