Chapter

2
CONSUMER GRIEVANCES
&REDRESSAL
Expected Learning
After going through this chapter, students are expected to have a
complete idea on satisfied or dissatisfied consumers, causes of
dissatisfactions, complaining behaviour, categories of dissatisfied
consumers and alternatives available to them, complain handling system
and public grievances redressal system.

INTRODUCTION
Customer dissatisfaction happens when purchased product or service falls beyond their
expectations or has many shortcomings. Whenever a customer interacts with the brand, he or she
has one or more expectations for the encounter, this can be meeting, a need or solving a problem.
It is very important for the company to know that there are different types of customer
dissatisfaction. For example, the dissatisfaction a customer feels from losing his or her luggage
while traveling is quite different from how a customer would feel if his or her package got
damaged in transit.
CAUSES OF CUSTOMER DISSATISFACTION
There are different reasons why customers may feel dissatisfied with the organization.
For instance, a customer's inability to get information on a product when he needs it can make
him dissatisfied with the service. For another customer, it may be that the company product fails
to meet her needs.
 Consumer Afairs Custe
22 omer Cere
Poor Quality:Customers
have 15sUes with the
may
servIce
Poor Quality
qualit of product or

which can lead to dissati5

faction When the quality of Hidden Product
product
the
or service

expectations
falls below
of thec
Information
Causes of
Unfair Pricing
customers. they will have
several reservations about 1
Dissatisfaction
Poor Customer
2 Pricing lf customers feel that
Product
:

the product

overpriced.
or service

espccially
1s

in
Service

Poor Usability
Specification
compar1son with the qual1ty
they get. they may give
negative feedback about the
product Compan1es have to dcal with a great amount of customer dissatie .
thevcannot justify the pricing of their product or service. Pricing and qualityoni
important factors that affect consumer choicCs and when customers are pavin
for a product. they expect more quality and value.
3. Product Specifications : Organizations usually list product specificatione ...
descriptions to give customers an idea of what to expect when they make a DIreh
1f the product fails to conform to this descniption and specification, it can cause custo
dissatisfaction as the customers would see this as a breach of trust.For instance, a Fmi
Juice company says that a carton of juice contains 12 juice packs. However, ater
purchasing the product. a customer finds out that there are only 10 juice packs in the
carton Th1s is a breach of trust and the customer will not like this.
Usability : Poor product usability can also cause customer dissatisfaction as customers
will not have positive feedback for products that are not user-friendly. For instance,i
acustomer finds it difficult to navigate the organization's website and find the
anformation he needs. he will get frustrated and abandon the website.
5. Poor Customer Service: If a customer reaches out to the brand for help with an isue
and faiis to get the response.the customer will be dissatisfied with the organization. It
the customer servICe representatives are rude, uncouth, and without empathy, they
will create a negatve impress1on of the organization.
6. Hidden Product information : Customers always wants allI kind of right informations
before hand For mstance, if the company has the policy of payment of delivery TCe
cause
cau
separately from product costs but they do not inform them before hand, it
customer dissatisfaction
cONSUMER COMPLAINING BEHAVIOUR
C onsumer complain behaviour is a set of dissatisfaction responses.Proper understah
wilh
of Consumer ompla1nt behaviour is necessary for the service provider because it is
 2.3
rievance Redressat

Coneemer Grie
customers to
system allows
the
management
A proper complaint customer
f their survival. which helps in generation of
the possibility improvements
necessary
kmaking the
give feed
loyalty and long
term profit.
satisfaction. c u s t o m e r

COMPLAINING BEHAVIOR
AFFECTING

TORS
FACTORSs.
Attitude
: It is the
Attitude

1 which can
a t t i t u d e
Likelihood of success
differences
create

among the c o m p l a i n e r s
Subjective Norms
and non complainers.

Complainers have a
Product Features
attitude
positive

towards complaining. Severity of the Problem

much
They a r e very
Factors of
conscious about theirComplaining Customer Employee Relationship
rights. If they are
Behavior
dissatisfied with the Demographic Variables

service of a
product/ Personality Variables
firm, they believe

complaining as their Complaint Handling Procedures

right. Non complainers
contrast have a
in Previous Experience
attitude
negative
towards complaining. Level of involvement
They believe that
complaining will not Cultural Diversity
make a difference.
Some non-complainers also hesitate to complain as they have to go through a systematic
procedure to register their complain.
2. Likelihood of success I t refers to the probability that the retailer will remedy the
customer problem without protest. Consumers were ready to complain only when
they felt that their efforts of complaining will not go futile. There should be some kind
of assurance among the customer regarding the positive response from the side of
Supplier. But when consumers felt that their etfort for registering the complain will be
fruitless as companies will not remedy their problem. they are not ready for complain.
3.
Subjective norm: Subjective very much affects the complainingintention among
norm
the customers. Subjective norm refers to the extent to which a person feels that his
parents, siblings, close friends. partners etc. want him/ her to perform a behaviour it
question. The higher the subjective norm for a person, the lower is the complainin
intention. Difficulties encountered in the process of complaining and resources suc
as time, money, skills also hinder person from
ete can a
complaining. Inconvenien
 Consumer Affairs
24 also has an effect on umer
omer i
caused during makng
Requirement of a
a complaint

