The opening ceremony of the Consumer Council Services Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui (the Service Centre) was held today (29 December). Benefited from its prime geographical location and enhancement in facilities, this centre is optimized to provide complaints and advice services to tourists and local consumers in a more convenient and timely manner.
The 3-storey Services Centre situated on Ashley Road has undergone renovation that aimed to optimise the use of the available spaces in providing complaints and advice services. Apart from providing extra reception counters for handling walk-in complaints, the newly renovated Services Centre also provides 2 partitioned meeting rooms for dispute reconciliation to protect consumer privacy. In addition, a self-service ticketing machine has been installed to facilitate consumers without an appointment to queue up for their services.
After renovation, the first and second floors of the Services Centre function as the backend offices for handling consumer complaints and enquiries, accommodating over 30 staff of whom some are responsible for answering the complaint hotlines while the others for complaints handling. In addition, the refurbished Services Centre offers a cozy environment for consumers either to read the CHOICE magazine on site or to browse other consumers related information on the tablets provided thereat. To enhance the visibility of the Services Centre, large signage are posted at three prominent positions on its external walls to facilitate consumers to locate the Services Centre.
At the opening ceremony, the Chairman of the Council, Professor Wong Yuk San, said, “The Tsim Sha Tsui Services Centre is situated in a shopping hub and the opening of the Services Centre will undoubtedly make it more convenient for tourists as well as local consumers to seek the Council’s help whenever they come across any consumer disputes.”.
This Services Centre was previously the Consumer Advice Centre that had started operation since the building was completed in 2001, on top of its core functions in handling complaints and consumer enquiries, the Centre also supported consumer education. However, the Centre had not undergone any refurbishment for almost two decades, and the deterioration of its facilities and installations had rendered a renovation necessary for meeting the demands of its daily operation. After detailed study, the Council decided to dedicate the Advice Centre into a key Services Centre in Kowloon region for handling complaints and consumer enquiries, while the Education Division originally stationed in the Centre had been relocated to the Council's Headquarters at North Point without affecting its normal operation.
The Council’s statistics showed that walk-in complaints made at Advice Centres in each district were 4,146 and 3,944 cases respectively in 2016 and 2017, representing 16% of around 25,000 complaint cases each year. The Council currently operates a total of 7 Consumer Advice/Services Centres across Hong Kong. Apart from the Services Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui, other Advice Centres are located at North Point, Cheung Sha Wan, Wong Tai Sin, Sha Tin, Tsuen Wan and Yuen Long. Consumers can lodge their complaints in person, or through the Council's hotlines, e-form and by post or fax.
The officiating guests include Prof. Wong Yuk Shan, SBS, BBS, JP, Chairman of Consumer Council; Mr. Samuel Chan Ka Yan, JP, Vice-Chairman of Consumer Council; Prof. Michael Hui King Man, MH (Co-opted Member), Convenor of Working Group on Office Premise Accommodation and Enhancement Projects; Ms. Gilly Wong Fung Han, Chief Executive of Consumer Council.
The refurbished Services Centre offers a cozy environment for consumers either to read the CHOICE magazine on site or to browse other consumers related information on the tablets provided there.