Life, the Universe and Everything

I recently took a government department through all four of its complaints levels and on to the Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman - where I won! So I'm now an expert complainer? Not really but I learned some things on the way that don't appear in some guides. Complaint procedures are something most organisations have to have. This doesn't mean that many staff believe in them or see them a source of valuable feedback. There are some exceptions where a complaint receives rapid and fair attention from senior staff. It is more common for the process to be one of "attrition". The complaint will be dealt with slowly, by people who lack the time, inclination or ability to be efficient. The process is then so frustrating  for complainants that nearly all of them give up. Recognise that the real agenda of some organisations has customer satisfaction very low down. Don't expect that to be admitted. To take a topical and extreme example, the Greek bank...

If you've had the misfortune to become unemployed or sick, you've probably experienced “Jobcentre Plus” – the UK government's benefits and job-finding “shop”. They also do employee finding for employers too. Your experience with this arm of government is probably mixed. Some of the staff are hardworking, knowledgeable, reasonable, helpful, sensitive and even kind. Unfortunately, quite a few are lazy ignorant bullies. I know this from being a “customer” a few times over the years and because my in my working/volunteering life I sometimes hear stories from other customers – mainly bad ones. If you encounter one of the less pleasant staff, it's very bad news. They have the power to reduce your income to zero if you don't do what they tell you to do. Since last October, this could mean destitution for up to 3 years. You might think that such “sanctions” as they call them are reserved for “lazy benefit scroungers” but you'd be wrong.   Say your “Person...

Cait Riley gets a degree in Geology and starts job hunting. Then she has a wheeze - why not volunteer to work in a local museum? Keep in touch with her industry and give her something to get in the morning for. Then, enter "Jobcentre Plus", the government department supposedly in charge of helping the unemployed into jobs. They compel her to stop doing sensible volunteering and give her mandatory unpaid work at Poundland a commercial shop. I'm please to report that the courts have backed her case although the government are determined to revers the ruling. These "workfare" programmes mess with the voluntary sector in a number of ways Fundamentally, the government doesn't understand the voluntary sector at all.