Managing Customer Feedback

Introduction

JCSC applies the Government of Jersey Customer Feedback Policy. This document is an addition to that Policy. It sets out how JCSC applies the Government of Jersey Feedback Policy, and how you can contact us with feedback.

Customer feedback includes:

• Compliments – where a customer considers JCSC has done well
• Complaints – where a customer is not happy with the service provided by JCSC, or how it has been provided.
• Suggestions – where someone considers that there is an opportunity to serve our customers better
• Comments – any other feedback about what we do, or how we do it

Who can provide feedback

Any customer can provide feedback about any aspect of JCSC.

For the purposes of our feedback policy, we use the term ‘customer’ to describe any individual or organisation that accesses our services.  Specifically, this means any person (whether natural or legal) within our constituency as defined in our RFC2350 and who has used – or tried to use –  a service provided by JCSC.

How we evaluate your feedback

We evaluate all feedback in the context of the services we provide, and the customers we provide these services to. These are documented in:

• Our Code of Conduct, which sets out the behaviours expected of JCSC’s team
• Our RFC2350, which sets out the constituency we support and the services we provide.

Why provide feedback to JCSC

Feedback is important to us as an organisation, as it helps us improve. It is also important to our team members, who care about our community and want to do the best job they can.

Whether you feel we have done well or badly, or simply have a comment or suggestion, we would like to hear from you.

We record and evaluate all feedback received to see what we can learn, even if it is anonymous. Although it isn’t required, we do ask you to provide your name and contact details so we can respond to you and follow up if we need to do so.

How to provide feedback

The best way to provide feedback to JCSC is to complete our short feedback form, which you can find here. If you use this form to provide feedback, you help us create a cohesive, auditable record of the feedback we have received.

As well as using our online feedback form, you can provide feedback in the following ways:

• Call us on +44 (0)1534 500 050
• Email us at hello@jcsc.je
• Write to us at JCSC, 1 Seaton Place, St Helier, Jersey, JE2 3QL or
• Visit our Operations Centre and talk to a member of our team

Please do contact us directly with your feedback: comments made on third party websites such as social media may not be actively monitored or treated as feedback.

Complaints

Making a complaint

A complaint can be about the standards of our services, or an act, omission or decision that has been made by JCSC.

Complaints are welcomed at all levels. They allow us to put things right where they have gone wrong and identify shortcomings which can then be addressed to enable us to continue to improve. We seek to reach speedy and satisfactory resolution.

The following are our principles when dealing with complaints:

• We will deal with complaints impartially, objectively and professionally. Customers who complain can be assured that there will be no adverse treatment of them or their families because they have made a complaint.
• We will keep you informed about the progress of your complaint.

Confirmation of complaint

Once you provide feedback, if we think your comment is a complaint we will ask you if you would like us to treat it as one. However, we appreciate that sometimes you may wish to provide informal feedback.

We do need your consent to treat your feedback as a complaint, so we will contact you to confirm how you wish your feedback to be treated.

Complaint acknowledgement

If you submit your feedback through our online form or by email, you will receive an acknowledgement of receipt. We endeavour to review and give an initial acknowledgement to all complaints within the first 48 working hours of receipt.

Cases received after 3pm will be responded to within 48 hours starting at 9am on the next working day.

Once we have received your complaint, we will discuss it with you and agree how it will be dealt with. Where possible, complaints will be resolved at first point of contact, whether in person at the time of the incident, or when the complaint is made after the event.

Complaints process

In line with the Government of Jersey Feedback Policy, JCSC has a three-stage complaint process. However, because JCSC is a smaller organisation, the person who handles your complaint may be different than in the Government of Jersey Feedback Policy.

Stage 1

At Stage 1, your complaint will be handled by the Duty Officer or the Communication and Engagement Officer.

We aim to respond to Stage 1 complaints at the point of service or as soon possible after receipt. This should be up to 5 working days from the date of receipt.

Where resolution is not possible or further investigation is needed, we will escalate a Stage 1 complaint to Stage 2, in discussion with you.

Stage 2

At Stage 2, your complaint will be handled by a Manager or our Head of Legal and Governance. Stage 2 is for issues that require further investigation or are complex, serious, high-risk, requires consent, or will take time to investigate.

This level of complaint handling will allow for:

• assessment and investigation of the complaint and decision/s already made
• facilitated resolution process by request of complainant (where a person not connected with the complaint reviews the matter and attempts to find an outcome acceptable to the relevant parties)

Our aim is to resolve Stage 2 complaints within 10 working days of receipt or the date of escalation. This may be extended for complex cases or investigations that will take longer to look into. We will ensure there are clear timescales agreed and communicated with the you.

Where a person making a complaint is dissatisfied with the outcome of a Stage 2 review of their complaint, they may seek escalation to the Stage 3.

Stage 3

At Stage 3, your concern will be escalated to the Director of JCSC. The Director may refer your concern to a Chief Officer in the Government of Jersey or an independent third party, if appropriate.

If your complaint concerns the Director of JCSC, it will automatically be referred to a Chief Officer in the Government of Jersey.

Our aim is to resolve Stage 3 complaints within 10 working days of receipt or the date of escalation. This may be extended for complex cases or investigations that will take longer to look into. We will ensure there are clear timescales agreed and communicated with the complainant.

Some Stage 2 or Stage 3 complaints can be significantly more complex, requiring a more specialist or wide-ranging level of investigation and therefore could take longer to conclude.

We will assess and prioritise feedback in accordance with the urgency and/or seriousness of the issues raised.

If a matter concerns an immediate risk to safety or security the response will be immediate and will be escalated appropriately.

Further steps

If the Government of Jersey complaints process above has been completed and issues have not been resolved to the customer’s satisfaction, the next stage is independent external review by the States of Jersey Complaints Panel – see the section ‘Alternative avenues for dealing with complaints’ in the Government of Jersey Customer Feedback Policy.

Time limits for making a complaint

We follow the time limits for complaints handling set out in the Government of Jersey Customer Feedback Policy.

It is important that a complaint is made as soon as possible but generally a complaint should be made:

• Within 12 months of the date when the service was provided or the event being complained about occurred, or
• Within 12 months of becoming aware of the event / subject matter

This time limit may be extended should you have good reasons for not providing feedback sooner. In cases of historical complaints, we will assess if it is possible to complete a fair investigation and be robust and transparent in this.

Confidentiality

JCSC is registered as a Data Controller under the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2018. We will process your information in accordance with our privacy policy.

Under certain circumstances, such as when we are unable to resolve a complaint within JCSC, we may need to share your feedback and contact information with the Government of Jersey with your consent.

Where we need to report statistically on feedback received, we aim to do so anonymously.

Further information

For more information about how we handle feedback please refer to the Government of Jersey Feedback Policy.

You can also contact us if you would like help or support to provide your feedback to us.