A hall user complains that there is a potential risk of accident in the hall due to a carpet not being secured down:
- A couple of the trustees carry out an assessment of the risk and decide on a course of action to recommend to remove the risk. The next meeting of the trustees considers the recommendation, agree the action necessary and minute that this has been done
- The trustees play down the issue because the person concerned is known to be a trouble maker and the matter is so minor it does not warrant further consideration
- The trustees agree that something needs to be done urgently as they do not want this reported to a higher authority at the county council which might prejudice their licence.
Any complaint from a hall user should be taken seriously, even if the person involved is a serial complainer! As irritating as these people can be their comments have to be followed up to see if there is any foundation to their complaint because, if there is, something needs to be done. Option 2 is never the right course of action.
Option 3 implies a degree of panic and 'knee jerk' reaction driven by fear of the 'authorities'. Doing something quickly, and at any cost, to stop someone from taking the matter further is not really sensible either.
One could ask why it needed a complaint to discover this potential hazard! If the hall was properly managed then surely this should have been noted and dealt with before it became an issue. Life in a village hall is not always like that is it? Sometimes you need the feed back from users of any issues, possibly because it has just happened and no trustee has had the chance to notice it. Maybe it is not obvious there is a hazard unless you are engaged in a particular activity (eg: you may not realise stacked chairs along the side of the hall are a problem until you are playing badminton!). The other point is that many all eyes see things differently and what might be missed by one person may be picked up by another.
Option 1 is the correct procedure UNLESS the situation presents a real danger and immediate action is needed. The important things are to assess the risk, agree reasonable precautions if necessary, minute this and agree corporately on the action to be taken. It is also a good idea to give feedback to the person who originated the complaint so that the loop is closed and the matter resolved to everyone's satisfaction.