At the same time, new trade rules (approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated December 31, 2020 No. 2463) from 2021 introduced the obligation, in the event of a consumer complaint, to send him a response regarding the stated requirements.
In this article, we will try to figure out how to now accept and process customer complaints, what alternatives there are to the complaint book, and in what time frame you need to respond to customers. For example, if they left complaints on social networks.
- For whom the complaint book was canceled
- What is a complaint and how to respond to it
- Contact by mail or on social networks - a complaint or not?
- How to respond to complaints in the complaint book
- Briefly about how to deal with customer complaints after canceling the complaint book
The need for a book of reviews and suggestions
Anyone who has a good reason to express their opinion to the management of the enterprise has the right to use the review magazine. To do this, the directorate must know how to correctly draw up and carry out the described form in accordance with the legislation.
The registration journal is a mandatory document, which is more commonly known to us as a guest book. The name of the form indicates that service consumers can make comments not only negative, but also positive.
The current name of the document does not sound so categorical - a book of reviews, called for short in the text - KOiP. It is an official document that helps record the quality and speed of services provided by individual or group sellers.
The book of reviews and suggestions is located in any structure in a prominent place, where it will be visible to the buyer who wishes to make a comment or complaint. The visitor's request is binding on the seller and cannot be interpreted in any other way.
Watch the video: “Requirements for the book of complaints and suggestions according to order of the Ministry of Trade of the RSFSR No. 346 of 09/28/1973.”
The form must be filled out using a ballpoint pen, preferably blue or purple. The absence of such a form threatens the administration of a store or other institution with a fine.
Gratitude
Not only claims and complaints, but also thank-you notes in the book can have a positive impact on the quality of service and the level of work of the organization. A good review can be a great incentive for managers and employees to continue to perform at a high level. Gratitude is filled out using the same template. But the text will indicate the positive aspects that the client liked. For example, many nuances can be noted: a cozy atmosphere, high quality of services or products, professionalism and politeness of employees.
You can separately select one or more employees by indicating their names and positions. You can end your gratitude with a request to encourage the team of the organization or a specific employee.
Who should have a complaint book
In accordance with the legislative act on the protection of consumer rights, all structures that provide services to citizens must have a CO&P in the sales area or reception department.
The complaint book is required to be located in the following institutions stipulated by law:
- retail and small wholesale store;
- dining room, cafe, restaurant;
- car service station;
- pharmacy kiosk;
- hospital, medical and preventive institution;
- hairdresser, beauty salon;
- department, police station;
- station, airport;
- institution of housing and communal services;
- Postal office;
- banking structure;
- museum.
Also, this review magazine should be located in a rest home, sanatorium, or children's health camp.
Person responsible for filling out the book
Small firms and individual entrepreneurs fill out such forms themselves. In a large organization, management issues an order appointing a person who will be responsible for compiling a complaint book.
When an authorized employee goes on vacation or sick leave, responsibilities, by decision of the management, are temporarily assigned to another employee. The original or reissued guest book is always endorsed by the head of the structure.
What should the complaint log look like?
Order of the Ministry of Trade No. 346 specifies certain requirements for the appearance of this document:
- document pages must be bound and numbered in a certain way (read how to do this here);
- have an official seal of the enterprise made of sealing wax with the signature of the manager;
- the title page indicates: the name of the enterprise, the signature of the head of the organization and the start date of maintaining the document;
- the first page contains guidelines for filling out the document;
- the second page contains contact details of the enterprise and all management staff;
- on the third page the telephone numbers of regulatory organizations are indicated for consumers, if necessary, to protect their own rights.
There is a way to compile a document yourself through a printing house; also, if an organization wants to create it independently, then you can purchase ready-made forms for filling out the document. But in this case, it is necessary to take into account the drafting standards. Samples are purchased at office supply stores, or you can download them from the Internet.
Help: the book and pen must be freely available to clients.
Where to buy a review magazine
You can purchase a ready-made version of the registration journal at any store that sells office supplies. The book has a hard cover, which makes it not only beautiful, but also shows that it is not easy to respond to a government decision, and the directorate of the structure cares about the opinion of every visitor.
