When a complaint arrives, here's exactly what to do.

Step 1 — Triage within 1 working day

Within 1 working day of receipt, classify the complaint into one of these buckets:

Bucket determines who owns it and how fast it must resolve. Don't combine buckets. If a customer's email contains both warranty + contract dispute, split into 2 cases.

Step 2 — Acknowledge within 24 hours

Whatever the bucket, send a confirmation reply within 24 hours. Template:

Hi [name],

We've received your message at [timestamp] and logged it as
case #[YYYY-MM-DD-001].

Bucket: [A/B/C/D/E]
Owner: [name]
Target resolution: [date]

We will reply with the outcome by [date]. If you have urgent
additional context, send it now to this email.

— [Owner name]
Wallbed by Design 牆床·度身設計
+852 4423 7445

Even bucket-A SLA credits get this acknowledgment. The "we received it" is itself a trust signal.

Step 3 — Investigate (proportional to bucket)

• Bucket A (SLA): verify the claimed missed pledge against logs (WhatsApp timestamps, contract dates). If true, pay the credit immediately. If disputed, document why and offer the customer the dispute pathway.
• Bucket B (warranty): on-site visit within 5 working days. Bring tools, replacement parts for common items. Document what was found in the warranty register.
• Bucket C (contract): read the original contract clause. If we breached, fix it (refund / re-do / credit). If the customer misread the clause, explain in plain language with the contract text quoted. Don't be defensive.
• Bucket D (rights violation): founder reviews personally. If a Bill-of-Rights violation actually happened, this is the most serious category — fix immediately, document for the "what we got wrong" page, and email customer with the correction.
• Bucket E (public record): involve counsel. Don't reply directly without legal review. The published dispute pathway commits us to participating in good faith — follow that.

Step 4 — Resolution + closing email

Send a written closure with: (1) what we found, (2) what we're doing about it, (3) what the customer can do if they disagree.

Hi [name],

Following up on case #[id] from [date].

What we found:
- [Specifics. Don't sanitize.]

What we're doing:
- [Action. Date.]
- [If credit/refund: amount + payment date]

If you disagree with this resolution:
- Reply to this email — we'll re-open the case.
- If we still disagree, the Consumer Council pathway is at
  https://wallbed-hk.com/trust.html#disputes
  HK Consumer Council hotline: 2929 2222

Either way, thank you for telling us.

— [Owner name]
Wallbed by Design 牆床·度身設計

Step 5 — Document for the public record (if applicable)

If the case revealed a real mistake on our part:

1. Add an entry to the next quarterly review of /trust.html "what we got wrong" with the year + sanitized description + policy change.
2. If the case caused a process change, update the relevant policy page (warranty, contract, materials, etc).
3. If the case revealed an SLA pledge that's hard to meet, consider whether the SLA should be revised — but only after at least 2 similar cases. One-off failures don't justify policy changes.
4. Update /transparency-report.html with: count of complaints by bucket, median resolution time, public-record escalations. Once a year.

Tracking spreadsheet schema

| Case ID         | Received       | Customer initial | Bucket | Owner | Acknowledged   | Resolved        | Resolution         | Public-record? |
|-----------------|----------------|------------------|--------|-------|----------------|-----------------|--------------------|-----------------|
| 2026-05-12-001 | 2026-05-12 14:22 | Mr W            | A      | F     | 2026-05-12 18:45 | 2026-05-12 19:00 | HKD 200 credit Stage 3 | No             |
| 2026-05-15-002 | 2026-05-15 10:00 | Ms L            | B      | I     | 2026-05-15 16:30 | 2026-05-19 11:00 | Latch retorqued, no charge | No         |
| 2026-06-03-003 | 2026-06-03 09:15 | Dr C            | C      | F     | 2026-06-03 12:00 | 2026-06-09 17:30 | Contract clause clarified, no $ change | Yes — added to "what we got wrong" |

For 2027 transparency report this spreadsheet generates the audited complaint-resolution metrics. Without tracking, we can't publish the median time.

What NOT to do

• Don't ignore complaints to "see if they go away". Customers escalating to Consumer Council always do so after a non-response — silence is what triggers escalation. Acknowledgment within 24 hours is the cheapest insurance you have.
• Don't argue the published commitments. The SLA, Bill of Rights, contract are public. If a customer cites a clause, we either deliver on it or document why we're missing it. Disputing the published commitment in private undermines the trust system.
• Don't offer "off the books" deals. Whatever resolution we reach goes in writing. Verbal-only agreements are how trust collapses 6 months later.
• Don't NDA the customer in exchange for resolution. If we screwed up, the customer is allowed to talk about it. NDAs around complaint resolution are a red flag and we don't use them.
• Don't retaliate. If a customer leaves a negative Google review, we never refuse warranty service or future business in retaliation. That's a Bill-of-Rights violation in itself.