special trip.
complant handling procedures,
filling of complaint forms,
being treated with
ms, une
understand
disrespect
complnding
aning becoha
and bothering othe
be turn ofts for complain1ng.
have heen found to
Product Characteristics (Cost/durability/importan ce): Custo
Apart from dise
products.
ustomer diss
more in services in comparison to
scharacteristics like cost, durability. importance might also a ffecs
behavsour Four entit1es are directly involved in Customer complain:.
sfaction
the atisfactis
complainin
prod
product or service. the customer. the supplier and the isode of dissatisfactionour. th
Severity of the problem: lt is the severity of problem which tion.
complainng by the customers rather than the effort involved in c o
kind of probiem n the product or service is affecting the customers in nng. I determines the
mplaini
only they want to reg1ster the complain otherwise they don't. WheneSat Way,
the
came across to any knd of dissatistaction by using the product or servi
make the comparison between the severity of the problem and the effot ice stome
first hey
utilize
6. Customer Employee Relationship: Intention ofthe customers to comniai.
affected by the strength of the relationship between the customer and
the Sr also
the relationsh1p between the two is weak then the customers would not h r I f
complain because they think that it will not affect their relationship. Howe et
the
strength of the relationship Is strong then fearing a negative effect on the relaie
between the two. they hesitate to complain. In order to maintain the
became silent without
relationchship
sometime customers making any kind of
complain.
Demographic Variables : Demographic characteristics mainly refer to
personal
characterstics and statistics of the consumers like income, gender, level of
education
socio-economic class, location, ethinicity and size
of family. All these factors are found
to influence
compiaint behaviour of customers. It was found that those customers who
complained young in age and had a
were
higher education
and income level
.Thes
group of customers are more aware about their rights as well as responsibilities.
8.
Personality Variables : Personality vaniables are also linked with the
complaining
behaviour of customers. Those customers who
complain confident, socially
are more
responsibie and independent. They are not afraid to feel embarrassed when complaining.
Consumers having positive attitude towards complaining behaviour are more likely to
complain whereas consumers having negative attitudes prevent themselves from
complaining Negative attitude consumers generally reserve the personality
characteristucs like fear of confrontation, low expectations etc.
9. Complaint handling procedures : If complaining procedure became easier, ien
Customers are more
u
likely to complain. Complaining provides an opportunity to me
firms to improve themselves on the
basis of the feedback given by the
the 1irms must customer
encourage the customers to complain as much as possible.
i
 2.5
rievances Redressal
Consumer Grte

then customer hesitate to

procedure is very time taking and lengthy one
anplaining
com

complain. of complaint
of complaint handling : Previous experiences
Previous experience towards complaining. Positive
10. the firms also influences customer's attitude
handling by the firms develop a
of the c o n s u m e r s towards complaint handling by
nast expericnce are more likely to exhibit
their
attifude towards complaining and they
kind of positive customer does also weigh the costs and
benefits of
eomolaint intention. The
believe that the benefits are more than the costs of complaining,
laining. If they
complaint intention.
they exhibit
also affects complaining intention among
involvement: Level of involvement
11. Level of more likely they are
customers. More the customers are involved with the product,
the If the customer
resources (time, effort, money etc) for complaining.
to sacrifice than
low customers are not bothered much to complain rather
involvement level is is very high,
to other brand. However, if the perceived dissatisfaction
over
they switch even under low involvement situation.
then customers may complain
Consumers in a collectivist culture are less likely to complain
12. Cultural Diversity :
individualist culture. Individuals with high degree of uncertainty
than the ones in
for redress or engaging in negative word of mouth. For
avoidance are less likely to ask
consumers are less likely to complain to the service providers due
to face
e.g. Chinese
saving and maintaining interpersonal relationship in Contrary to its Asian counterparts.

