For most citizens the consumers' complaint hotline serves as an important vehicle for redress.

The hotline, 12315, in Guangzhou, capital of South China's Guangdong Province, received 234,094 complaints last year, but not all concerned the rights of consumers. Many were about the attitude of the staff.

"Some staff lack good manners," said Wu Xiangming, who works in a dye company in the city.

Wu called the hotline last week when his goods were not delivered on time by a local logistics company.

"A woman received my call, speaking in very low voice. When I asked her to speak louder, she hung up on me," Wu said.

He called the hotline again, but was not able to get through.

Wu is not alone. A Guangzhou-based non-governmental website www.315ts.net, that offers help to consumers, has also received numerous complaints about the hotline's service.

"Consumers who seek help from 12315 are often not satisfied with its service, so they turn to us for help," Lin Hanzhong, a staff member of the website, told China Daily.

A local resident surnamed Zhong also recently complained about the hotline's service to a top official from the Guangzhou Administration for Industry and Commerce, which runs the hotline.

Zhong went to an office of the hotline in Baiyun District last month for help after she found problems with some chairs she had bought.

"Staff there would not tell me how to seek compensation from the company. They told me in a rude manner to ask for help from other organizations," Zhong said.

Editor: Yan