Customer Service Standards - British Council India

Customer Complaints and Feedback Policy

Customer Feedback Form

	Customer Service Standards

The British Council Customer Service team is committed to providing a high standard of service. This information sheet sets out the standards of service you can expect from us.

Please contact us if:

			we do not meet these standards,
			you are not satisfied with the way your enquiry was handled,
			we have done something particularly well.

Your feedback helps us to put things right if they have gone wrong and to improve our service.

		We aim to help you with your enquiry

If the Customer Services team can answer your enquiry, we will be happy to assist you.

If your enquiry needs to be handled by a subject expert within the British Council we will route your enquiry to them directly and inform you. Alternatively we may give you details of an appropriate individual to contact.

If your enquiry is not related to the British Council we will attempt to guide you to the appropriate source of information.

		We aim to handle your enquiry in a professional manner – We promise to treat people fairly and with respect.

Telephone Enquiries

Written Enquiries

We aspire to respond to your telephone call within 45 seconds.

You will be greeted by a member of staff skilled in that area:

“Good morning / good afternoon / hello British Council / British Library, <name> How may I help you.”

If you do not speak English, the member of staff will try to respond to you in a local language. Please note, this may take a little more time and may not always be possible.

We will carefully listen to your query / comment & may need to ask you for further details to establish the exact nature of your enquiry.

If the required information is not readily available, we will ask you for contact details and agree a suitable response time.

If we need to transfer a call to someone else, we will inform you, then speak to the other person on your behalf, we will transfer your call, if appropriate. If we cannot transfer your call, we will explain the reason.

You will receive a written response (unless you request otherwise) from one of our designated staff members.

The response should be clearly written in simple language, with good English grammar and spelling.

The contact details of the member of staff will be included in the email / letter.

If the nature of your enquiry is not clear we will reply to you explaining why we are unclear and will request clarification from you.

If your enquiry requires extended research, we will respond to you informing you of this and give you an estimate of how long this will take.

We will adhere to the agreed action and committed timelines.

		We aim to answer your enquiry promptly.

Telephone Enquiries	Written Enquiries
While we are open, our customer service executives will be happy to assist you. We aspire to respond to all calls within 45 seconds. But if the call volume is extremely high , we try to ensure your call is responded to within 2 minutes. Generally we are able to respond to about 85 % of enquiries within 45 seconds & 100 % within 2 minutes.	We are committed to responding to all email enquiries within 48 hours of receipt of the mail. Enquiries received on a non-working day will be answered on the next working day. Following a bank holiday weekend or other extended closure, we expect the reply times to be longer and aim to resume the standards above after 3 working days.

		We aim to answer your enquiry with relevant, up to date information.

Our staffs are trained to provide accurate information, in a precise and simple manner. They have access to most systems that enable them to provide accurate information. However, for some detailed / complex enquiries they may need information from the subject experts. In that situation we may need to forward your enquiry which may take additional time. We will seek information internally and then respond to you.

All reference information is checked frequently. However at times the information may change without our knowledge. Should you notice some inaccurate information, please do not hesitate to inform us. We will correct the information as soon as possible.

		We aim to offer several different ways of providing you with information.

Telephone Enquiries	Written Enquiries
We respond verbally but may ask for an email or postal address to send more detailed information to you.	We respond by email when an email address is provided unless you ask otherwise. At times if we feel that discussing / explaining the matter verbally will be more beneficial, we may request you for your telephone contact details.

		We aim for staff to be fully trained prior to answering your enquiry.

All our staffs are trained in enquiry handling techniques, customer service skills and how to respond to enquiries about our products & services.

As an organisation we respect diversity and do not discriminate on the grounds of sex, marital status, race, colour, creed, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, age or disability. We are an equal opportunity employer.

If a new member of staff answers your enquiry, they are closely monitored & supported by an experienced member of staff.

		We value your feedback and have a clear complaints process.

If you wish to tell us about the experience that you have had with us, please feel free to share your feedback with us at the address below. Your complaint / feedback will be addressed by a Customer Services Manager or a Manager in the relevant unit.

Complaints Managers


North India	Sujata Paul / Ritu Verma	Northindia.feedback@in.britishcouncil.org
East India	Mainak Kanjilal	Eastindia.feedback@in.britishcouncil.org
West India	Pradeep Nambiar	Westindia.feedback@in.britishcouncil.org
South India	Glory Samuel	Southindia.feedback@in.britishcouncil.org

If you are not satisfied with the response you receive and wish to escalate your complaint, you may write to Meetu Arora, Head Customer Services, South Asia at the email address: meetu.arora@in.britishcouncil.org.

In case you would like to address your concern to our office in the UK for an internal investigation, you may write to the British Council Information Centre at the email address: general.enquiries@britishcouncil.org

We will acknowledge the comment or complaint within three days and resolve the complaint within ten working days.