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Mumbai:
Is customer service getting better or worse? Despite the conventional wisdom of
customer "no-service" as the norm, over 61 per cent of consumers see
call centers as doing a better job than three years ago. An
international survey of more than 4,300 consumers found that, despite some continued
pockets of frustration, 23 per cent of all consumers found their experience "significantly
better," and an additional 38 per cent felt it was "somewhat better"
while only 12 per cent thought it was worse. In
addition, the survey revealed that customer service is a critical driver of profitability
and satisfaction, with more than 75 per cent of consumers saying they would give
more business to a company based on a great contact center experience. And,
50 per cent of consumers say the last time they stopped doing business with a
company was partly or wholly due to a poor customer service experience. The
biggest causes of customer frustration: In
2003, Genesys created the pioneer study in customer frustration and has followed
in each of the past four years. Globally, the major sources of customer frustration
are consistent with findings over the past four years: Long
hold times - 67 per cent of consumers are frustrated by long hold times, and 88
per cent would prefer to receive a call-back in 10 minutes than to be on hold
for that long. Poor
automation - 57 per cent of consumers are frustrated by IVRs with too many or
incorrect options and 76 per cent of consumers feel that companies are pushing
them to use self-service systems instead of talking to live people. Customer
Repetition - 52 per cent of consumers are frustrated by having to repeat information
they''ve already provided.
"Given
the direct impact of contact center performance on customer loyalty, successful
companies must take every opportunity to connect with their customers to create
a positive experience," said Wes Hayden, president and CEO of Genesys. Hayden
explains, "Customer service is improving, but the expectations of consumers
are going up as well. As the world market becomes more competitive, the most successful
companies are ones that make the best use of every channel and every interaction.
Companies should engage their customers with a well-planned and executed contact
center strategy." Survey
respondents indicated that a good way to create a positive experience is to address
consumers'' basic frustrations. For example, the survey results indicated that
companies can eliminate long hold times by including a call-back option in their
IVR systems. Rather than waiting on hold, 74 per cent of customers would like
to have the option to ask for a call back when they feel the wait would be too
long. Emerging
Trends - proactive contact
The hottest new emerging trends in customer
service are the desire for proactive contact and the need for better support for
a broader set of communication channels, such as SMS, web chat and e-mail. When
it comes to new channels, 86 per cent of consumers want e-mail communication and
more than 45 per cent of consumers would like e-mail to become their primary communication
vehicle. Speed
of communication is critical, however, with 21 per cent expecting a one hour response
time - up from 6 per cent with that expectation in 2003. An additional 17 per
cent of consumers expect an e-mail response within 4 hours, and 47 per cent within
24 hours. In addition, 19 per cent would like web chat (instant messaging) and
17 per cent want SMS text messages. Surprisingly,
over 89 per cent of consumers would like to receive proactive communications from
companies, by phone or text, to keep them informed about service delivery and/or
other products and services that may be of interest to them. Proactive communications
offer a way of creating a positive image with customers. According to the survey,
87 per cent of customers would have a more positive opinion of a supplier after
receiving a courtesy call to thank them for their business or to ask about their
satisfaction; however, only 43 per cent have received such a call. Substantial
regional differences:
While consumers agreed on most core customer service
issues, substantial, regional differences are emerging that offer some of the
most striking findings from the survey. Europeans are 10 times more likely to
want SMS text messages sent to their mobile phones than Americans (21 per cent
for Europe versus 2 per cent for the US). Similarly,
19 per cent of consumers from Asia Pacific and 7 per cent from Japan also want
SMS messages sent to them. Meanwhile,
more than 28 per cent of U.S. consumers want instant web chat capabilities, compared
to 19 per cent in Europe, 18 per cent in APAC and 11 per cent in Japan.
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