Shopping malls, supermarkets and other retail businesses are encouraged to set up service posts inside their business locations to facilitate the settlement of disputes with consumers, China's industry and commerce regulator said.
The State Administration of Industry and Commerce (SAIC) said it hopes that consumers' rights can be better protected with the establishment of service stations.
Currently, most Chinese consumers have to take their complaints to governmental industrial and commercial departments or consumer associations, a process that wastes valuable time and resources, the regulator said.
Wang Dongfeng, vice minister of SAIC, said the administration has drawn up a guide for the establishment of service stations, specifying that each station should have one or two mediators on hand to deal with customer complaints and disputes.
According to the SAIC, about 200,000 service posts were established across China by the end of last year, with 5.21 million consumer queries and 754,000 filed complaints.