It is likely that someone will prefer a store-bought product created with their own hands - the law does not prohibit this. The artistic appearance will be different, but it is not recommended to violate the design rules specified in the standards.
To make a logbook for registering complaints and suggestions, you will need the following tools and material:
- thin cord or thick thread;
- a sharpened awl-shaped rod, scissors;
- paper white glue;
- ballpoint pen for notes;
- sheet of white paper.
For a small enterprise or individual entrepreneur, a journal in the form of a school notebook is suitable; for a large enterprise, you will need an album. Of course, an individual product will be inferior to the store version. Therefore, to assert your prestige, it is better to contact a retail chain.
Magazine design rules
Watch the video: “Protection of consumer rights - a book of complaints is still relevant today.”
There is no single, unified form of the journal; it is allowed to use an ordinary school notebook for such a purpose.
At the same time, the law does not allow free bookkeeping and requires compliance with a standard list of data that must be reflected in the document:
- Details of the enterprise that owns the magazine - the name of the organization without abbreviation, according to the constituent documents, legal address, full name of the director.
- The name of the supervisory authority that supervises the activities of this structure.
- Opinion boxes are forms that should contain free space for recording visitor contacts.
The journal belongs to the group of strict reporting forms, so neglect of it is not allowed. The document is written off and sent to the archive only after it is completely filled out. When the next calendar year arrives, it is officially extended by making a corresponding entry by the responsible person.
It is compiled in a single copy, and all pages must be stitched with strong thread and sequentially numbered. This will not allow you to remove a negative review about the organization from the book. If the structure wants to have an original sample of the magazine, it can be ordered individually from the printing house.
Filling out the log
There are certain requirements stipulated by legislative acts for filling out the complaint log. Failure to comply with the standards is considered a violation, which is subject to administrative punishment. In the absence of a mandatory form, the consumer has the right to contact Rospotrebnadzor with a complaint. After reviewing the application, a regional supervisory authority arrives at the site of non-compliance with the law to verify the authenticity of the complaint. If confirmed, the controlling authority puts forward requirements to eliminate the violation.
A prerequisite for maintaining KOiP is lacing pages. Such an operation is carried out in such a way that none of the completed or blank forms can be torn out without visible intervention.
The magazine is stitched using a pointed rod and cord. The last one can be one thick thread or, folded several times, a thin one. The remedy against page deletion is complemented by one more factor. The parties must have continuous numbering.
The third degree of protection for the magazine is a paper seal glued to the back of the last numbered page. The seal indicates in legible handwriting the number of stitched sides, initials, surname of the head of the organization, and a wet print of the seal, if any.
Book title page
The cover page of the complaint log contains the following information:
- Title of the corresponding document.
- Full name of the institution or its structure.
- Registration information.
- Date of registration of the form.
- Wet seal impression, if the organization has one.
The above data is summed up by the signature of the head of the enterprise.
Reverse side of magazine title
On the reverse side of the title page of the journal is the second part of the mandatory document. It contains the name of the territorial supervisory office in Russia, legal address, and telephone numbers.
The information is provided in case the buyer wants to contact the department directly. The number of stitched forms that are needed for the wishes of visitors is also indicated here.
Design of the first sheet
The first sheet of the journal is intended as an example of filling out a notebook of proposals by visitors to the structure. The front side is filled with feedback on the work of the enterprise.
Below, after the text, the date it was written must be indicated. If it is necessary to note the positive or negative aspects of the work of a particular employee, you must indicate the full name, position held and the factors that led to the writing of a complaint or gratitude.
Back of the first page of the book
The back side of the magazine sheet is also required for completion by the buyer. Here you must enter your full name, home or cell phone number, and place of residence.
After the period established by law, the administration of the establishment describes the measures taken in relation to the employee indicated in the book. Here is the signature of the head of the structure and the date of his response. A similar record is sent to the applicant, also signed by the directorate of the institution.
Common Log Filling Errors
The person responsible for the proper content of the book must not make any mistakes in its design.
