Southern Adjustment Services, Inc.

Transcription

1 Southern Adjustment Services, Inc.

2 INTRODUCTION An effective customer complaint system is an essential part of our business, members of Southern Adjustment Services, Inc. as it indicates to our customers that quality service is a vital part of what we do. Our complaint handling system is an organized way of responding to, recording, reporting and using complaints to improve service to our customers. It includes procedures for customers to make complaints and guidelines for staff to resolve complaints and provides information to managers and staff that can be used by them to prevent customer dissatisfaction in the future. An effective customer complaint handling system is an essential part of providing quality service. It is a measure of customer satisfaction. It provides positive feedback about aspects of our service that work well and is a good source of information for improvement. An effective complaint system creates a second chance to provide service and satisfaction to dissatisfied customers, identifies areas that need improvement, and provides opportunities to strengthen our standing in the industry. Quality customer service consists of doing the job right and providing appropriate service at the outset. If things go wrong in the process, they can only be made right and quality service must be delivered. Quality service and making things right are the hallmarks of our organization. Customer complaints represent the experience and feelings not just of the complainants, but of others in similar circumstances who have chosen not to complain. Customer complaints should be acted on in two ways. First, the specific grievance must be resolved, if at all possible. Secondly, information

3 about the nature of the complaint must be kept to provide feedback about our system and processes. Often complaints are an early warning of system concerns held by a larger percentage of customers who experienced similar dissatisfaction but had not bothered to complain. COMPLAINT HANDLING The majority of complaints should be handled immediately by the frontline staff. When handling a complaint, the staff must: Understand a complainant's needs Build rapport Listen effectively Demonstrate empathy Ask the right questions Guidelines that the staff should always keep in mind when dealing with a customer complaint are: Treat complainants respectfully, pleasantly and professionally at all times Give their names, greet the person courteously and ask in a positive manner how they can help Listen to what the person has to say

4 Use good listening skills Seek clarification of any points that are not clear and do so in a non-judgmental way Provide any relevant information that will assist the complainant to better understand the decision or action Show empathy Try to meet any reasonable request that would solve the problem Offer solutions that can be delivered Take responsibility for solving the problem on the spot Handle complaints quickly, within established timeframes Log the complaint and action taken for future analysis CONSUMER DISPUTE FORM All customer complaints received must be addressed on our approved Consumer Dispute Form. All relevant information needs to be completed and once completed the form must be turned into our compliance officer. It is the company's policy to make this Consumer Dispute Form open and accessible to our customers. Our employees are never permitted to dissuade or discourage a customer from making a complaint of any kind.

5 COMPLAINT HANDLING PROCESS Any customer that wishes to file a complaint, will be presented with the Consumer Dispute Form (CDF) that is made available in this manual. In the event that a customer cannot pick up the form in person, the form is also available, upon request via USPS, fax, or from our website. Customers will also have the ability to file a complaint via the telephone. If a customer needs assistance in filling out the CDF, it is our policy to provide assistance to that customer. Upon receipt of the completed CDF, it shall be forwarded to our Compliance Officer for review and resolution. Within five (5) days of receipt of the CDF by the Compliance Officer, the customer will be sent, via certified mail, a letter outlining the results of the investigation and what, if any, action was or will be taken. In addition, a copy of the CDF and customer letter will be sent the client, if the complaint relates to a matter involving a specific client concern. While complaints will be handled by our Compliance Officer, procedures for resolving, investigating and handling complaints will be escalated to the company ownership depending on their seriousness and complexity. This decision will be made upon the initial review of the complaint by the Compliance Officer. When reviewing each CDF, the Compliance Officer shall review all relevant information related to the complaint, including but not limited to the customer's statement, statements from involved employees, and any photos and/or video that may be available, if applicable to the complaint. In order to protect the confidentiality of CDFs, all CDF details are not to be shared with anyone other than those parties directly involved in the CDF. Any and all CDFs will be filed and stored in a secure area where only the Compliance Officer and company ownership will have access. All CDFs will be maintained for a period of seven years.

6 CDF LOG All CDFs will be kept and updated in our CDF log. Every month, the Compliance Officer and our ownership shall review the CDF log and decide if additional training is needed among the staff, if policies need to be updated or changed, or if any other issue that is presented by the CDFs needs to be addressed. OWNERSHIP RESPONSIBILITY Nothing in this procedures manual changes the fact that the ultimate responsibility for all customer complaints is with ownership. Our ownership takes our customer complaints very seriously and believes addressing and resolving them is of utmost importance to our business, our clients, our customer and our industry. Application This Policy applies to all employees, officers, director, representatives and advisors of the firm. These policies are to be made available to all employees, officers, directors, representatives, advisors, regulatory boards, customers, clients and the general public. These policies are reviewed annually and are written and updated in plain, understandable English. Control Objective This Policy's objective is to minimize damage to our reputation and reduce the risk of litigation by handling complaints from our customers and/or clients in a timely, effective and consistent manner, while identifying areas of where we can increase our level of service. Person Responsible The Compliance Officer is hereby designated as responsible for the

7 application of this policy, and to review this policy on a regular basis to ensure that it continue to comply with industry laws, regulations, guidelines and best practices. The Compliance Officer is also responsible to communicate this firm s policy to all employees, officers, director, representatives and advisors of the firm. Acknowledgement Letter When the firm receives a complaint, an acknowledgment letter must be sent to the customer and/or client within 5 business days. This letter must include the following elements: Name of the person responsible for handling the customer and/or client s complaint; Key elements of the firm s Complaint Policy; Option to give detail account of complaint; Expected delay of the outcome. Suggestion box that gives complainant the opportunity to give our company suggestions to improve our customer service. All Complaints must be immediately reported to the Compliance Officer. All complaints must be logged in the Complaint Log. The Complaint Log must, at least, include the following information: Date of complaint; Complainant s name; Nature of the complaint and the circumstances; Name of the person who is the subject of the complaint; The services which are subject of the complaint; and The date and conclusions of the decision rendered in connection with the complaint. Complaints in the Complaint Log must be maintained for a period of 7 years, following the resolution date.

8 CONSUMER DISPUTE FORM Consumer Name Date of Complaint Specific Nature of Dispute: Responsible Party to Investigate Dispute Date of Investigation Action Taken: For supervisor use only Name of reviewing supervisor

9 Was the consumer notified of the action taken in response to the complaint? NO YES Was the complaint handled in accordance with our complaint handling procedures manual. YES NO If not, explain why it was not and what action has been taken to ensure compliance in the future. Is any further action required in reference to the dispute? YES NO If yes, what additional steps are being taken: Has the dispute been logged in the consumer dispute log YES NO Change of Procedures and Disciplinary Measures Compliance Officer, Senior Management and Company Ownership must monitor

10 the complaint log and ensure that appropriate disciplinary measures are taken if necessary and provide recommendations for change in the company s procedures if appropriate. APPROVED ON: August 2, 2012 BY: REVISED ON: August 02, 2012