Policies and reports

Standards of service / Ìrean Seirbheis

Tha an susbaint seo ri fhaighinn sa Ghàidhlig

Leugh ann an Gàidhlig

At National Museums Scotland, we aim to ensure that all our visitors receive a high standard of service.

To promptly leave feedback or make a complaint, fill out our online contact form. 

Find out more information about our feedback and complaints procedures below. 

On this page

Our commitments

As part of our standards of service, we will:

  • Answer telephone calls within 30 seconds
  • Respond to letters and emails within five working days (excluding weekends)
  • Provide a simple and effective complaints procedure, designed to solve problems promptly, and to improve our services. 

Feedback procedure

If you wish to give us feedback rather than make a complaint, we welcome all comments and suggestions as they offer us the opportunity to pass on thanks to staff or to improve our services.

What is feedback?

We welcome comments from visitors and users. Please tell us if you:

  • Have particularly enjoyed your visit
  • Have suggestions for improving our services or facilities
  • Feel that we have not come up to standard.

We will try wherever possible to resolve any issues. However, it may also be necessary for us to pass on the feedback to a relevant person or team within the organisation.

How to give feedback

In person

If you are on site at one of our museums, please speak to a member of the Visitor Experience team. 

Online

You can: 

By phone

You can contact us by phone on:

  • 0300 123 6789 (seven days a week, 10:00 - 17:00)

By post

You can write to us at: 

Head of Visitor Experience
National Museums Scotland
Chambers Street
Edinburgh EH1 1JF

What happens next?

Your feedback will be acknowledged by us. If you have submitted your feedback in writing and requested a response we will get back to you within five working days. 

Complaints procedure

If something goes wrong or you are dissatisfied with our services, please tell us. 

What is a complaint?

We regard a complaint as any expression of dissatisfaction about our action or lack of action, or about the standard of service provided by us or on our behalf.

Who can complain?

Anyone can make a complaint to us, including the representative of someone who is dissatisfied with our service.

What can I complain about?

You can complain about things like:

  • Delays in responding to your enquiries and requests
  • Our standard of service
  • Our policy
  • Actions of a member of staff
  • Our failure to follow proper procedure.

Your complaint may also involve more than one service or be about someone working on our behalf.

What can't I complain about?

There are some things we can’t deal with through our complaints handling procedure. These include:

  • A routine first-time request for a service
  • Requests for compensation
  • Any attempt to reopen a previously concluded complaint or to have a complaint reconsidered where we have already given our final response.

If other procedures or rights of appeal can help you resolve your concerns, we will give information and advice to help you.

How long do I have to make a complaint?

Normally, you must make your complaint within six months of:

  • The event you want to complain about
  • Finding out that you have a reason to complain, but no longer than 12 months after the event itself.

In exceptional circumstances, we may be able to accept a complaint after the time limit. If you feel that the time limit should not apply to your complaint, please tell us.

How do I complain?

It is easier for us to resolve complaints if you make them quickly and directly to the staff concerned. So please talk to a member of our staff about the service you are complaining about.

Then they can try to resolve any problems on the spot.

When making your complaint, please provide the following details: 

  • Your full name and address
  • As much information as you can about the complaint
  • What you think has gone wrong
  • How you would like us to resolve the matter.

In person

You can complain in person at any of our museums to any member of staff, but not to volunteers or contractors. 

Online

You can: 

By phone

You can contact us by phone on: 

  • 0300 123 6789 (seven days a week, 10:00 - 17:00)

By post

You can write to us at: 

Head of Visitor Experience
National Museums Scotland
Chambers Street
Edinburgh EH1 1JF

Getting help to make your complaint

We understand that you may be unable, or reluctant, to make a complaint yourself. 

We accept complaints from the representative of a person who is dissatisfied with our service. We can take complaints from a friend, relative, or an advocate, if you have given them your consent to complain for you.

We are committed to making our service easy to use for all members of the community. In line with our statutory equalities duties, we will always ensure that reasonable adjustments are made to help customers access and use our services. 

If you have trouble putting your complaint in writing or want this information in another language or format (such as large print, audio or Braille), please tell us in person or telephone or email us. 

Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance

You can find out about advocates in your area by contacting the Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance. 

Get in touch by: 

Child Friendly Complaints  

All complaints affecting any child will be handled in a way that meets all of their rights under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNRC).  

This includes complaints raised directly by a child, as well as complaints raised by an adult, either on a child’s behalf, or about matters that affect a child. 

Scottish Public Service Ombudsmen (SPSO) Child Friendly Complaints guidance will be adhered to when this applies. 

What happens next?

We will always tell you who is dealing with your complaint. 

Our complaints procedure has two stages:

  • Stage 1: Frontline resolution
  • Stage 2: Review. 

Stage 1: Frontline resolution

We aim to resolve complaints quickly and close to where we provided the service to which the complaint relates. 

This could mean, for example: 

  • An explanation of the issue in question
  • Or an on-the-spot apology and explanation if something has clearly gone wrong, and immediate action to resolve the problem.

We will give you our decision at Stage 1 within five working days (i.e. Monday to Friday) or less, unless there are exceptional circumstances.

If we can’t resolve your complaint at this stage, we will explain why and tell you what you can do next. We might suggest that you take your complaint to Stage 2. You may choose to do this immediately or sometime after you receive our initial decision.

Stage 2: Review

Stage 2 deals with two types of complaint: 

  • Those that have not been resolved at Stage 1
  • Those that are complex and require further detailed review.

When using Stage 2 we will:

  • Acknowledge receipt of your complaint within three working days
  • Where appropriate, discuss your complaint with you to understand why you remain dissatisfied and what outcome you are looking for
  • Give you a full response to the complaint as soon as possible and within 20 working days (i.e. Monday to Friday).

If our investigation will take longer than 20 working days, we will tell you. We will explain the revised time limits and keep you updated on progress.

What if I'm still dissatisfied? 

After we have fully investigated, if you are still dissatisfied with our response or the way we dealt with your complaint, you can ask the SPSO to consider it.

The SPSO will not normally consider:

  • A complaint that has not completed our complaints procedure
  • Events that happened, or that you became aware of, more than a year ago
  • A matter that has been or is being considered in court.

Visit the SPSO website to learn more about how to contact them. 

Complaints Handling report

Our Complaints Handling report can be provided in Gaelic on request. Please complete our contact form to request a copy of the report.