Complaints
Complaints and Appeals
What counts as a complaint, what counts as an appeal, and the time each one is answered in.
What This Covers
Complaints are welcome here, and so are appeals. Both are covered, and the difference between them matters.
- Complaint. Any expression of dissatisfaction with a service arranged through cmmcalibrationkansascity.com, or with a certificate or report issued in connection with one.
- Appeal. Reconsideration of a decision already taken: a statement of conformity, the rejection of an item at review, or the outcome of an earlier complaint.
This policy governs the handling of both, and a complaint is read as evidence about the process, not as a nuisance.
Version of 2026-09-21.
Where to Send It
Use the contact page to raise a complaint or an appeal; it lists the contact details for the desk that receives them.
What helps:
- the quotation or certificate number
- the item concerned, and the date of the work
- what was expected, and what occurred
- the outcome sought
Complaints are accepted in any form, and acknowledgement is never delayed by a missing reference number.
What Happens Next
Receipt is acknowledged within three (3) business days.
The complaint is then recorded, validated, and investigated by a person who was not involved in the work being complained about, so that the review is impartial. Where the work was performed by an external laboratory, the matter is raised with that laboratory in parallel and its findings form part of the response.
Within twenty (20) business days of acknowledgement, a written response is issued setting out the findings, the decision, and any corrective action. Where an investigation needs longer than that, an interim response is issued explaining why and giving a revised date. Gathering and verifying the evidence, and deciding the outcome, are done by people with the competence to judge the technical question at issue.
If the Outcome Is Not Accepted
Outcomes that are not accepted may be appealed within thirty (30) days of the response. The appeal is reviewed by someone who took no part in the original decision, and the decision on it is issued with reasons within twenty (20) business days.
Where an accredited laboratory performed the work, a matter still unresolved after that may be escalated to that laboratory's accreditation body.
Records and Fairness
Every complaint, appeal, investigation and outcome is recorded and retained. Reviews of the record happen periodically, looking for patterns that point to a systemic cause, and corrective actions are tracked to closure with effectiveness checked afterwards.
No customer is disadvantaged for raising a complaint or an appeal, and other work is handled no differently for it. The quality system page describes the management arrangements around this process.