Archive for complaint
Religion in alcoholic treatment sparks complaint
Posted by: | CommentsA Winnipeg man who has struggled with alcoholism for decades says he has filed a complaint with the Manitoba Human Rights Commission over the lack of a treatment program that’s free of religious or spiritual elements.
Rob Johnstone said he has battled alcoholism for 40 years and can’t find a treatment program that doesn’t rely on religion or spirituality as part of the recovery process.
“I should not be forced to participate in someone else’s religious beliefs. I shouldn’t have to add to mine,” said Johnstone, who added he has been an alcoholic for 40 years.
“We get involved in mood-altering substances and mind-altering substances,” Johnstone said. “That means the person is very vulnerable when they come in and that person should not be subjected to someone else’s religion.”
He’s hoping his human rights complaint pushes the province to create a treatment program that’s free of spiritual or religious elements. The commission wouldn’t comment on the status of his complaint.
“Spirituality … is part and parcel of everyone’s life. For some people, their spirituality is more important than others, but it’s a dimension of all of our lives as human beings,” Goossen said.
“When they’re in … programming, we do want them to go look for a grain of something that will be helpful for them and disregard the rest,” Goossen added.
Other people who work with addicts agree.
“If you talk to the concept of spirituality, most social recovery models have a level of spirituality,” Hoeft said. “Really, spirituality is getting in touch with who you are.”
“Some degree of a spiritual component is common as these types of programs are believed to be more effective,” the spokeswoman said.
“It is important to recognize that spirituality is not the same as religion. People in recovery tend to benefit from self-reflection, examining their lives, where they’ve come from, who they are and where they’re going.”
What is your biggest complaint being a left handed person in a right handed world?
Posted by: | CommentsMy biggest complaint is the left-brainers think differently.They think everything is done a certain way,at a certain time,blah ! No creativity Writing left to right and not being able to see what I just wrote causes a problem.Also the reels on fishing poles wind backwards when I hold them upside down,to make it lefty friendly .Right-handed silverware makes me crazy,when the handles curve left poking my hand.Righties just don’t understand.We would have good penmanship if the situation were reversed,say writing from right to left,or if a freaking door nob actually opened on the correct side for once,or a light switch actually was there when you reached around a wall to flip it on.If this isn’t discrimination what is ? One day we will rise up,just to make things right-,er …LEFT, so you can see what it’s like to live in a bizzaro world where everything in everyday life is just a little out of kilter,just enough to drive drive you CRAZY !!!
I’m the only left handed one in my whole family and they all act like I’m weird when I write with my paper sideways and all of that other left handed stuff. I’ve told them time and again that being left handed is hard and that we lefties should qualify as disabled or something. I mean, they dont’ make anything for us, so why can’t we have the good parking spots?! lol
I’d say that my biggest complaints are three ring binders, notebooks, doors, the weird looks we get for using our left hands, and even the fact that the old can openers (the ones you have to twist yourself) are made for right handed people.
Action Line: How the Better Business Bureau complaint process works
Posted by: | CommentsI recently filed my first complaint with the Better Business Bureau regarding a problem with dry cleaning. I carefully submitted every detail of the problem and sent copies of all my receipts and pictures of the ruined items with the complaint. I did receive a less-than-satisfactory response from the company and responded back to them, but never heard anything else. When I followed up today, I found the company had been given an “F” rating for ‘failure to respond to complaints,’ but they wouldn’t tell me who had made the complaints so I don’t know if mine was included. Why wasn’t this company forced to replace my comforter and pillow shams? What good does it do to file a complaint if the company doesn’t have to fix the problem?
The Better Business Bureau complaint process is based on fairness, to both the consumer and the business. We accept comments, both complaints and compliments, about any business regardless of size or industry. We appreciate consumers like you who supply us with comprehensive information in your complaint, including pictures of the damaged items in question. At the same time, we also want to give the company an opportunity to respond to your complaint thereby starting a dialogue that will, hopefully, result in resolution of the problem. In your particular case, the company chose to end the dialogue after receiving your follow-up response and to ignore further efforts at communication. When that happens, the complaint is closed as unresolved and most likely will result in a negative impact on the company’s grade. The complaint will remain on the business’ Reliability Report for 36 months, our standard reporting period.
