This document details how the principles set out in the company's Complaints Policy will be applied in practice.
Description of the process
As set out in the Complaints Policy, a complaint is any expression of dissatisfaction that a customer might make about the company, its services or the products it supplies.
To meet the principles of the Policy, the company will operate a multi-stage procedure:
Stage 0 (Informal Resolution)
Stage 1 (Initial Complaint)
Stage 2 (First Review)
Stage 3 (Final Review)
All complaints will be handled sequentially through all stages of the procedure unless it is determined that the customer has raised a matter of such seriousness (for example one of a criminal or discriminatory nature) that it will be escalated immediately on receipt to the General Manager.
The key elements of each stage of the process is set out in the following sections.
Stage 0 (Informal Resolution)
Any of the company's staff receiving a complaint from a customer - whether it's on site, over the phone or by email - will always aim to resolve it there and then. If they're unable to, then they will collect as much of the information shown below as possible and pass it to the Customer Service Supervisor at (.) for investigation and resolution.
Customer's name
Customer's address
Customer's email address and phone number
Product SKU Code affected - (If applicable)
Customer's invoice number from purchase at Column Radiators 4u
A description of the problem (and any specific parts that are not working)
An image and / or video showing the issue
The resolution or required outcome that the customer is seeking
If, exceptionally, this information cannot be collected by the member of staff, the customer should be directed to the contact details on the company's complaints page.
Stage 1 (Initial Complaint)
Initial Complaints will be directed to the Customer Service Supervisor (.) - who on receipt of a complaint from a customer will ensure that they have the information shown at 3.1.
The complaint will be acknowledged within 4 trading hours of receipt and the customer advised that they will receive a full response to their complaint within (1 trading day).
The Customer Service Supervisor will carry out a full investigation into the circumstances of the complaint, including if necessary speaking to all those involved (including the customer).
If the complaint cannot be answered within the deadline provided to the customer, they must be informed of the delay and given a revised response date.
On completion of the investigation a response addressing all elements of the complaint - and the resolution that has been asked for - will be provided to the customer. If errors have occurred then an apology will be offered and steps put in place to rectify them, along with an indication of when these will take place.
The response to the customer's complaint will also set out how they may move to the next Stage in the process if they are not happy with the resolution offered. This will be either by responding to the Customer Service Supervisor requesting a review or by contacting the Sales and Customer Service Manager directly via (.). The customer will be asked when requesting a review to set out why they remain unhappy and the outcome they are seeking.
Stage 2 (First Review)
Requests for a First Review will be directed to the Sales and Customer Service Manager (.) - who will ensure that they have the information shown at 3.1, the response provided to the customer at Stage 1, along with any notes or other relevant information collected during the Customer Service Supervisor's investigation into the complaint.
The complaint will be acknowledged within 4 trading hours of receipt and the customer advised that they will receive a full response to their complaint within 48 hours (2 trading days).
The Sales and Customer Service Manager will review the handling of the complaint so far, carefully considering all the information provided and collected at Stage 1, any other factors that should have been taken into consideration (if necessary) and, particularly, whether the resolution offered at Stage 1 addressed the complaint and met the customer's required outcome.
If the complaint cannot be answered within the deadline provided to the customer, they must be informed of the delay and given a revised response date.
A response will then be provided to the customer setting out whether the Customer Service Manager agrees with the response provided at Stage 1. If the Stage 1 response is assessed to have been in error or is inadequate then an apology will be offered and steps put in place to rectify it, along with an indication of when it will take place.
The response to the customer's complaint will also set out how they may move to the next Stage in the process if they are not happy with the resolution offered. This will be either by responding to the Sales Customer Service Manager requesting a review or by contacting the General Manager directly via (.). The customer will be asked when requesting a review to set out why they remain unhappy and the outcome they are seeking.
Stage 3 (Final Review)
Requests for a Final Review will be directed to the General Manager (.) - who will ensure that they have the information shown at 3.1, the response provided to the customer at Stages 1 and 2, along with any notes or other relevant information collected during the previous investigations into the complaint.
The complaint will be acknowledged within 4 trading hours of receipt and the customer advised that they will receive a full response to their complaint within 3 trading days.
The General Manager will review the handling of the complaint so far, carefully considering all the information provided and collected at Stages 1 and 2, any other factors that should have been taken into consideration (if necessary) and, particularly, whether the resolutions offered at Stages 1 and 2 addressed the complaint and met the customer's required outcome.
If the complaint cannot be answered within the deadline provided to the customer, they must be informed of the delay and given a revised response date.
A response will then be provided to the customer setting out whether the General Manager agrees with the response provided at Stage 2. If the Stage 2 response is assessed to have been in error or is inadequate then an apology will be offered and steps put in place to rectify it, along with an indication of when it will take place.
The response to the customer's complaint will also set out that if they are not happy with the resolution offered there is nothing further that the company will do and that they should seek independent advice.
Further information
Any questions on the handling of complaints or the operation of this procedure should be addressed to Paul Duffy, General Manager (.)
Ownership and review
This procedure is owned by Paul Duffy, General Manager (.) and will be reviewed annually.
