Complaints
Complaints Procedure
How a complaint reaches an impartial review, and when a written answer follows.
What Counts as a Complaint
This policy covers complaints and appeals alike, and both are welcome.
The word complaint covers any expression of dissatisfaction with a service arranged through cmmcalibrationstlouis.com, or with a certificate or report issued in connection with one. The word appeal covers reconsideration of a decision already taken — a statement of conformity, the rejection of an item at review, or the outcome of an earlier complaint.
Each is handled under this policy, and a complaint is read as evidence about the process rather than as a nuisance.
Last revised September 21, 2026.
Making a Complaint
Complaints and appeals go through the contact page. The contact details for the desk that receives them are listed there.
It helps to include the quotation or certificate number, the item concerned and the date of the work, what was expected and what occurred, and the outcome sought — but a complaint is accepted in any form, and acknowledgement is not delayed by a missing reference number.
How a Complaint Is Handled
Three (3) business days is the acknowledgement period for a complaint.
The complaint is recorded and validated, then investigated by a person who took no part in the work being complained about — impartiality is structural here rather than promised. Where the work was performed by an external laboratory, that laboratory is engaged in parallel and its findings form part of the response.
Twenty (20) business days from acknowledgement is the commitment for a written response setting out the findings, the decision and any corrective action. Where an investigation needs longer, an interim response explains why and gives a revised date. The evidence is gathered and verified, and the outcome decided, by people with the competence to judge the technical question at issue.
Appealing the Outcome
Thirty (30) days from the response is the window for an appeal where the outcome is not accepted. Someone who took no part in the original decision reviews it, and the appeal decision is issued with reasons within twenty (20) business days.
Where an accredited laboratory performed the work and the matter remains unresolved, it may be escalated to that laboratory's accreditation body.
Records and Fairness
Records of complaints, appeals, investigations and outcomes are kept and retained, and they are reviewed periodically for patterns that point to a systemic cause. Corrective actions run to closure and their effectiveness is checked once they are closed.
No customer is disadvantaged for raising a complaint or an appeal, and the handling of other work is not affected by it. See the quality system page for the management arrangements this process sits inside.