British Consumers Complain up to 5 Times a Year about Poor Customer Experiences
Research Finds Consumers More Likely to Complain About Lack of Company Responsiveness than Poor Products and Services
Maidenhead, United Kingdom, April 12, 2007
A new consumer experience study of 2,800* British consumers conducted by YouGov Plc and commissioned by RightNow® Technologies (NASDAQ: RNOW) reveals the general public's growing intolerance of poor customer experiences provided by organisations in Britain. 69 per cent of adults polled had complained to a company and more than three-quarters (79%) of these indicated they had complained about their treatment between one and five times in the past 12 months.
The research, the third in a series of studies by RightNow into consumer experiences, highlights the divide between consumer expectations following a complaint and the actual resolution. 60 per cent of Britons expect the problem to be fixed to their satisfaction, in fact only 27 per cent reported that this was the case. Worryingly, 34 per cent of respondents stated that the company did nothing once the complaint had been made.
It seems that poorly managed customer communication fuels complaints creating a catch-22 scenario for service departments. Calls, emails and letters are three of the top four methods for complaining, while respondents ranked the top five things they have complained about as:
- Lack of response to an email, phone call or letter
- Poor products or services
- A poor customer experience overall
- Having to repeat information over and over
- Length of time holding in a phone queue
The study clearly shows there is an opportunity for organisations to further improve consumer experiences by reviewing and reorganising how complaints are dealt with; a worthwhile undertaking as past research has shown poor customer experiences to have a monetary impact on British businesses as Britons will remove their custom forever on the basis of a poor experience**. A five-point plan from RightNow sets out what organisations must do:
- Regard complaints as essential business feedback that can drive future business decisions
- Ensure consumers can make contact through their preferred channel and a time convenient to them via multi-channel feedback options
- Include all correspondence as part of the overall knowledge and customer experience strategy
- Set and communicate clear Service Level Agreements (SLAs) to customers and ensure customer-facing staff understand expectations and aim to exceed them
- Empower staff to make decisions and act in the customer’s best interest by ensuring they have access to complete customer histories
“Consumer expectations are rising, so what may have been an adequate complaints procedure in the past is probably not going to suffice in today’s marketplace where there’s little to differentiate between price or product,” said Wayne Foncette, RightNow’s Vice President for the UK and Ireland. “Therefore, it’s essential that organisations view how they deal with customer complaints as part of the wider customer experience strategy – neglect or ineffective strategies will send consumers flocking to competitors. The technology and expertise exists to help businesses do this in a cost conscious way - so the challenge can be overcome.”
From an industry perspective, telecommunications / ISP providers are the most likely type of business to make Britons complain (23%), followed by banks / insurers (19%) and utility companies (17%).
“Although the British have a reputation for complaining about the inclement weather, in reality, the majority of us don’t enjoy making a complaint and it usually takes something relatively significant to drive us to that point,” said Gladena McMahon, Accredited Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist, British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP). “However, once at that point we do expect empathy and action. It’s like most things in life, when we have a problem we seek a ‘listening ear’ – companies need to be mindful of this and act accordingly.”
*All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2,819 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 22nd - 26th March 2007. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).
**“The Consumer Experience Survey, Great Britain 2006” Harris Interactive, commissioned by RightNow Technologies.
About RightNow Technologies
RightNow (NASDAQ: RNOW) delivers the high-impact technology solutions and services organizations need to cost-efficiently deliver a consistently superior customer experience across their frontline service, sales and marketing touch-points. Approximately 1,800 corporations and government agencies worldwide depend on RightNow to achieve their strategic objectives and better meet the needs of those they serve. RightNow is headquartered in Bozeman, Montana. For more information, please visit http://www.rightnow.com/.
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Greg Gianforte