If the company had belonged to the BBB as an accredited business, their membership would have been terminated. BBB accredited businesses are held to a higher standard and sign a contract committing to excellent customer service and resolution of consumer complaints at the time they join the BBB.
The BBB is not a government agency and cannot compel a business to either respond to a consumer complaint or to provide adequate customer service to resolve the issue at hand. What we do is offer a free process that provides consumers and other businesses with the opportunity to talk with each other and share their views and concerns. The results are recorded in the company’s Reliability Report and provide neutral information for future inquiring consumers or businesses. While your complaint did not result in a satisfactory ending for you, that company’s report now reflects that they have failed to resolve a customer service issue. That information is shared with people calling or going online to check on that company before making a decision to do business with them. (Your name, contact information and complaint specifics are not shared with anyone for privacy reasons.)
I wish I had a solution to change the results of your complaint process. However, as a result of your actions, you have helped protect future consumers who might face the same problems with that company.
FTC sues Intel for anti-competitive behavior
Posted by: | CommentsThe Federal Trade Commission sued Intel Corp. today over its business practices, saying the chipmaker has engaged in anti-competitive behavior by abusing its dominant market position.
The FTC said Santa Clara-based Intel pursued a deliberate campaign to stifle competition, cutting off their rivals’ access to the marketplace. In the process, consumers have been denied the ability to buy superior non-Intel products at a lower price.
Intel has, “been running roughshod over the principles of fair play and the laws protecting competition on the merits,” said Richard A. Feinstein, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition. “The Commission’s action today seeks to remedy the damage that Intel has done to competition, innovation, and, ultimately, the Americ
“This case could have, and should have, been settled,” said Intel senior vice president and general counsel Doug Melamed. “Settlement talks had progressed very far but stalled when the FTC insisted on unprecedented remedies – including the restrictions on lawful price competition and enforcement of intellectual property rights set forth in the complaint – that would make it impossible for Intel to conduct business.”
The complaint filed today comes a month after Intel settled with its chief rival, Sunnyvale-based Advanced Micro Devices, for $1.25 billion, which led some to believe that the FTC’s 18-month investigation into Intel might also lead to a settlement. In the settlement, Intel agreed to abide by a set of business practices in return for AMD withdrawing its suit.
Instead of heading off a federal action, Intel faces potentially the largest the antitrust case in the United States since the government sued Microsoft in 1998.
But the latest complaint also extends beyond Intel’s practices in its core market of selling central processing units or CPUs, the brains of most computers. The FTC said Intel was also looking to squash competition in the market for graphics processing units or GPUs, a market that Intel competes in against AMD and Nvidia.
“As it did in the CPU markets, Intel recognized the threats posed by GPUs … and its technological inferiority in these markets and has taken a number of anti-competitive measures to combat it,” the FTC complaint said.
Nvidia said today it was pleased that the FTC was suing Intel.
“We are particularly pleased to see scrutiny being placed on Intel’s behavior toward GPUs, which have become an increasingly important part of the PC industry,” the company said in a statement.
Former workers file complaint against clam plant
Posted by: | Comments A group of workers at a Millville clam-processing facility has filed an unfair-labor complaint against the company, alleging that 32 people were improperly fired.
In the complaint, the group, which calls itself the Workers’ Committee of LaMonica Foods, reported that 14 female employees held a work stoppage at 9 a.m. Nov. 12 to request raises. The complaint alleges that all 14 women were fired within the hour, as were 18 male employees who also stopped work in solidarity.
The complaint states that most of the women “were earning less than the legal minimum wage on a piece rate basis.”
At a press conference Wednesday at the Bridgeton office of the Farmworkers Support Committee, or CATA, workers said female employees were paid $2.20 for each bucket of shucked clams they produced and that they averaged three buckets per hour. That adds up to $6.60 per hour. The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour.
The employees filed the complaint with the assistance of the Farmworkers Support Committee. Jessica Culley, an organizer for that organization, said the company has since asked some of the fired workers to return, and a few accepted the offer because they needed the money.
