Handling complaints

94% of visitors would recommend the Museum to their friends or family
2003 Corporate Review, National Maritime Museum

Getting the right feedback. Visitors are encouraged to express their views by filling in comment cards.The National Maritime Museum has set procedures for the handling of complaints and other problems. These procedures and policies are outlined in the Museum staff handbook and form part of the contract of employment for all staff.

Customer feedback is vital to the Museum as a successful tourist attraction and leisure facility, because it quickly identifies any deficiencies in our service and operation. The high level of positive comment about the helpfulness of our staff is important in building staff morale and job satisfaction.

There are many ways customers can leave feedback. They can speak to a member of staff, contact the Director by letter, or fill in a comment card (available throughout the Museum). Download a Museum comment card (PDF, 32KB). There are identical cards for the Royal Observatory and Queen's House sites.

It is important that customer comments are managed so they are:

• Recorded and filed accurately and consistently
• Retrieved easily and accurately
• In line with data protection laws

Recorded and filed accurately and consistently

The Museum has developed a computerised customer response mechanism (CRM) to do this. Key pieces of information (e.g. date, name, address, type of comment, member of staff dealing with comment, and action taken) are all entered into standard templates of information fields.

Retrieved easily and accurately

This means the Museum can analyze trends in comments that suggest problem areas and check if action has been taken. Reports are made for the Museum's Executive Board, the senior management team.

In line with data protection laws

The Museum operates in accordance with the Data Protection Act (1998) which specifies how personal information should be used and stored. Personal information is defined as any data which can identify a living person: name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, etc. In this way, the Museum can ensure it is properly accountable to our customers whom we provide services for, and to the Government which partly funds those services.

Download the customer response comment flow diagram. It shows how the Museum deals with customer comments (Word, 33KB).

Below are three examples showing step-by-step how the Museum deals with different comments. We have included the letters sent by Visitor Services in response to the comments.

A visitor complains about the quality of food in the Museum's café

1. A comment card is posted into one of the comment card stands, which are emptied daily.

2. The complaint concerns the quality of the food, e.g. the food was cold or too expensive.

3. The complaint is recorded in a database which is part of our Customer Response Mechanism (CRM). We record the customer's details along with a summary of the complaint and the category it comes under.

4. A copy of the comment card is sent to the relevant manager who will discuss a course of action.

5. This complaint will form part of a monthly report for members of the senior management team to review.

See the full reply to this comment: annotated animation (Flash, 80KB) or basic letter (Word, 27KB).

A visitor in a wheelchair found difficulty in gaining access to the Queen’s House from Greenwich Park

1. The visitor writes to the Director of the Museum, complaining of the difficulty in finding an easy way into the Museum.

2. The Director of the Museum sends a copy of the letter to Visitor Services to investigate the nature of the complaint.

3. The complaint is recorded in a database which is part of our Customer Response Mechanism (CRM). We record the customer's details along with a summary of the complaint and the category it comes under.

4. Visitor Services investigate the complaint and send their findings back to the Director. He then responds to the visitor's complaint.

5. Visitor Services liaises with relevant internal departments (such as the Operations and Facilities Management Group, who look after the grounds and buildings) to find a solution to the problem.

6. A member of the Visitor Services management sends a letter to the visitor, explaining what action has been taken to remedy the problem.

7. This complaint will form part of a monthly report for members of the senior management team to review.

See the full reply to this comment: annotated animation (Flash, 81KB) or basic letter (Word, 27KB).

A visitor was upset by changes to displays in the Queen’s House

1. A comment card is filled out and posted into a comment card stand.

2. The complaint is recorded in a database which is part of our Customer Response Mechanism (CRM). We record the customer’s details along with a summary of the complaint and the category it comes under.

3. If requested by the visitor, a letter is sent explaining the reasons behind the changes to the Queen’s House displays.

4. This complaint will form part of a monthly report for members of the senior management team to review.

See the full reply to this comment: annotated animation (Flash, 78KB) or basic letter (Word, 27KB).