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CATCH ME IF YOU CAN: PHONE STILL MORE
POPULAR THAN
INTERNET-BASED CUSTOMER SERVICE METHODS, TELECONOMY SURVEY
SHOWS
60% of people still prefer phone for customer service
Organisations taking a ‘one size fits all’ approach
to customer service
The major investments that organisations have made in web
and email customer services in the last five years have so
far failed to improve customer satisfaction, largely because
they are not tailoring their customer service strategies closely
enough to consumer needs. This is the conclusion of a new
survey of 2,000 consumers in the UK. Although 34% of queries
are now made via web and email channels, the telephone remains
the most popular communications method (used for 60% of queries)
and telephone advisors are the most important factor in maintaining
overall customer satisfaction.
These findings were revealed in the first part of a major
new survey carried out by research consultancy Teleconomy
on behalf of Cable & Wireless and Vertex. The introduction
of web and email has served to raise consumer expectations
of customer service since Cable & Wireless last commissioned
a survey of the industry in 1998. 32% of people now expect
‘excellent’ customer service compared with 24%
in 1998. As a result, while customer satisfaction with telephone
advisors remains high at 76%, overall consumer satisfaction
has declined. 12% of respondents rated their customer service
experiences as ‘poor’, versus 7% in 1998.
Problems arising from the ways in which organisations are
using technology, such as the difficulty in resolving an issue
quickly by email, are behind the rising levels of dissatisfaction.
Teleconomy’s Paul Hudson says, “Many organisations
have thrown money at e-based customer contact solutions in
the hope that such investment would drive efficiency and cost
savings in the future. The truth is that not nearly enough
thought has gone into why and how a customer wants to interact
with a business, and through which channel.”
The survey found that customers choose different contact
methods depending on the context of their enquiry and their
frame of mind. If people have a real problem, they don’t
appreciate being stuck in a call filtering system. 75% of
problem enquirers choose to use the telephone and telephone
advisors need to have access to appropriate knowledge and
respond in a caring manner. But for other needs, such as checking
out information or repeat transactions, automated phone systems
can be perfect: 46% of people thought that automated phone
systems actively aided their repeat transactions. People are
also increasingly choosing the web for repeat transactions
and bookings (23% and 26% respectively) and 28% of complaint
enquirers choose email.
The survey also confirmed that poor service can have a huge
impact on customer loyalty. It found, for example, that 72%
of first-time customers who experienced poor customer service
would not use the organisation concerned again.
When researchers asked consumers to rate their experiences
of interacting with organisations, they found:
- Only 51% of email correspondents cited
their experience as positive, with 24% claiming a negative
experience;
- 61% of those communicating via the
organisation’s website rated their interaction positively,
with 18% reporting dissatisfaction. This is despite the
fact that most people said they use web and email communication
for non-urgent queries;
- By contrast, 72% of consumers rated
their encounter via the telephone as ‘good’,
with only 10% enduring a ‘poor’ experience.
“Technology is a powerful enabler for customer service
if it’s designed and used in a tailored way,”
said David Jackson, vice president, customer interaction management,
Cable & Wireless. “Organisations used to think that
people would become either ‘web customers’ or
‘phone customers’ and stick to one method, but
it has turned out to be far more complex.”
Amanda Burn, strategy and marketing director, Vertex, added,
“Organisations need to spend more time working out which
channel best suits the needs of their customer base before
making significant technology investments. A stronger focus
on the scenarios that lead organisations’ consumers
to contact them will ensure that they put in place the most
appropriate mix to cater for these needs.”
Financial services remains the best performing sector with
83% of consumers claiming to be ‘very satisfied’.
The utilities sector has achieved the biggest reduction in
dissatisfied customers. 10% of customers were ‘very
dissatisfied’ compared with 19% in 1998.
The second part of this survey, based on interviews with organisations
running contact centres, will focus on the challenges they
face in delivering customer service. Results will be announced
later this month.
-Ends-
Note to Editors
A summary of the first phase of the ‘It’s Your
Call’ research and an accompanying whitepaper are available
from paul.hudson@teleconomy.com.
Cable & Wireless Customer Interaction Management
Cable & Wireless Customer Interaction Management (CIM),
a focused business unit, has over 10 years experience supporting
flexible customer interaction management solutions. The Cable
& Wireless team includes customer interaction management
specialists, systems integrators, service engineers and other
professionals. They design, supply, install, maintain and
evolve CIM solutions, be they network or premise based. The
professional services team also works with customers to set
baseline performance information and metrics vital to the
delivery of quantifiable business benefits.
About Cable & Wireless
Cable & Wireless is a major global telecommunications
business with revenue of over £5.9 billion (US$8.6 billion)
in the year to 31 March 2002 and customers in 80 countries.
It consists of two core and complementary divisions: Cable
& Wireless Regional and Cable & Wireless Global. Cable
& Wireless Regional offers a full range of telecommunications
services in 33 countries around the world, with major businesses
in the Caribbean, Panama, the Middle East and Macau. Cable
& Wireless Global provides IP (internet protocol), voice
and data services and managed solutions for business customers.
It has developed advanced IP networks and value-added services
in the US, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region in support of
this strategy. Building on its strong national businesses
in the UK and Japan, Cable & Wireless Global will focus
on serving primarily multinational companies (both enterprises
and service providers) in the US, UK, continental Europe and
Japan/Asia. For more information about Cable & Wireless,
go to www.cw.com.
About Vertex
Vertex is the UK’s leading business process outsourcer
with a particular expertise in customer management. Typical
services include customer call handling, billing services
and financial services. Vertex undertakes services for utility,
telecommunications, retail and public sector organisations.
Vertex operates across 23 locations nationally and employs
over 8,000 people, largely within customer contact centres
and information services.
Every year, Vertex handles over 34 million customer accounts,
handles over 204 million UK contacts, prints and sends over
65 million bills and documents, processes over 95 million
transactions and collects in excess of £6 billion in
payments for a wide range of clients in the public and private
sectors.
Vertex clients include, United Utilities, TXU, Hydro One
(Canada), Bet Direct, Cable & Wireless, BRS/Volvo, CGE&Y,
UGC Cinemas, Westminster City Council, Companies House, Birmingham
City Council, the London Borough of Ealing and Marks &
Spencer.
Vertex is a United Utilities plc subsidiary company.
About Teleconomy
Teleconomy is a research consultancy and knowledge centre
specialising in understanding how customer relationships are
built. It has more than 20 years experience in working with
over 100 organisations and contact centres across all sectors
nationally and internationally.
Teleconomy comprises a full service research capability and
a focused and creative research based consultancy. Its research
services range from ethnography through to quantitative data
collection - either online or using Teleconomy’s own
CATI call centre. Teleconomy has strong academic links to
universities in the UK and overseas, and particularly strong
relationships with Henley Management College and Lancaster
University.
For more information, please contact:
Tara Salgado
Cable & Wireless
Tel: +44(0)20 7315 4184
Email: tara.salgado@cw.com
Henny Valder
Brodeur Worldwide (for Cable & Wireless)
Tel: +44(0)20 7298 7075
Email: hvalder@uk.brodeur.com
Deborah Sadler
Vertex
Tel: +44(0)161 493 2200
Email: deborah.sadler@vertex.co.uk
Paul Hudson
Teleconomy
Email: paul.hudson@teleconomy.com
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