How to Leave Controller Feedback

[Tony Jeppesen]

Yesterday we received some feedback from a controller from another ARTCC that lets just say was less than positive.  I'm all about leaving feedback and receiving it as an ATM.  As an ATM its one of my best tools to see what pilots are experiencing from my controllers.  However there is a point negative feedback can be taken to far, here is a list of things I think about before I click submit on the feedback form.

Things to consider before pressing that submit button on the feedback form:

Did the controller get me where I was going with no or minimal delay and without conflict?

Was their attitude professional and positive?

Is the controller a student working on a rating and therefore made some mistakes?

If the experience was negative what facts do I have to present in my feedback? How can I deliver that in a positive manner?

Is my feedback going to help the controller and the ARTCC as whole to improve my experience while flying there?

Did I have fun?

There is most likely many more questions you could ask yourself prior to leaving feedback.  We need to remember that 99 percent of us here are amateurs who do this for fun and as a hobby and we are bound to make mistakes; especially because if your like me and you spend 8 hours a day at your real job, at school or doing our real world daily lives.  We do not control 8 hours a day 5 days a week as a real world controller so to expect perfection is surely to be a disappointment for you.

As an ATM my message to all is I welcome, and encourage all feedback whether it be positive or negative.  I need the feedback its one of my most valuable tools.

Leaving feedback that reflects an attitude of arrogance, mean, hurtful, or is a flat out personal attack on someone is never welcomed or helpful.  So I ask think before you click submit, I want your feedback I just want it to help not hinder.

[Tom Seeley]

Is my feedback going to help the controller and the ARTCC as whole to improve my experience while flying there?

Really, that's the one that should be first and foremost, in my opinion. Are you providing feedback with positive intentions, or just sniping? We've always held that realism is a good thing within limits, but as Tony mentioned, there are those who are striving to learn, and please ... who among us didn't make mistakes when we were learning?

Let's try to keep it constructive.

[Camden Bruno]

Tony,

Great post and i'd like to echo your thoughts with a few other points. I too have always relied on feedback as an extremely valuable tool to ensure that pilots are receiving quality air traffic control from someone with a positive, friendly, and helpful attitude. That said, I agree on all counts that bashing a controller via feedback is NOT the point. The point to providing feedback is to either:

1. Complement a controller on their fantastic service and use the feedback as a sense of recognition
2. Give negative feedback, which will in turn provide the administration of the ARTCC a chance to develop upon a specific (or group of) controller(s) skills. We all get frustrated at times, however, this does not mean you use feedback as an opportunity to vent all of your feelings. Think of it as constructive; as a chance to help the controller hone their skills and improve overall.

Expanding on this, I too received feedback from a controller (who was also a staff member) of another ARTCC a couple months back in which the individual bashed not only a group of controllers but my ARTCC overall. Additionally, this individual left the feedback on a public forum, not via our feedback system. I want to point out that the feedback system is there for a reason, as are our emails. I personally think that in this situation it would've been WAY more appropriate and professional to email me personally to inform me of the situation that occurred and try to organize a way to solve it for the future rather than publicly venting and disrespecting people and an organization.

There's a level of professionalism we must uphold and I believe in situations similar to these, that level has not been met. As Tony stated, think before you click the submit button.

Thanks,

[Rick Rump]

Feedback is a learning and monitoring tool. If it is not being used as such on both ends then why take the time to submit it. This is honestly my biggest qualm with leaving feedback, in the last eight I have left I have gotten one response. When I get acceptable feedback, someone responds whether the feedback was negative or positive.
My thoughts on feedback I leave and with that feedback I like to see (in no particular order):

1) Feedback should be constructive and as detailed as necessary for the betterment of the person whom the feedback is directed to. This is especially true to student's training on a position, that is a time to probably be more detailed so the results can be best discussed with the student.
2) The feedback should be in a neutral tone, in a manner such that you are writing it as an observer/report.
3) Is the feedback necessary?
i.e., is the negative or positive something that arises to the level of it being made aware of the the staff. For instance, feedback because someone gave a proper RNAV approach clearance would in my opinion fail to meet this, just like a student making a minor error would. To that end, if the error affects my fun to the point I am not having fun I would leave the feedback; Conversely if the great controlling makes the experience better, I most certainly would leave the feedback.

[Colin Schoen]

Well said, Tony.