Monday, January 24, 2011

Update: Floods- unprecedented complaint handling skills

ABC Reported: "Kerang and Warracknabeal are in uncharted territory, with floods like this never seen since European settlement. A lack of historical data is causing difficulties for authorities, unable to pinpoint the timing of record flows in at-risk towns."

ABC's Matt Brown offers these comments in explanation, and perhaps an example of ABCs thicker skin when it comes to responding to complaints, to which we offer three cheers! A truly unprecedented complaint response, perhaps Matt can provide Audience and Consumer Affairs some training.

Mon, Jan 24, 2011 at 4:26 PM
subject-RE: euro settlement: C2627-11 Draft Response
Dear Marc,
Thanks for your correspondence regarding our coverage of the Victorian floods, in particular the floods experienced in Kerang and Warracknabeal.
I agree the line you refer to,
"Kerang and Warracknabeal are in uncharted territory, with floods like this never seen since European settlement."
was a bit over the top and should have been written differently. We’ve been told the river heights in this area were the highest on record but I note we’ve also mentioned in this article that the historical records are patchy at best.
I’ll mention it to our online team.
Yours sincerely,
Matt Brown
Day Editor
ABC News Victoria



Mon, Jan 24, 2011 at 5:05 PM
subject Re: euro settlement: C2627-11
Thanks Matt,
I trust an editorial note will be added to the story. Do you mind me posting your reply at ABC NEWS WATCH? By the way is this an example of ABC's revised complaints process and "thicker skins" in action? If so it's an improvement on the previous method.
Regards
Marc Hendrickx

Mon, Jan 24, 2011 at 5:13 PM
I have asked for the sentence in question to be removed.
As long as it’s a complete reproduction, I have no problem in you posting my response.
I’m not sure if there’s been a change in our complaints process but I’m glad you found it satisfactory.
Cheers,
Matt



Score +1

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