CATEGORIES OF DISSATISFIED CUSTOMER

Singh (1990) has tried to identify categories of consumers on the basis of their complaining
intentions and subsequent behaviours.
Passive
Voicers
Irates
Activists

Category of consumers whose complaining intentions are below average. These

Passives groups of consumers are least likely to take any action in case of dissatisfaction.
They always want to be in a neutral position.
Dissatisfied consumers, who voice their complaints instead to going for exit, doing
Voicers negative word of mouth or approaching third party.
Angry consumers, who voice their complaints, show a switching behaviour and do
Irates
negative word of mouth but are less likely to go for third party complaining
These groups ofconsumers go for all the three types of approaches: voice, private
Activists andthird party. They are not only interested in seeking redress for themselves but

ource:
also social benefit.Theyare moreactiveincomparison to previousthree categories.
Categories of dissatisfied customer (Singh, 1990)
 Consumer Affatrs
26 Customer Care
ALTERNATIVES AVAILABLE TO DISSATISFIED CONSUMERS

Consumer dissat1sfaction may be defined as the result of thediscrerpancy between

Today's Competitive environment encouraged the c
has Deccled
and actual performance
become more demand1ng regarding their rights related to product purchases, customers
ers to
ases, in complainine
about poor after sales services. poor product quality and also value for the money sno.

complaint behaviour of the customers. It

ning
ent. Firms
understand and manage the
shouid try to
will help
companies to serve customers bctter and improve the service expericnce. Dissatisficd the
sometimes may do not go for any action but due to incrcasing awareness now
Ow most
most of
of the . custoOme
the
prefer to take action against the company customers
Alternative-1 Take no action

Alternative-2 Take action

Dissatistfaction

No action Action

Private action Public action

Wam family Decide to stop Seck redress Complain to Take legal

friends about buy1ng the from fim or business, action to
the product product or manufacturer private or obtain
and or sellor brand or government redress
boycott sellor agencies

Alternative-1 Take
action:There are large numbers of consumers in India who just
: no

grumble and take no action due to the reason of lack of awareness. But since the passing of
Consumer Protection Act in 1986 the
percentage of consumers who do not take action is any
declin1ngwith the increasing awareness of consumer's
rights and spread of education, in future
there may be further decline in such consumers
due to the enactment of Consumer Protection
Act, 2019. But at present they account for nearly 90 per cent of buyers and in rural areas almost
hundred per cent who do not take any action.

Alternative-2: Take Action: Consumers generally moves for two types of action
Private action by dissatisfied consumer
Public action by dissatisfied consumer
 rievances Redressa 2.7
Consumer Grte

ACTION BY DISSATISFIED CONSUMER

RIVATE

P 1. ecide to stop buying the product or brand or boycott seller: When a consumeris

atisfied his first reaction to stop buyingis brand which has given hima

satisfaction. In India even this choice was very limited before competition started
There was ume wnen oniy three models of cars were available; most of
in the market.
were dissatistied but still had to buy them only without having any
the customers
In smalier towns once upon a timethere was only one cinema hall
alternative option.
were not satisfied with the conditions of the hall, chair, light etc. but
and often viewers
have no alternative.
they
Warn fanmily/friends about the product and/or seller : There are consumers when
2.
they are dissatisfied engage in negative publicity of a product or service through word
to other consumers. These private responses have lot of
of mouth communication
These private responses are made when the problem is severe
adverse impact on sales.
to the complaints for the satisfaction of
and company does not response positively
consumers. The private response can be with regard to quality of a product, negligence
towards complaint, poor response for replacement warranty and so on. Since word of
mouth is quite damaging marketer should be responsive to any kinds of complaint.
DISSATISFIED CONSUMER
PUBLIC ACTION BY
1. Seek redress from firm or manufacturers: The complaint is made for redressal of
complaint or dissatisfaction through claim compensation, exchanging the product,
return the money. Sometimes the complain is made even to inform the company about
the quality of the product and service of its distributors or retailers.All the good
companies who care for consumers in their own complaints and
interest listen to the
make all possible efforts to remove them and satisfy the customers. In India there are
some companies who even in case of textile fabric fades before reasonable time, not
only it is exchanged by a new fabric but consumer is also compensated for stitching
charges.Complaints can also be with regard to service of retail outlet and sales people,
quality of service of bank and insurance company courier service, travel agent, air
or
lines and so forth. Many banks have special cell to listen to consumers, rectify their

