Complaints procedure for visitors and workshops

This complaints procedure covers everything related to drop-ins, using the workshop (including by appointment), and workshops. Complaints about the conduct of staff, instructors, or volunteers also fall under this procedure.

You can email your complaint to klachten@the-owls-nest.nl. Prefer to send a letter? Address your mail to:

The Owl’s Nest
For the attention of Complaints Committee
P.O. Box 9633
2003 LP Haarlem

Is your message about a typo or an improvement to the website? Please email info@the-owls-nest.nl.

Urgent or safety-related: report it on site

Is there immediate danger, or does something need to be stopped right away? Please report it on site to a staff member or someone from the core team. Examples include:

a faulty machine, a malfunction, or unexplained behaviour,
missing safety guards, an unsafe setup, or hazardous wiring,
unsafe behaviour by a visitor, staff member, instructor, or volunteer,
injury or a near-miss, leakage, (glass) shards, dropping something, or spills,
hazardous substances without proper precautions,
theft or missing items,
discrimination, boundary-crossing behaviour, or something unpleasant that was not noticed (right away) by a staff member, volunteer, or instructor.

Can’t report it on site anymore? Emailing or calling afterwards is better than not reporting it at all. We can still take measures (for example: take a machine out of service, warn others, or arrange follow-up).

What we need from you

To be able to pick up your complaint, it helps if you include:

your name (or “anonymous” if you prefer),
email and/or phone number (only if you want a response),
date (and preferably the time),
location,
a short description plus your request (what went wrong and what you expect from us),
your preferred way of responding (email or phone).

Reporting anonymously

You can submit a complaint anonymously. We will still take it seriously and can take measures where possible, but without contact details we cannot provide feedback, coordinate next steps, or offer compensation if that would be applicable in a specific situation.

Photos, video and evidence

You may attach photos or video if it helps. We ask you not to send images in which people are recognisable, unless recognisability is truly necessary for the complaint. If recognisable footage is relevant, mention in your complaint that you have it. We will then assess whether it is needed and may ask you to provide it through a safeguarded method (for example via a USB stick or a secure connection), so it does not get distributed unnecessarily by email.

How we handle complaints

We generally pick up complaints within 2 business days. If you send your complaint by post, we allow up to one working week from the date we receive it. How quickly we can resolve a complaint depends on what it is and what is practically possible. For example, a defect cannot always be fixed immediately due to delivery times or the availability of a technician. In those cases, we still take measures as soon as possible, such as taking equipment out of service and putting up a warning.

In broad strokes, we do the following:

we confirm receipt and read your complaint carefully,
if needed, we ask for clarification (if you left contact details),
we investigate what happened and what measures are appropriate,
we let you know what we did or are going to do (if you want a response),
where relevant, we translate lessons learned into improvements to our working method, maintenance, or house rules.

Who reads your complaint?

Complaints are handled by the core team and stay internal. We do not forward complaints to external parties such as maintenance companies. If technical follow-up is needed (repair, inspection), we arrange that without sharing unnecessary personal data.

Instructors and volunteers do not get access to the complaint contents. The core team may address them or give a concrete instruction (for example to pay extra attention to something, or to adjust a procedure), without sharing details that are not necessary.

Complaints about conduct: hearing both sides

If a complaint concerns the conduct of a staff member, instructor, or volunteer, we ensure it is not handled by the directly involved person. Where appropriate, we hold a conversation with those involved in the presence of someone from the core team who was not involved in the situation. Depending on the situation, an external, independent person may also join as an extra safeguard. If a joint conversation is not desired or not suitable, we speak with the parties separately (hearing both sides) and record the agreements or measures that follow.

Minors

Minors can submit a complaint themselves. In addition, a parent or guardian may also submit a complaint. If someone finds that helpful, a parent or guardian can support the process or (with consent) communicate alongside the minor. We align our feedback with what the minor wants and what fits the situation.

Privacy

A complaint may contain personal data. How we store and secure data is described in Privacy for visitors and workshops. For privacy questions or GDPR requests, please email privacy@the-owls-nest.nl.

Complaints email

Submit a complaint about drop-ins, using the workshop, or workshops.

klachten@the-owls-nest.nl

Privacy for visitors and workshops

Which data we request and how long we keep it for workshop use and workshops.

Privacy

House rules

Calm, respect and safety in the workshop.

House rules

Community workshop – The Owl’s Nest