The clearer the clients understanding of what they can expect from an agency, the more focused and appropriate the public response to the agency will be. Complaints can be minimized if an agency has appropriate and comprehensive policies, clear procedures for implementing those policies, properly trained staff, and good communications both internally and externally. All public communications should be in simple and clear language that can be understood easily. While good communication will reduce complaints, it will not eliminate them. And on and on.
Clients experience the result.
We can never be perfect, but we can always be open. A good system will strive to resolve most complaints swiftly and as close to the source of the problem as possible. It will have written procedures for dealing with unresolved complaints. It will take lessons learned from the investigation of complaints and use them to improve the agency. A good complaint system will be easily accessible and conspicuous to users of services, simple to invoke, with the stages clearly set out and responsibility clearly allocated, quick , offering prompt action and speedy resolution according to pre-determined time limits, objective , including provision for review and investigation by persons not involved in the matter at issue, confidential in that it will protect the complainant s privacy as far as is possible, and reasoned and understandable , in that the reasons for upholding or denying the complaint must accompany the decision.