Daniel Haledy, regional attorney for the National Labor Relations Board, said the agency will investigate the complaint and “if we decide the case has merit, we’re going to seek to settle it.”
If a settlement can’t be reached, the complaint would go before an Administrative Law judge, who would make a determination. Either side could appeal the judge’s decision.
Positive attitude, positive life
Posted by: | CommentsOver the last several days there has been a lot of negativity directed toward a proposed resolution by Congressman Emanuel Cleaver to declare the day before Thanksgiving “Complaint Free Wednesday.” Unfortunately, those who are writing these negative words are confusing complaining with leading.
In the early 1960s, many people claimed the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was radical for devoting his life to ending racial discrimination in this country. Almost 50 years later, we celebrate the man and the dream he gave us. And did he do this by complaining? No. He led not by complaining, but by providing hope.
Rep. Cleaver’s resolution encourages each person in the U.S. to remember that having a positive life begins with having a positive attitude. It recognizes and reaffirms the meaning of Thanksgiving by asking each person in the U.S. to use Complaint Free Wednesday to refrain from complaining and prepare for a day of gratitude.
What a world this would be if everyone, especially those who are so negatively denouncing Rep Cleaver, would, for just one day, pause, reflect, give thanks and maybe, just maybe, stop complaining and start being nice to one another. That’s Rep. Cleaver’s vision, and my vision as well
Mother charged in case of boy who hid in oven
Posted by: | CommentsThe mother of an 11-year-old boy who hid in an oven to escape alleged abuse by his father has been charged in the incident, in part because she pulled the boy back into the apartment after he had escaped, according to court documents.
Debra D. Chatman of Minneapolis has been charged in Hennepin County District Court with endangerment of a child, a felony, and malicious punishment of a child, a gross misdemeanor.
According to the complaint, William T. Hurley beat the boy with his firsts and an extension cord. Chatman admitted she initially punished the boy by striking him with a belt, then Hurley burned him with an iron, the complaint said. Chatman said she heard the boy scream, “He’s burning me.”
Chatman said the boy ran out of the apartment, so she grabbed him and dragged him back in, the complaint said. Hurley allegedly started punching the boy again, and the boy ran to hide in the oven and grabbed on to something in there. Chatman said she turned on the oven to cause the boy to “release his hold,” the complaint said.
When the boy got out of the oven, Hurley “continued to assault him,” the complaint said.
Hurley was charged last week with malicious punishment of a child.
According to the charges against Hurley filed in Hennepin County District Court, police arrived at an apartment on the 2000 block of Elliott Avenue on a child abuse call. The boy told officers that Hurley was upset with him for being in his mother’s bedroom. Hurley punched him and threatened to kill him for hiding under a bed, the charges allege.
Officers saw marks and burns on the boy’s body, and, as they spoke to him, Hurley said he had ‘whooped’ [the boy] and “that he would get another,” the complaint said. Hurley had to be restrained by police, the complaint said.
Got a complaint? Don’t get angry, get writing
Posted by: | CommentsIf something goes wrong after you buy a product or service, do you want the problem to be resolved? Would you like if the retailer or service provider learned from their mistake, so it might not happen again?
If you’ve answered ‘yes’ then you must always complain when something goes wrong. But to ensure success when complaining you’ve got to do it right.
The biggest mistakes you can make are not being clear in what you want, not talking to the right person and getting angry.
Of course you may feel like getting very angry indeed, especially if the person you’re complaining to either doesn’t have a clue or doesn’t want to know. But whatever the case, sarcasm or rudeness won’t help your cause. You may feel angry, but you’ll be a more effective complainer if you act reasonably.
First of all, find out what rights you have in your particular situation. For example, are you allowed to return the item you bought online because you don’t like it or are you entitled to have a two-year-old washing machine repaired?
Once you know the answer, then you will know what to ask for with confidence. Don’t hang around. If you do, the shop or service may take this as a sign that you accept the goods or service, and if the goods have been used for some time before you complain, your entitlements may become limited.
