Consumers in the UK came top in a global survey commissioned by Interactive Intelligence for expecting excellent customer service as standard.
In response to the question “Would you be willing to pay a fee to receive a higher level of service?” 86% of the Britons polled answered: “No, I expect good service as part of doing business”. This is backed by UK professionals, who came second highest in the global rankings for saying that paying a fee for better service would not be beneficial for an organisation or its customers (62%).
The customer service experience survey, conducted by independent research firm Actionable Research, surveyed both consumers and professionals to answer two key questions:
- What do consumers want in a great service experience?
- What do IT professionals and customer care leaders want from the technology behind that great customer experience?
Other key findings of the survey included:
- A knowledgeable representative and a timely response are the most valuable components of a great service experience.
- Hotels, online retailers, and banks provide the best customer service experiences.
- Live agent remains the preferred interaction type, followed by email, and then there is a significant drop to web chat, etc.
- Historical information access is deemed the most valuable feature of an interaction.
- Not being able to understand the agent is rated as the most frustrating part of an interaction.
- The ability to get a scheduled call-back was the most desired feature of mobile service applications.
- The most valuable technical service to offer customers is “an easy way to provide feedback.”
- Comprehensive reporting and analytics are the top features desired by contact centre professionals.
Dave Paulding
“These results highlight that companies need to offer great service with a minimum cost implication for the customer,” says Dave Paulding, Regional Sales Director UK, Middle East & Africa, Interactive Intelligence.
“This is undoubtedly due to the economic times in which we live: customers are trying to save money, but at the same time they know companies need their business to survive in an extremely competitive market. To help meet this customer desire, Interactive Intelligence delivers innovative technology at an affordable price that streamlines businesses.”
The survey, completed in April 2013, was based on a respondent sample size of 1,407 consumers and 453 IT and customer care professionals. Respondents lived in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, South Africa, Sweden, the UK, and the US.
Author: Jo Robinson
Published On: 5th Jun 2013 - Last modified: 1st Nov 2017
Read more about - Archived Content, Customer Service, Genesys
