Claiming is more than just a job. Something more than a challenge. Claiming today is an art, a skill within the reach of a very select few. From those who know how to do it, who have previous experience and who have the time, knowledge and resources to do so.
They will have experienced it on many occasions. Since 1972, when El Corte Inglés popularized the famous slogan of “If you are not satisfied, we will refund your money” Rare is the business that does not offer the possibility of complaining if something is not to our liking.
We all assume that right as our own, but it is not always easy to exercise. And it is especially complicated when the deal between the seller and the buyer is not direct. That is to say, that It is not produced in a physical establishment, but in an online store.
Although all companies assume that customer satisfaction is key to their success, not all of them allocate the same resources. Because? The truth is that multiple factors come into play, but one of them is the high cost that, they estimate, these services have.
Another is its difficulty in implementation, or how complex its operation can be for certain groups. A digital native does not move in the same way between the ins and outs of a website as an elderly person, more accustomed to dealing directly with the seller.
Among the youngest people, a rejection or phobia of talking on the phone has spread, making it difficult to make complaints through this form of care.
Although it can also be the other way around, be careful. Among the youngest there has spread a rejection or phobia of talking on the phone that makes it difficult to make claims through this means of care.
The fact is that, for one reason or another, requesting a refund for a product, claiming a defect or simply asking for a change of time in an appointment has become an ordeal for a large part of the population.
As each company is a world, in addition, the citizen is confused, disoriented. One has to recognize that some have a good complaints system.
Returning something on Amazon is easy, and also changing sizes at Inditex. But things get complicated if you lose a shipment on Shein. Or if you want to make claims to a low-cost airline.
The challenge of citizen service offices
To resolve all this, but also much more serious issues, citizen service offices were born a long time ago. These go far beyond resolving discontent with one purchase or another, but rather focus on correcting errors in certificates, delays in issuing documents, managing official recognitions, or accelerating registration procedures.
The truth is that complaining is becoming an art
Circumstances that, in short, directly affect our rights as citizens and can prevent us from developing a normal life. The problem is that, despite the many advances registeredit is still very difficult to launch a claims process.
Complaining to a citizen service office should be one of the easiest rights to exercise in a democratic state. But the reality in Spain reveals that filing an official complaint, getting it admitted, receiving a satisfactory response or even having it taken into account, has become a kind of bureaucratic obstacle course.
A clear example is the Ombudsman. This institution received a total of 34,402 complaints in 2024. Of those, 46% were not admitted for processingfor reasons such as lack of competence, formal defects or insufficient documentation. Is a lawyer necessary to understand the intricate administrative language necessary to file a complaint?
It shouldn’t have to be this way, but the truth is that complaining is becoming an art. Each ministry, each autonomy and even each municipality has its own protocols, forms, deadlines and channels for submitting complaints, suggestions or claims.
This creates confusion: It is often not clear which agency is competent or what the appropriate procedure is.
The average citizen does not know how to do it, and society should take seriously its duty to help him in this task. At the end of the day, a company can do whatever it wants. If you don’t take care of your buyers you will end up destroying your reputation, but that’s your business. But the fact that a citizen cannot or does not know how to claim their most fundamental rights is truly serious.
Especially since there really are technologies designed to improve this process. It’s a matter of adopting them. Despite its risks and biases, artificial intelligence can provide a lot of effectiveness in this area. It will require training, political will and, above all, a change in work processes. But the changes can be substantial.
Attention to citizens could also become proactive. Detect, for example, people in situations of social risk and offer them help instead of waiting for them to come and ask for it.
Or working mothers. Or to any person who is entitled to help or subsidy and, due to ignorance or lack of technical skills, has not requested it to date.
If complaining is an art, we must reduce the difficulty of exercising it. Citizen service offices can and should be not only a receptacle for complaints, but also a preventive service that listens, acts with transparency and achieves changes.
Because an administration that only responds when demanded is missing a key opportunity to improve the lives of everyone, especially the most vulnerable.
*** Alice Richard is
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