Treat police officers, doctors and bank tellers as people working by the rules of their jobs, not as roles: what moves things forward is paperwork and deadlines, not emotion

Cost

Free. What changes is your expectations and the order of your actions. The first time, you have to resist the urge to argue until the other side agrees.

What you get

Change how you deal with institutions: from “begging, getting angry and repeating your grievance over and over” to “getting paperwork, noting deadlines and using the appeal channel.” What you save is the time of repeated communication and replaying it in your head. This is a one-time change of outlook, not something that saves time every day. What you can check against are the deadlines themselves, which are written in documents. For public security cases, the time limit for handling is no more than 30 days from the day the case is accepted; for major or complex cases, it can be extended by 30 days with approval from the public security organ at the next level up. For cases with a complainant where the decision is not to open a case, the notice of decision not to open a case must be delivered within 3 days. The complainant can apply for reconsideration within 7 days, and the public security organ makes a decision within 30 days. If you do not accept it, apply to the next level up for review within another 7 days.

Notes

The reason it is graded C: the judgment that “many people treat the person behind the counter as a role rather than as someone at work” has no literature to cite. Only the rules half can be cited: deadlines, paperwork and remedies are all written down. All the numbers cited in this item come from the two Ministry of Public Security (公安部) regulations in §8.39 (what happens after you report to the police). Following the process cannot fix “the other side has a bad attitude,” and it does not guarantee success; it changes only your expectations and your first move. Bank tellers and government service windows are the same: their operations leave a trail, get reviewed, and they are held accountable for mistakes. So what to do is keep slips, ask for receipts and complain through the proper channel, instead of guessing at random whether “he will screw me over.” Lawful priorities are all stated openly, for example the emergency room triages by severity of condition, not first come first served (§24.7, emergency triage). If you want to thank a doctor who saved you, use a thank-you letter and a satisfaction rating; see §24.11. Trying to “send a little something so they take more care” is, for someone who handles cases or enforces the law, the crime of bribery, and one with an explicit heavier penalty; see §8.40. When you meet clearly unequal treatment, that is a matter for complaints and oversight, not an unwritten rule to imitate.

Evidence grade

C : The author's experience or common practice, without direct literature.

Sources

1. Ministry of Public Security (2020). Provisions on the Procedures for Handling Criminal Cases by Public Security Organs [in Chinese] (as amended by Ministry of Public Security Order No. 159; Articles 171, 178 and 179). http://www.gov.cn/gongbao/content/2020/content_5549884.htm
2. Ministry of Public Security (2013, amended 2019). Provisions on the Procedures for Handling Administrative Cases by Public Security Organs [in Chinese] (Ministry of Public Security Orders No. 125 and No. 149). http://www.gov.cn/gongbao/content/2013/content_2321117.htm

Translated from the Chinese original. Original book, section 3, tip 19. Content may be out of date and rules differ by place. When you actually deal with an agency, a doctor or a court, follow what local officials, doctors and lawyers tell you. Disclaimer