Purpose
The purpose of this procedure is to outline the protocol available to escalate a response and the action needed to resolve a situation in the event that a City of Toronto Division, designated Agency, Board or Commission, or member of the vendor community have a complaint.

Acting as the Purchasing Agent for the City of Toronto, the Purchasing & Materials Management Division (PMMD) provides accurate and timely services to the City of Toronto Divisions and designated Agencies, Boards and Commissions as well as to the vendor community. The PMMD strives to provide excellent customer service. However, should an individual have a complaint regarding the level of service provided, they should follow the Complaints Handling Procedure summarized below.

For the purpose of this procedure, a complaint can be about one or more of the following categories:

To assist in defining a complaint and to provide clarity, a customer complaint is distinct from the following:

This procedure addresses the handling of complaints and is separate from other processes relating to handling enquiries, feedback, compliments and suggestions.

To provide further clarification, some complaints are exempt from this procedure and include the following:

These requirements and deadlines apply both to Divisions that provide external, customer service and to Divisions that provide internal, client support. The Purchasing and Materials Management division provides both internal and external customer service and this procedure applies to both scenarios.

Jacquie Breen, Manager, Corporate Purchasing Policy & Quality Assurance
Purchasing and Materials Management Division
Corporate Purchasing Policy & Quality Assurance Section
18th Floor, West Tower, City Hall
Toronto, Ontario M5H 2N2
Telephone: 416-392-0387
Email: jbreen@toronto.ca

and

Felix Di Brina, Supervisor, Policy, Training & Technology
Purchasing and Materials Management Division
Corporate Purchasing Policy & Quality Assurance Section
18th Floor, West Tower, City Hall
Toronto, Ontario M5H 2N2
Telephone: 416-392-1305
Email: fdibrin@toronto.ca

5. After a complaint has been received by the Manager, Corporate Purchasing Policy & Quality Assurance and the Supervisor, Policy, Training & Technology, it will be forwarded to the appropriate staff member within the Corporate Purchasing Policy & Quality Assurance Section to be logged in, in the Complaints Handling Database.

6. Once the complaint has been logged into the Complaints Handling Database, a tracking number will be provided to the complainant for future reference.

7. A review of the complaint will be made to determine which service area of PMMD the issue of concern relates to.

8. A formal internal request will be sent to the respective PMMD Section Manager asking that they investigate the complaint and provide a formal written reply to the individual within 10 business days.

9. The Section Manager responsible for responding to the complaint will copy the designated Corporate Purchasing Policy & Quality Assurance staff from whom they received the request, and in addition will copy the Manager, Corporate Purchasing Policy & Quality Assurance, and the Supervisor, Policy Training & Technology on their response so that this information can be logged into the Complaints Handling Database Log for accurate recording that the complaint has been addressed, and to ensure the data is maintained for future reporting.

10. The following five (5) management staff will be contacted where appropriate about any complaint as it relates to their respective area of service and expertise:

John McNamara
Manager. Purchasing ~ Goods & Services

David Ferguson
Manager, Purchasing ~ Construction Services

Victor Tryl
Manager, Purchasing ~ Professional Services

John Farrell
Manager, Materials Management & Stores

Jacquie Breen
Manager, Corporate Purchasing Policy & Quality Assurance

11. Every effort will be made to ensure that a written reply to any complaint will be made within 10 business days (where operationally feasible and provided all records needed to obtain the facts about the complaint can be acquired within this period of time to effectively respond to the complainant).

12. If for whatever reason the necessary files to investigate the complaint can not be obtained and a response provided to the complainant within the 10 day period, i.e. files need to be retrieved from archives, and it has been determined that an additional period of time is required to effective respond, then a written response to the individual who filed the complaint must be provided by the respective responding PMMD Manager notifying the complainant of why an extension is required and to provide them with a proposed date that a response to their complaint will be provided.

A copy this reply should be provided to the designated Corporate Purchasing Policy & Quality Assurance staff from whom they received the complaint, and in addition, the Manager, Corporate Purchasing Policy & Quality Assurance, and the Supervisor, Policy Training & Technology to ensure that this information is logged into the Complaints Handling Database Log for record and reporting purposes.

Once the complaint has been fully investigated and a reply has been prepared by the appropriate PMMD Manager, a copy of the reply should be sent to the designated Corporate Purchasing Policy & Quality Assurance staff member from whom the request was received, and in addition to the Manager, Corporate Purchasing Policy & Quality Assurance, and the Supervisor, Policy Training & Technology to ensure that Complaints Handling Database Log has been updated to reflect that the complaint has been address and fully resolved.

13. Should the individual who filed the complaint be dissatisfied with the response received from the respective PMMD Section Manager relating to the issue at hand, a reply from the individual indicating their satisfaction, along with a copy of original complaint should be forwarded to Lou Pagano, Director of Purchasing and Materials Management for his review.

14. A final response from the Director of Purchasing and Materials Management will be provided within 10 business days or sooner, where operationally feasible.

Forms

Contacts
Should you have any questions please contact the Purchasing and Materials Management Division. In the event that further interpretation is required, please contact the Manager, Corporate Purchasing Policy & Quality Assurance at 416-392-0387 or Supervisor, Policy, Training & Technology at 416-392-1305.