Customer Service Survey Shows Customers Abandon Companies with Poor Phone Service

A national survey of consumers conducted by Greenfield Online on behalf of Aspect Communications, the provider of business communications solutions that help companies improve customer satisfaction, reduce operating costs, gather market intelligence and increase revenue, shows that consumers are so adamant about the quality of service they receive over the telephone that 59 percent would stop doing business with a company that delivered unsatisfactory service.

The survey also found that those same customers  wouldn't stop there: 53percent of them would make a point of telling friends and family members not to do business with the company; 48 percent of them would take the time to complain to a company representative; and 16 percent would actually contact consumer advocacy groups to file a complaint.

The survey also shows, however, that the benefits of providing excellent over-the-phone service are clear: 82 percent would recommend a business to family and friends after having received good service; 78 percent would become repeat customers based on their pleasing service quality experiences.

Customers also have clear ideas on how businesses can improve service: 50 percent of customers would be more satisfied if they didn't get passed from service representative to service representative before they were able to resolve an issue. Additionally, less time spent waiting for service would improve the satisfaction level of 66 percent of customers.

The survey also illustrates consumers' preference for performing some tasks themselves instead of talking to a service representative: 80 percent of customers would rather use a phone-based self-service system to check their account balances; 61 percent prefer using self-service to track shipments; 58 percent prefer being able to check the status of an order themselves.

The survey shows that businesses have room for improvement when it comes to phone-based service. Almost a quarter of those consumers surveyed (24 percent) said they were dissatisfied with the service they receive over the phone, with 5 percent calling themselves "very dissatisfied." The majority (52 percent) said they were only "somewhat satisfied."

"These results indicate that companies can expect their fortunes to rise and fall based on the quality of customer interactions," said David Puglia, Aspect's senior vice president of global marketing. "Aspect provides the solutions that let businesses offer cost-effective, high-quality service. We know how important service is to customers, and ultimately, service quality is a key factor in determining a company's success."