However, there are a number of common shortcomings due to the negligence of the designer towards the magazine:
- incorrect indication of data and information about the company, usually manifested by writing an abbreviation or shortened name;
- incorrect phone numbers;
- incorrect numbering of document forms;
- uneven, smeared, unreadable wet seal on the title page or paper seal;
- lack of order in filling;
- There are no references to regulatory authorities.
Deliberately or automatically incorrectly filling in the above information in the journal threatens the company's management with administrative liability.
Watch the video: “What you need to know about the book of complaints and suggestions.”
Correct book firmware
In order for the journal of gratitude and complaints to be properly stitched, the person responsible for maintaining it must follow the following rules:
- in the far left field of the binding, holes are made the size of a thread for lacing;
- a control cord is threaded through the holes, on top of which a quarter of a blank sheet of paper is glued, serving as a seal;
- The organization's seal is affixed to the paper seal.
Such execution of the KOiP (registration book) is a protection and will prevent a careless seller of services from removing the claim sheet from the form. If an illegal action occurs, the violator will be subject to penalties.
Designing the magazine with firmware is a requirement, ignoring which is punishable by law. The management of the enterprise also benefits from maintaining an album for consumer reviews in order to identify positive and negative operating aspects of the production or government structure.
Below are step-by-step instructions for preparing a magazine for firmware:
- A hole puncher is used to make two or three holes in the binding of a notebook made independently or purchased in a retail chain. To design a voluminous product, you should use an awl, a large needle or a pointed rod. The last operation must be performed with some caution so as not to injure the skin of the hands.
- Preliminarily put continuous numbering on the pages. This begins with the first form for feedback and suggestions and is followed consistently throughout the notebook.
- A thin cord or ordinary fragments of thread folded together are threaded through the holes made in the magazine.
- The free ends of the cord are brought out to the back side of the binding and tied in a knot.
- The edges of the thread and the knot are pasted over with a fragment of a blank sheet - a seal, indicating the date of registration of the book, the name and signature of the person responsible for its maintenance.
The design of the magazine ends with a wet seal imprint on the seal. The given data must be written in even, legible handwriting; the stamp must not only be visually visible, but also be easy to read.
How to respond to customer feedback correctly
As soon as the head of the organization sees a complaint in the book, he must respond to it. If the complaint is unfounded, or the client has written gratitude to the organization (a specific employee), it is recommended to respond immediately. In case of an unfounded complaint, the client should be thanked and explained in writing why his problem cannot be solved. In response to the gratitude expressed by the client, the manager should thank him for the feedback he left, showing his joy that the client was satisfied with the services provided to him.
If the client left his phone number or e-mail, you can inform him that his complaint/gratitude has been answered. But if no contacts were left by the dissatisfied client, then the organization is not guilty of anything.
Email is most often used to notify a client of their response to their gratitude.
It’s rare, but it also happens that a client leaves his postal address instead of a phone number and e-mail. In this case, management decides whether to send a response. This method of notification is used only if the organization has received a well-founded complaint that has serious grounds for careful consideration (including litigation).
Electronic version of the call log
Modern enterprises of various types of business, departments of government bodies use an electronic version of the complaint log - a single book of complaints.
It is accessed via the Internet. The electronic version of the journal is more effective than the paper version in that comments are reviewed in a shorter time. The applicant also receives a faster response to the appeal. However, if there is an electronic method for submitting an application, it is not recommended to cancel the paper form.
Consumers can submit reviews and comments on the structure’s operation online. To do this, the user must register on the State Services portal. Comments may be different in any service area.
Contacts on social networks or by email
Pre-trial claims are included in the list of legally significant communications that cannot be ignored by companies. This means that they fall under paragraph 65 of the Resolution of the Plenum of the RF Armed Forces. According to this clause, legally significant messages can be sent to companies' emails or through other types of communication, unless this is prohibited by law or specified in the contract. The main thing is the ability to reliably identify the sender and addressee of the claim.
Simply put, if there are no prohibitions in the contract on the use of email, instant messengers or SMS services of the company (if they are publicly available), the buyer has the right to submit claims in any available way. If submitted claims are ignored, the company will be fined.
