The Customer Complaints page logs and manages customer complaints, from receipt to resolution and satisfaction, per ISO 17025 §7.9.
| Button | Action |
|---|---|
| Add — Create a new record | |
| Columns — Show/hide table columns | |
| Filters — Open/close the filter panel. A red dot indicates active filters | |
| Export CSV — Download table data as a CSV file | |
| Orientation — Toggle between portrait and landscape printing | |
| Print — Generate a PDF of the current view | |
| Help — Open the help dialog | |
| Search — Quick search through table data |
Clicking the icon on each row shows:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Complaint No. | Unique complaint code. Leave blank for auto-numbering. |
| Complainant | Name or company of the complainant |
| Category | Result Accuracy, Delay, Report Error, Customer Service, Sample Handling or Other |
| Receipt Date | Date the complaint was received |
| Responsible | Person responsible for handling |
| Status | Received, Under Investigation, Resolved or Closed — colour-coded |
| Priority | Critical, High, Medium or Low — colour-coded |
| Resolution Date | Date of final resolution (hidden column) |
| Contact Info | Phone or email contact (hidden column) |
| Response Date | Date of response to the customer (hidden column) |
| Description | Detailed description of the complaint (hidden column) |
| Investigation Findings | Investigation results (hidden column) |
| Actions | Actions taken for resolution (hidden column) |
| Related Reports | Report numbers, comma-separated — they feed the independence check, see below |
| CAPA Reference | Related corrective action code (hidden column) |
| Customer Satisfaction | Whether the customer was satisfied (Yes/No) (hidden column) |
| Notes | Additional remarks (hidden column) |
The Lab Director or Quality Manager can flag a complaint as confidential via a form field visible only to those two roles. When enabled, the complainant's name and contact info are shown masked ("***") to every other role (ISO 17025 §4.2.3).
On a saved complaint a panel shows the four steps the standard asks for. Each step either shows when and by whom it happened, or offers a Stamp button:
| Step | What it means |
|---|---|
| Receipt acknowledged (§7.9.5) | The customer was told the complaint had been received |
| Validated & scope-checked (§7.9.2) | The complaint really does concern a laboratory activity |
| Progress report sent (§7.9.5) | The customer was updated along the way |
| Outcome communicated (§7.9.6-7) | The customer was told the outcome |
The timestamps are stamped by the server at the moment you press — they are not typed, and not back-filled by whoever happens to close the complaint.
The outcome is not announced by just anyone. The standard wants it communicated by someone not involved in the disputed work, and the check runs twice: when the communication is stamped, and again at closure.
Two conflicts block it:
Both are overridable only with a written reason, recorded in the audit trail along with what the conflict was.
That is why Related Reports is not a comment field: it is the check's input. An unknown report number refuses the save rather than being stored as text — a check fed the wrong identities would silently judge nothing.
From the row menu, and where you hold the permission, the pack gives the "nonconformity file" as one PDF: §7.10 nonconforming work, §7.9 the complaint, §8.7 the corrective action and its effectiveness, §7.11.3 audit trail.
The pack is anchored on the source of the nonconformity — a complaint or a deviation. That is why it does not appear on the Corrective Actions page: the corrective action is one of its sections, not its starting point.
Close on a complaint's row (instead of Delete) opens a dialog that requires a mandatory closure reason. A complaint already in Closed status cannot be closed again. Only the Lab Director, Quality Manager or Reviewer can close a complaint (§7.9.6).
Points at — this page does not stand without these: