Complaints about the transport service are filedby e-mail or phoneby a ‘complainant’. A complaint can be one of the following parties:

  • A customer
  • An internal department of Maxico
  • A third party (such as the National Railway Company)

After receipt, the complaint coordinator makes a first scan to checkwhether the complaint relates to the services of Maxico. The complaint coordinator is the one that follows a complaint from the start to finish and ensures that everyone who plays a role in the complaint handling process completes his/her responsibilities in a timely manner. Both in case of an internal department and a third party, a so-called serviceagreementis consulted regarding the applicable complaint handling agreements. These may be, for example, agreements related to the complaint handling lead-time.

For each complaint received, the complaint coordinator opensa new complaint in the COMPLAINTSinformation system, and entersthe basicfactsof the complaint. If the complaint is not the responsibility of Maxico, this will be fedbackto the complainant and the complaint will be forwardedto the appropriate party. That information is also recorded in COMPLAINTS and the complaint is regarded as closed.

If the complaint needs to be resolved by Maxico, based on the information obtained, the complaint is classifiedby the Service Management department. The classification includes the complainttype.For example, does the complaint relate to service operation, such as a bus that is late, or to bad/undelivered customer service, such as an incorrect travel advice?

Subsequently, Service Management determinesthe complaint priority, based on the service agreement, the estimated impactand urgencyindicated by the complainant. This is done using a formula provided on a Priority Card.

The complaints solution order is determined based on the priorities. With each new complaint received, it is assessedwhether a change in the solution order is needed, and whether ongoing activities need to be temporarily set aside in order to give precedence to solutions with a higher priority.

It is Service Management’s responsibility to record the complaint as completely as possible in COMPLAINTS, at the same time notingto which department it is assigned.

Service Management also checksin COMPLAINTS whether the complaint has occurred before. If so, it is decidedwhether the solution is offered immediately to the complaint. There are two possibilities:

  • If the solution is satisfactory for the complainant, this is recorded in COMPLAINTS and the complaint can be closed.
  • If the solution is not satisfactory for the complainant, the complaint is registeredwith the department that should solve the problem. This will not be Service Management, but a product department. There are several different types of product departments. For example, there is one responsible for all bus processes, another for all metro processes, and a third for all travel product.

The product department acceptsthe complaint and a complaint handler isallocatedresponsibility for resolving the complaint. Acceptance takes place by sending an e-mail to Service Management. If the responsibility is not accepted, the Head of Service Management is informed and the complaint is referredto a more senior manager.

The complaint handler analyzesthe complaint, using the information obtained, and proposes a solution. The analysis resultsare recorded in COMPLAINTS:

The solution resulting from the analysis is testedbefore it is implemented. This reduces the chance that the solution has undesirable side effect, or may not even work at all. It may occur that the solution is so simple that testing is not necessary. Such judgmentis made by Service Management.

If the test does not show the desired results, the complaint handler re-analyzes the complaint and uses the result to find a new solution. All test results are recorded in COMPLAINTS.

The solution is then implementedin the real world and recorded in COMPLAINTS. It is reported backto the complainant by the complaint coordinator, including a request for approval. At that point there are two possibilities:

  • The solution has actually solved the complaint’s problem; the complaint is closed in COMPLAINYS.
  • The solution did not resolve the complaint’s problem: the complaint coordinator retrieves new information from the complainant and sends it to the product department for renewed analysis.

Upon acceptance of the solution by the complainant, the complaint coordinator determines the end time. The lead timeis the difference between the end time and the start timespecified in the complaint notification. If there is no response from the complainant, the complaint coordinator determineswhether the complaint should be considered solved. Thecomplaint’s response is recorded in COMPLAINTS.

The complaint is closed in COMPLAINTS. All available information regarding the solution is storedin the system for future analysis, for example by examining trends(which can then be further analyzed) or weaknesses in processes and information systems.

1