concerned staffs. The complainant is also informed

complaint and take action against
about the action taken by which he/she can be satisfied and confidence automatically
restored.There are companies who welcome complaints and besides responding to the
compliment makes internal assessment so that similar dissatisfaction is not repeated
and service of the product is improved. The complaints are tabulated, discussed with
defect and
concerned departments, replies to the consumers to explain the
are sent
ensure him that such occasion will not arise in future. This helps in restoring confidence.
lot
2. Take legal action to obtain redress: Under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 a
forum. Under the
of facilities have been given to consumers to complain to consumer
the
Consumer Protection Act, 2019 a judicial system has been set up to deal with
 Consumer Affairs &
28 Customer Car
consumer grievances and disputes at district level. state level and national 1
are known as Distrct Forum. State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commi. level. The
Commission) and National Consumer Disputes R cdressal Commission
Commisson)
ommission (NationState
Any individual consumer or association of consumers can
onal
complaint with the District. State or National level forum, depending on
goods and claim for compensation There is 1ncrcas1ng number of cases of .
register
the valuea
and in many judgments severe punishment has been awarded. Complain to laint
prvatc and government agencies With the spread of consumer
movement ther Differe
other bodies too where consumers can make complaints.A number of con re
organ1sations have also been set up in recent years in different parts of Indiae
lt
felt that without the active involvement of consumer associations it's not
possih
ensure consumer protection Now due to an increasing number of cons oto
organizations participation in consumer protection. the consumer movement is
a foothold in India and
helping individuals to seek quick and adequate redresgetting
al of
ther gnevances. These organizations raise awareness
among consumers on varioue
related campaigns. protests
issues via and demonstrations. They also
coordinate, provid
guidance. support and even file suits on behalf of aggrieved consumers.

INTERNAL COMPLAIN HANDELING SYSTEM

Complaint management is part of
customer relationship management.
CRM provides a basic framework for
customer care and also contains, among
other things. an analys1s of customer
relationsh1ps. Whenever a person
purchasc a product always have some
ievel of expectation When a customer
fecls strongly enough that his or her
expectatons have not been met, he or
she may make a complaint. The term Bank Helpdesk Services
Internal compiant management
the handing of customer
complaints within a company. Criticism is supposed to be
describes
evaluated in a way that is systematic and orderly, and used to create a positive impact. It is also
supposed to resolve the issue that prompted the customer's eriticism. The goal of complaint
management is to strengthen customer loyalty as weil as quality assurance. Due to proper complain
handeling the customer may not switch over to other brand and remain with the existing firm for
a lomg perod of tume
Internalcomplaint management is all about methodically handling customer criticism.
All the procedure of complan handeling must be streamlined Strategies must be developed and
t must be determined where complaints should be received, how one should react to feedback
 Grlevances Redresso
Consumer
2.9

d e p a
nents or
r t
or indivi
individuals, the criticism should be forwarded to. The allocation of
m e n t s

which
and
also falls under complaint management.
bilities
GRIEVENCE REDRESS SYSTEM
cORPORATE

term corporate
orporate Re
Redress system describes the handling of customers complain within
The
Criticism is supposed to be evaluated in a way that is systematic, orderly and used
a company. Crit
compuyitive impact. It is also supposed to resolve the issue that prompted the customer's
positive impact.
a
create
The ooal of complain management is to strengthen customer loyalty as well as quality
criticism. The
It is very important to establish a functioning complaint management process. The
assurance.

who ensures a good rapport with their clients even after a mistake has been made and
companies wh
them
k ps
from turning away from your company in anger. Furthermore a
well-organized
plaint management process reduces the risk of delivery or manufacturing errors. This is
because ustomer feedback.only has to reach the right department for the product to be made
in the future.
even better

GOAL OF CORPORATE COMPLAIN MANAGEMENT PROCESS

The corporate complaint management process is conducive to achieving two goals:
Customer satisfaction : Complaint management is supposed to reduce customer
dissatisfaction and ideally even strengthen customer loyalty.
Quality assurance: Through complaint management, customer
feedback reaches the
right departments and contributes to the improvement of the product or service.

cORPORATE COMPLAIN REDRESSAL FRAMEWORK

For proper redressal management, there are requirements of fulfillment of certain criterias
like:

1. Require an
organization al structure : To mastered successfully complaint
management tasks, certain framework conditions must be satisfied. First of all, it
requires an organizational structure. This is why complaint management must be a
fixed
component within the company and also recognized as an important factor by
company executives. In addition, it is worth clarifying to what extent there are points
of intersection with other business
divisions.
2. Right personnel for complain handling: To have direct contact with the customers
Cmployees must be skilled in diplomacy and de-escalation and also must be able to
deal with stressful situations, as not all
customers are constructive in their criticism.
3. Well
functioning infrastructure : Finally, a functioning infrastructure is also among
the framework conditions. This mainly relates to the deployment of suitable EDP
systems. Software and hardware should enable employees to shape both contact with
customers as well as internal organization in the best possible way.
 Consumer Affairs
2.10
REDRESSAL PROCEDURE
Customer Care e
CORPORATE COMPLAIN

