Badly Served Britain Votes With it's Feet
United Kingdom - We’re only weeks into the New Year but already signs are showing that 2008 will finally be the year consumers give shoddy customer service the boot.
According ABa Quality Monitoring, as figures show nearly six
in ten people have ditched a trusted bank, telecoms service or
other provider for delivering bad customer service.
The issue has been a slow burner – only in 2006 did findings
reveal 65% of people move their business elsewhere after
experiencing a ‘poor shopping experience.’
Now, trend research by the mystery shopping specialists, who’s
client list boasts the likes of Sainsbury’s, Virgin and Orange,
has shown that it’s not just the reputation, but the balance
sheet that takes a hammering when customer service goes awry; a
trend retailers can ill-afford at present with the January sales
in full swing.
“Our vantage point within the mystery shopping arena means we’re
privy to both sides of the fence; what works, what doesn’t and
the knock-on effect that organisations face when they get it
wrong. We’ve found that happy customers stay loyal and spend
more,” says ABa’s Jill Spencer, “whilst unhappy ones vote with
their feet. Many even feel their loyalty has been betrayed when
they’ve been on the receiving end of poor customer service.”
The research highlighted below par service across the suite of
customer ‘touch points’, both in-store and in a call centre
environment. Major gripes included staff with poor product
knowledge, being put on hold for a long time and lengthy,
automated voice responses.
Spencer also cites the online customer service environment as a
key focus for retailers in 2008 - over £17billion was spent over
the Internet in the last quarter of 2007 - and concedes it too
is an area blighted by the problem. The research showed
consumers were turned off by poor response times to email
queries and complaints: “More people purchase online now than
ever before and it shows little sign of abating. Therefore,
retailers need to introduce measures on the web that allow their
customers to register poor service, and for it be acknowledged
and acted on swiftly.”
Even in light of this however, Spencer warns businesses not to
eliminate face to face customer contact either: ”Irrespective of
the manner in which goods are purchased, consumers remain ‘real’
people. Its imperative retailers keep this ‘front of mind’ to
avoid falling foul of customer disengagement.”
Spencer advocates firms adopt a more robust, pro-active stance
when it comes to treating their consumers correctly: “Employing
systems and measures that monitor and measure service
effectively is far more cost effective than trying to win back
lost custom. Organisations need to be acutely aware that the
shopping experience is a multi layered beast, from first contact
to payment collection and beyond. The result spells increased
cash flow and more profitable customers.”
Information
Setup in 1990 and headquartered in Manchester, ABa Quality
Monitoring Ltd operates four main divisions covering retail,
leisure, contact centre and compliance audits. Majoring on
bespoke, premium quality assessments across any
customer-organisation touch point, the company has developed an
impressive global portfolio of clients. With a hand selected and
internally accredited small team of mystery customers, ABa
punches above its weight with innovative reporting through a
polished and reliable field-force.
www.aba.co.uk..