What’s more, some consumer legislation places time limits on making complaints. For example, complaints about a package holiday must be made within 28 days of returning from the holiday; complaints about delayed luggage should be made within 21 days and complaints about damaged luggage within seven days. Hopefully you’ll have found this out at the beginning when you found out about your rights
Be realistic, though. You won’t have a legal claim if you have broken something yourself rather than the product being faulty. Likewise if there is a superficial fault that you should have seen on examination of the product, or if a fault was already pointed out to you before you bought it.
It can sometimes be difficult to get to speak to the right person about your complaint, especially if you have to contact a call centre. Start by contacting the person in the company you originally dealt with or the customer care department if there is one, and remember to take the person’s name.
If that doesn’t help, ask to speak to “somebody in charge”. There is no point in complaining to the first person you speak to, as they probably won’t have any authority to put things right. Then give them a chance to put things right.
At this stage you’ll probably be making your complaint over the phone or face to face. Always keep notes of what happened, and include dates of phone calls or other conversations, who you spoke to and what was said.
Keep to the facts and tell them what you want them to do for you. Remember to keep that anger in check, and stay away from other emotions too.
Instead focus on the action you want taken (i.e. repair, refund or replacement) rather than on your disappointment. If this doesn’t resolve anything and you are getting nowhere, it’s time to make a more formal complaint in writing.
Hold on to all evidence such as copies of letters, emails, photographs, invoices, receipts, credit-card statements, quotations or contracts. Those notes you kept earlier will come in handy.
Ask for the name and address of the most senior person you can contact who deals with written complaints, so that your letter or email goes to the right person. Copying it to the CEO, the Taoiseach and the President isn’t necessarily going to get you anywhere.
Keep the letter short, setting out the history of your case, such as what you bought, when, what went wrong and when and who you spoke to. State your rights under consumer law, say what you want them to do and suggest a reasonable timeframe for them to respond. Attach copies of anything relevant, such as a credit card statement, invoice, emails, photographs or expert evidence.
If all fails, then turn to the Small Claims Court or relevant complaints body. It may all take a while, but it’s worth it, for both your wallet and respect.
Who to complain to
When you have a complaint you should always contact the seller first. If that doesn’t get you anywhere, there may be an organisation that can help. There are a lot of them out there and these are some that you need to know about.
Involving nurses in the complaints process leads to more effective care
Posted by: | Comments“sorry” when things go wrong – and to do so in a way that makes such apologies meaningful for aggrieved patients and their relatives.
But an apology alone, however sincere, does not make an effective complaints system. It is essential that staff understand that an apology is only one (very important) event in the process of dealing with a complaint. Otherwise there is a danger that lessons will not be learn, trends will be missed, and more patients will require apologies after further mistakes.
Complaints are an essential part of an organisation’s feedback mechanism and linked to incident reporting and other quality indicators such as pressure sores and infection. Nurses need to see the complaints system as an important educational tool for everyone, from the individuals involved in an incident to the board – rather than simply a paper exercise run by administrators, or a blunt instrument for NHS regulators to beat the chief executive with.
That is why trusts need to ensure their education and support for practitioners is broadly based, explaining the process, supporting proactive management and training in conflict resolution.
The acknowledgement by those investigating a complaint that it is not just one individual’s “fault”, but more often the fault of a system that failed to prevent the incident leading to the complaint, helps to support the professional at a difficult time. This makes it much easier for them to make a sincere and meaningful apology to the patient or family, as part of the wider response to the incident.
We need to do more than just teach nurses how and when to apologise, and give them permission to do so. We need to involve them in the whole of the organisation’s complaints system, so that every clinical team feels familiar and comfortable with the investigation and learning processes.
Professionals are always extremely anxious about complaints: understandably, because they are answerable not only to their employer but also to their regulatory body. The ultimate sanction of being struck off their professional register looms large in every nurse, doctor and therapist’s mind. But a greater focus on the learning process of complaints handling should help remove the personal, individual emotion from the issue, and replace it with a professionally-justifiable – indeed, professionally mandated – focus on turning a bad incident into a better service for future patients.