Simple option to submit

ferdback : In
the complaint managemem pror. , NCOmmplnim
varuous stations
So that the customer can submit a

passes through
first place, companies should set up simple optons lor providing feedlh Aamt im
be a hotline, a chat or an ema1l address, but feedback could also be subnsi edhack. This canhe
nitted vim weh
postcards (Companies should always explicitly indicat
ate such
forms

way,
or

customers are cncouraged to give fecdback

options. In this
2 Complain being processed: After this, the complaint is processcd. 1Iere
and understanding on the part of the trained employee play a major role
lEnsure
. iendlines
vour customers also learn what actions will be taken after their eriticism. When nh
the customer should be able to understand what sort of consequences their
When posible
will have Sometimes, howeve, ongoing communication regarding a specif. criticism
ic
I not economically feasible For this reason, business professionals must weigh natter
type of response still makes sense at that point and what would excced a reason wh
response
3 Handiling customer The next step is to handle the customer's
complain: laint.
This also ncludes forwarding it to the appropriate department. Knowing that the
feedback was accepted with appreciation and will lead to a change is already enough
for many customers. Others, however. require further action to be satisfied. For this
the support employees must have the appropriate resources available. In this step the
cmpioyee thus responds directly to the customer and offers a discount, produc1
exchange. repairs or some other perk.
EXTERNAL COMPLAIN HANDELING SYSTEM
It svery mportant to protect the interest of consumers as they play an important role
towards mak1ng of a prosperous nation.Empowered consumers culminate into just and equitable
societies When consumer became conscious of rights and duties then it is said that nation has
paved path for all round developnent. There are some firms which adhere to the customer centrie
orientation and have well defined protocols for redressal of complains but at the same time
many companies now a days to carn better revenue,increase turnover and enhance market share
resorts to explotative consuner practices such as poor quality products,lesser product quantities
as compared to clams and unreasonable prices. The state of things in recent times have gone
against the consumer as the cxcess profit minded and unscrupulous producers and traders have
left no opportunity to deceive the consumers by taking undue advantage of their ignorance
helplessness while purchas1ng the goods and services.
Due to inappropriate complain handing system of some corporate house,the need
or e
consumer protection arises to assist the aggrieved customers.Thus to protect the interest
consumer the comsumer protection act was enacted in 1986 with the composition of two wing
Advisory bodies and Adjudicatory bodies. Under this act a lot of facilities have been given
ction
consumers to register their complain with the consumer forum. Under the Consumer Proe
 2.11

edressal
Red
do at
Grlevances and disputes
grievances
deal with the
consumer
Consumer
r
set up to State
Consumer
has been known as District Forum,
These
v s t e n

are
Redressal
a
judi
and
national level. Consumer Disputes
1980, level
Comnission) and National can
Act
district e v e l vel,Redrewsal Commission (Stat
state tate
or
association of consumers

individual consumer
Any the value goods
Disputes R on
depending
Commission).

nal or National
level forun,
State
C o m m i s s a o n ( N a t i o n a

many
of complaints and
in
District,
sint with the increasing
number of cases
lodge a complaint

There is
for compensation. The adverse publicity
eompensation. These complaints do very
andclaimg m e n t s s e v e r e p u n i s h m e n t
has been awarded.
marketer.

by manufacturers,
j u d g m

should
be
avoided

exploitations and
malpractices on the part of
and of
several instances arises as to how can
these be eliminated.
N o w the question
a r e

services providers. single handedly. The

rdealers and by consumer
such exploitation any
i f f i c u l t to stop
trade
is very
difficult
d
malpractices and take
the help of c o n s u m e r such
it against
Actually collectively act essentially needs
have to
consumers ha
agencies. Infact, c o n s u m e r protection
ganisations and the government business
and guidance, and it c a n n o t be assured by voluntary
consumer awareness, ededucation redressal
and m e a n s of public
are the v a r i o u s ways
The following
self-regulation.
nduct ofr

system

Awareness

Programme
Consumer
Redressal
Forums
Organisations

Consumer
PLI Welfare Fund

External
Complain Legislative
Lok Adalat Handling Measures
System

1. Lok Adalat : Lok Adalats are the effective and economical system for quick redressal
of the public grievances. The aggrieved party can directly approach the adalats with

