Badly Served Britain Votes With it's Feet

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..
 

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