Back then I was a Head of Department of Early Childhood, an Acting Early Childhood and Primary School Principal and a Primary School Principal in international and national schools in Indonesia, I used to handle complaints from parents.
I succeeded in softening the complaints by listening their complaints attentively and then waiting until they (parents) finished talking. After that I would say, "I am sorry about that". Then I promised them to find out what caused it to happen and then to get back to them as soon as possible to sort out all the problems. I also encouraged them to complaint to me if they were not happy with the results or conditions that occurred during that time.
To cut a long story short, I could reduce complaints that occured or might occur by delivering what I promised to them (parents), making myself available to listen to their complaints respectfully and solving the problems that occurred as soon as possible.
©Tina Adi