However, despite the abolition of the complaint book in 2021, many companies have no plans to abandon them. Although some note that consumers themselves rarely take advantage of the opportunity to write reviews in books. Increasingly, people are using other available ways to get the information they need: feedback on websites, online support chats, and company contact centers. In addition, Internet users often write reviews on various websites and social networks.
Rules for recording reviews and storing books
In accordance with the norms of conducting entrepreneurial or other forms of activity, the following persons are appointed responsible for recording and presenting the journal of proposals:
- An individual entrepreneur who independently conducts business activities.
- Head of a small department. This is characterized by the issuance of a corresponding appointment order.
- An employee from among the employees of a large company. This case also requires a special order.
The Consumer Rights Act specifies that the complaint log must be displayed in a prominent place for easy access. Many organizations place it in a “Buyer’s Corner” specially equipped for this purpose. The employee must issue the document required by the visitor upon his first request.
The responsible person does not have the right to ask questions about the purpose of requesting the complaint book, and failure to provide it is considered a violation of the law. The directorate of the institution must not only issue it, but also provide the applicant with writing materials if there are none in the Corner.
To ensure the safety of the magazine in high traffic areas, management may remove it from public display. However, at the first request of the buyer, the document must be issued to the latter. To transfer it to the client, the responsible person does not have the right to demand from the visitor a civil passport or other identification document to identify the applicant. For the issuance of a statement log, employees do not have the right to refuse to provide feedback on their work; any arguments are considered illegal.
Controlling authorities, supervisory agencies, as well as consumers themselves, do not have the right to seize the agreed journal from the enterprise for inspection or making a copy.
The proposal form must always be kept in the organization to which it belongs. The responsibilities of inspection institutions include regular monitoring of the document and its correct completion. Articles of legislation stipulate this once a quarter.
Fine for absence
Article 14.15 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation provides for certain penalties for the absence of a document in an organization. The fine is imposed depending on the type of company:
- for individuals - from 300 rubles to 1,500 thousand rubles.
- for officials - from 1000 to 3000 thousand rubles.
- for organizations - from 10,000 to 50,000 thousand rubles.
But, as practice shows, for the first time supervisory authorities can get by with a warning.
Inspection bodies
If a dispute arises between the store seller and the buyer, or the latter is dissatisfied with the quality of service, the consumer has the right to leave feedback in the suggestion notebook.
If the violation of interests brought unexpected expenses to the buyer, then the visitor has grounds to demand compensation for losses. Recording of such a complaint is also provided for in the feedback journal. The client of the institution can contact Rospotrebnadzor or other organizations based on the factors of the violation to satisfy the legal requirement for compensation.
Complaint to Rospotrebnadzor
The organization protects consumer rights at the state level. If a person believes that he was poorly served or sold a product that did not meet the conditions of sale, he can file an appeal to Rospotrebnadzor. A correctly completed application will speed up the proceedings and provide a qualified author of the claim. Incorrectly compiled documents will not be accepted for consideration.
Applications that contain the following information are allowed for registration:
- the name of the body to which the appeal is made;
- legal address of its location;
- full name of the applicant;
- contact phone number;
- citizen's home address;
- listing the factors that led to the filing of the appeal;
- indication of the date of purchase;
- surname of the seller, product range;
- buyer's requirement;
- date of application;
- addressee's signature.
It is advisable to supplement the application with documents confirming the client’s case.
Correct formatting of a review in a book
To speed up the consideration of the buyer’s request, it must be properly completed.
The log filling algorithm is as follows:
- Indicate the time the entry was made and the date.
- Applicant's contact details.
- Information about the seller about whom the review is being made.
- Describe the problem.
- Indicate the deadline established by law for its resolution.
- Sign with a transcript.
The statement is written in a free style, but the text is kept in a businesslike nature. Anonymous complaints will not be accepted for consideration.
The period for preparing a response to an application is determined by two working days from the date of its submission, and a response is given within 5 days. In case of violation of the deadline for reviewing the record, the consumer has the right to apply to the regulatory authorities.