discussed on the spot and decisions are taken

and his issues are
nis grievance,
mmediately. The consumers may take the advantage of this system to solve their
problems. Cases of electricity billing, telephone billings, road accidents etc. can be
taken up in Lok Adalat for spot settlement. Infact, Indian Railways, Mahanagar
Telephone Nigam Limited and Delhi Vidyut Board hold Lok Adalat regularly to settle
user's grievances on the spot.
2.12
Consumer Afairs
Customer Care
2. Public Interest Litigation (PIL):
t
1saschemeunder which anv
erson can mov
It involves ettorts to
the court of law in the interest of the society.
interests. Such groups may consict
prov
vide legal Temedy
oveo
to un-represented groups
and
of consumers,
environmentalists and others. Any person oor organisatic
minorities poor persons,
for remei
though not a party to the grevances, can approach the court
edial action inai on,
of any social atrocities
case
and Consumer Protection Councils: Under the
3. Redressal Forums
Protection Act 1986. a judicial system has been set up todealdea with
the Consumumer
gnevances and disputes
at
consumer
level. These are
district level. state level and national level. Then
as Distrct Forum. State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (State
and National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (National CommiComrissioni
knowm
plaint with theion). Any
mdrvidual consumer or association of consumers can lodge a compla
State or National level forum. depending on the value go
oods and clairDistrict,
compensation. The main objective provide for a simnl
of these fornums is to for
The Act was amendod. PCedy
and inexpens1ve redressal of consumers grievances.
also provides for setting up of Consumer Protection Council at district, state arnd 2002
ievel for promotion and protection of the rights of the consumers as laid denation
lown i
Section 6 of the Act. The councils are required to give wide publicity to the rights
consumers. the procedures for filling complaints by them and provide inputs to
consumer movement in the country.
Awareness Programme : To increase the level of awareness among the consumen
the Government of India has initiated various publicity measures. It regularly brings
out journals. brochures. booklets and various posters depicting the rights and
responsibilities of consumers, redressal machineries etc. It observes World Consumer
Rights Day on 15 March and National Consumer Day on 24 December. Several video
programmes on consumer awareness are broadcasted through different television
channels. Similarly. audio programmes are also broadcasted through All India Radio
and FM channels. The poster and slogan competition on consumer protection are also
organised at various level. To encourage the participation of public in the field of
consumer protection the Government has also instituted National Awards to the persons
who have done outstanding work in this field
5. Consumer Organisations Consumer organisations have been active all over the
world to promote and protect consumer interests. A number of such organisations
have also been set up in recent years in different parts of India. It is felt that
neither it
IS possible to discipline all members of the business community through moral sanctions
and a code of fair business practices nor can administrate orders and legislative
provisions to ensure consumer protection without the active involvement of consumer
iu
associations. Now with an increasing number of consumer organisations involvea
consumer protection, the consumer movement is getting a foothold in India and helping
individuals to seek quick and adequate redressal of their grievances.
6. Consumer Welfare Fund : The government has created a consumer welfare furnd o
in ue
financial assistance to strengthen the voluntary consumer movement
providing
 a Redressa 2.13
tevances
Consumer

Darticularly
country particularl
in rural arcas. This fund is
mainly used for setting up facilities for
training and research
in consumer Jcation, complaint handling, counseling and
idance mechanisms, product testing labs, and so on.
7. Legislative Measures: A number of laws have been enacted in India to safeguard the
rest of consumers and protect them from unscrupulous and unethical practices of
usinessmen. Some of these Acts are as follows: (i) Drug Control Act, 1950 (ii)
Aricultural Products (Grading and Marketing) Act, 1937 (iii) Industries (Development
and Regulation) Act. 1951 (iv) Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954 (v) Essential
Commodities Act, 1955 (vi) The Standards of Weights and Measures Act, 1956 (vii)
Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act, 1969 (viii) Prevention of Black-
marketing and Maintenance of Essential Supplies Act, 1980 (ix) Bureau of Indian
Standards Act, 1986.

The object and interest of almost all these enactments are mainly punitive, though some
f these are also preventive in nature. However, none of these laws provide any direct relief to
the consumers. Hence, amendments have been made in some of these laws by which individual
eonsumers and consumer organisations have been conferred the right to take initiative and launch
on.
legal proceedings in civil and criminal courts against the violators. Another legal enactment that
made a dent in this situation was the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act, 1969. It
gained the status of a specific consumer protection law with amendments made in 1984.
Inspite of the changes made in 1984, a need was felt to have a more elaborate legislation.
So the ConsumerProtection Act was passed in 1986 to offer the necessary protection to consumers
and provide an elaborate mechanism to deal with consumer grievances and disputes. Afterwards
The Consumer Protection Act, 1986 is repealed after three decades and replaced by the Consumer
Protection Act, 2019. The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 has been enacted with a view to
widen the scope of consumer rights and cover the field of e-commerce, direct
shopping and other multi levels of marketing in the age of digitizatio
selling, tele-
PUBLIC GRIEVENCE REDRESS SYSTEM
Grievance Redress Mechanism is part and parcel of the
machinery of any administration.
No administration can claim to be accountable,
established an efficient and effective
responsive and user-friendly unless it has
grievance redress mechanism. In fact, the redress grievance
mechanism of an
organization is the gauge to measure its
efficiency and effectiveness as it
provides important feedback on the working of the administration.
STRUCTURE OF GRIEVANCE REDRESS MACHINERY AT APEX LEVEL
The grievances of public are received atvarious points in the Government of India .There
are
primarily two designated nodal agencies in the Central Government handling these
These agencies are: grievances.
Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, Ministry
Public Grievances and Pensions of Personnel,
Directorate of Public Grievances, Cabinet Secretariat
 Consumer Affairs & Custo
2.14
Reforms & Public Grievances
stomer Car
Administrative
Department of
in respect
of policy initiatives on public r.

