Consumers unhappy with customer service
By siliconindia   |   Thursday, 24 December 2009, 22:09 IST   |    7 Comments
Printer Print Email Email
Consumers unhappy with customer service
Bangalore: While on one hand, customer expectations are increasing, on the other hand, companies seem to be falling short in this area despite of the improved perception of service quality. In a recent survey, only two out of five global consumers said that companies meet their expectations frequently or always. In fact, the percentage of consumers whose expectations are frequently or always met has declined from 53 percent in 2007, to 45 percent in 2008, to just 40 percent in 2009. As per the 'Accenture 2009 Global Consumer Satisfaction' report, consumers in mature markets rated service quality significantly higher than those in emerging markets (3.66 vs. 3.47 on a one to five scale). Around three of the four emerging-market countries (Brazil, China and South Africa) were below the global average. The exception was India, which joined U.S., Canada, Australia and UK in rating service delivery above the global average. Additionally, 75 percent of consumers from the emerging markets of South Africa, India, China and Brazil reported that their customer service expectations are now higher or much higher than they were five years ago. Around, 59 percent of consumers in these countries maintain that their expectations are higher than they were just 12 months ago. Accenture surveyed around 5,050 consumers across 12 countries, in 2009. The survey also found that, while consumers have many expectations for customer service, they care most about well-informed their customer service representative is, and how fast and efficient the service is. But in addition to having high expectations, consumers are frustrated by a range of service hassles like lengthy hold times, dealing with multiple agents on the same issue, and having to repeat information. Companies of course face significant consequences from delivering unsatisfying customer experiences. In fact according to the findings of the survey, two in every three global consumers switched providers in at least one industry in the past year due to poor customer service.

siliconindia