We’ve all seen recent examples of appalling customer service. Customers being treated terribly on flights, customers at the sharp end of rude, incompetent or simply poor service. We’ve all come across it ourselves and in fact the general mood amongst consumers is that it is now sadly the rule rather than the exception to receive poor customer service.
Research conducted by BPS World a Global Total Talent Management Company and OnePoll highlighted the cost of poor customer service and the measures businesses are taking in the customer age to measure and understand this.
With an average 48% of those interviewed citing that they would pay 10% more if they received Good service – businesses everywhere need to acknowledge this. In the reverse – those who are providing poor service are effectively losing 10%. So with the impact of this potentially being the difference between a profitable and non-profitable business – how do you create a standard for Good Customer Service that meets with customer expectation?
“Many businesses build a customer service standard around what they believe is important to customers rather than listening to what they actually feel is important” explains David Shuttleworth, Client Service Director BPS World. “The results do not therefore line up with the expectations of the customer and this limits the scope for improvement. Customer service needs to be transparent and honest – even when it’s difficult to hear. Only by setting the right standards and measuring them honestly are you able to improve”.
Review sites, recommendations, pulse and programme surveys now give us a 360 degree view of how well your customer service is working. It also gives early warning signs of issues that may impact your effectiveness.
So, from both sides – good service drives good behaviour not just in customer facing roles but across the business. From a customer perspective good service is worth it’s weight in gold.
If you would like to read more results on the impact of GOOD customer service on buying behaviours please view our Customer Age Survey.
For further information please contact Megan Joyce on 01628 857324 or megan.joyce@bps-world.com