the nodal agency

It 1s and
mechanism ctizen centric initiatives The role of Department of Administra evances tedre
such citizen-centric initi tive
and Public
of administration
Grievances consists

refoms and publc

primar1ly to undertake

grievances in the
Govemment so as to initiativesthe in theRetofieamm
enahla.
able
machiner to delver
the causes of grievance
quality public services to the citizen in a hassle-free nmans
Govemmen
nner and climina,
Cabinet Secretariat
Directorate of Public Grievances,
Based on the review of the public grievances redress machinery in Goverm
in 1987. the Directorate of Public Grievances was set up in the Cahi of lndu
carried out
with effect from 01 04 88 This Directorate was set up initially to look
pertaning to four Central Government Departments which were more prone
prone toto publi.
nto
Secretaairniats
individual compl
public
Subsequently. more Departments hav1ng larger public interface were added to its complaintu
presently this Directorate is handling grievances pertaining to 16 Central Gova
Organ1sations The grievances received by the Department are forwarded to the conmen
MinstriesDepartments State Govemments UTs, who are dealing with the substantive e d
lanked with the grievance for redress under intimation to the complainant. The Departmen ction
ent"takes
up about 1000 grievances every year depend1ng upon the seriousness of the grievance and fa
hem regularly till ther final d1sposal. This enables the Department to evaluate the effecti
of the grevance redress machinery of the concerned tiveness
government agency.On the basis of
gnevances received. Department identifies the problem areas in Government which are complain
prone These problem areas are then su ected to stud and remedial measures are
the Department Organisation concerned.
suggested to
GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL STRATEGIES
It s the need of the time that the Government should review its pledge of providing
hassie-free public services to the citizens by focusing
systemic changes to minimize the
on
grievances in Government domain. In order to achieve this objective in a focused manner, it is
necessary to evolve a multi-pronged strategy to be implemented in a time-bound and effective
manner. Keep1ng in view the various factors involved in grievance redress issue, following areas
need focused attention:

1. Foreseeing areas of dissatisfaction

: To review
processes, functions etc. in the
organization and to cast them pro-actively in a manner that would foresee areas or
dissat1sfaction, identify activities where transparency, equity, prudence and propriey
are
compromised. interventions that can help achieve better outcomes, improve
sat1sfaction of internal and external stakeholders.An annual review of laws,
ruc
Tegulations, instructions and procedures be carried out with a view to simplity
procedure mak1ng the administration more transparent, accountable and
Information Technology should be
citizen-tricny
employed in re-engineering of governme
processes order
in to
improve efficiency and effectiveness and ensuring transparc
and accountab1ility.
 2.15

susceptible
R e d r e s s a l

Grievances o areas

ProneAreas and Analysis : Identifyof such areas. In

work audit
C o n s u m e r

Grievance
I d e n t i f i c a t i o n o fG r conduct
of generation
and with the
ntification interface,
to corruption and/or
grievance
of very high public
cial audit in
areas NGOs
2. addition, consider Cxternal/social
Involve
processes
and systems.
docrs and improving with the aim
of identifying
wrong ng c a u s e of grievances
identifying
n a t u r e and practices
m
of
and analyse the
ana
policies, instructions, work
the
excrcise

laws, rules, regulations, these

deficiencies.
inystemic deficiencies in
iencies in to
remove/correct

systemic changes The analysis

should
nd effecting
and procedures, and
officers for such purpose.
be the nodal identified grievance
of irievances and studies of
Grievances

every year be
month of.April
Directors

The studies should

conducte
in the made in the
Recommendations

be and r e m o v e
systemic changes
undertaken.
be under
areas
so as to bring
prone
implemented by DeDecember of that year
Charters,
the cause
of
grievances.

ettective implementation of Citizen's

Charter: Formulation and of time for providing various
norms
services
Citizen's disclosure
machinery that may
1.
3. inter-alia, include
which should, levels of grievance redress
details of all
citizens/clients and
to the
effective
be approached.
Counters (IFC) : Setting up and
Information
& Facilitation
involved in the functioning of IFCs to
of IFC's civic society may be
operationalisation effective.
citizen- friendly and
make them Grievance Redress and Monitoring
Make Public
of G r i e v a n c e s : Grievances. This
5. On Line Registration operational with every Director of
software,
System (PGRAMS) to immediately place
the details of grievances
the Director of Grievances the fact whether
shall enable management) as well as record
(efficient 'dak'
received in a database it is being sent,
its progress, identify the section/division where
monitor
he intends to enable review of pending
the time taken in dealing with the grievance,
etc., generate generate acknowledgements
or a c r o s s the organisations,
grievances in the organisation of on-
etc. The system should also have the facility
to complainants,
conduct analysis
information on the statuus
of grievances by the citizens and access to
line registration
of his/her grievances.
Grievances should be necessarily
Redress of Grievances :
6. Prompt and Effective within 3
with an interim reply within
3 days of receipt and redressed
acknowledged, should apply even if co-
The same time limit
months of receipt in the Organisation.
is involved. In
ordination with subSidiary ofiices or
another Department Organisation
should
disclosed when reports are called,
such instances special efforts, to be suo moto
examined.
been independently
be made.No grievance is to be rejected without having
the
to the one who delayed taki.ig
At a minimum, this means that an officer superior,
for grievance, should actually
original decision or took the original decision that is cause holder.
examine the case as well as the reply, intended to be sent to the grievance
Ensure meaningful
7. Review and Monitoring of Grievance Redress Mechanism :
the performance of grievance redress machinery
of the Ministry/Organisationn
Teview ot
as well as that of attached subordinate organization by Secretary/
Head of the
action against defaulters.
Department on a monthly basis. Review should also cover
 Consumer Afairs a
Custo
2.16 Cor
EXERCISE QUESTIONS
Rlanks.
A. Fill in the purhased product or service f
Customer
dissat1sfaction happens when
falls beyond the
have a
attitude towards complaining.
2 Complaners
Non-Complarnershave a atitude towards complaining.

category of consumers compla1ning intentions are below avera.

Dissatnsfied consumers who voice their complaints instead to going for exi
known a
Angry consumers. who voice their compla1nts and also showW a switching beha
behaviour
as
known
provides a basic framework for customer care and also contains an anal...

customer relationships.
ysis of
descnibes the handling of customers complain within
SThe term company.
T o protect the of the consumer. the consumer protection act was enacted

10 Is the effective and economical system for quick redressal of the publie
grievances

11 The government has created a for providing financial assistance to strengthen

the voluntary consumer movement in the country.

ANSWERS
Expectations. 2. Positive. 3. Negatve, 4. Passive dissatisfied consumer, 5. Voicers, 6.
Irates. 7. CRM. 8. corporate Redress system. 9. Interest, 10. Lok adalat, 11. consumer
welfare fund

B. One word answers.

1In which type of culture Consumers are less likely to complain?

2In which type of culture Consumers are more likely to complain?

Which knd of dissatisfied consumers interested in seeking redress for themselves and

aiso for social benefit

Which type of dissatusfied consumer show a switching behaviour and do negative word
mouth but are less likely to go for third party complaining.
ues
S Which kind of organisations raise awareness among consumers on various relatea

V1a campaigns, protests and demonstrations.

 & Redressal
Consumer
Grievances
2.17
which type of scheme any person can move to the court of law in the interest of the

society?

ANSWERS
1etivist culture, 2. Individualistic culture, 3. Activists, 4. Irates, 5. Consumer
Public Interest Litigation.
organisation, 6.

within two or three sentences.

C. Answers
1. What is
the main goal of customer satisfaction?

2. Define consumer complaining behaviour.

1 Discuss product characteristics as a factor affecting complaining behaviour.

4 How Previous experience of complaint handling affects the complaining behaviour?

5. Who are the voicers?

6. What is the action taken by activists?

7. What are the two alternatives available to dissatisfied consumers?

8. What do you mean by internal complain handeling?

9. What do you mean by external complain handeling?
D. Answers within 75 words.
1. What are the benefits derived by the companies from customer satisfaction?
2. What are the important reasons of customer dissatisfaction?
3. Discuss attitude factor
as a
affecting consumer complaining behaviour.
4. Differentiate between Irates and voicers.
5. Differentiates between voicers
and passive dissatisfied consyumers.
6. What kind of
private actions taken by dissatisfied consumers?
7. What kind of public actions taken
by dissatisfied consumers?
8. What kind of
legal action can be taken for redressal?
9. What are the
goals of corporate complain management process?
10. What are the steps of
Corporate complain redressal procedure
11. What is the role of
consumer
organisations?
12. What is the main function of
Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances?
3.
What is the main function of Directorate of Public Grievances, Cabinet Secretariat?
 Consumer Affairs &

2.18
Customer CCore
500 words.
Answers within
E. Dise
1.What do vou mean by customer
satisfaction

dissatisfaction.
and dissatistaction?
Discuss thee cause
causes
satisfaction and
consumer

What are the factors atfecting consume

mer compla
2. Define consumer complain.
behaviour? Discuss.

3. Briefly explain the categories of on st

dissatisfied consumers with their action strategies.
4. Discuss the different types of private and public actions taken by dissatisfied
Sumen
5. Briefly explain the corporate complain redressal framework and procedures.
6. What are the different options for effective external complain handling system? n
7. Briefly discuss the public grievance redressal strategies in detail.
iscus