Weaknesses in customer service: study shows where things go wrong the most

In the current crisis, many companies are probably anxious to retain existing customers. According to a study commissioned by Genesys, a provider of cloud-based customer experience solutions, the conditions are not sufficiently in place in many places - there are many weaknesses in customer service. For example, consumers complain of long wait times (72 percent), the need to repeat the request (49 percent) and poor accessibility of companies (45 percent).

Different views of the companies and the customers

The perception of customer service differs greatly between consumers and companies. The majority of company representatives (81 percent) rated their own customer service as good or very good. On the consumer side, only 44 percent said they were rather or very satisfied with the professional competence of customer service staff. The speed of response impressed 42 percent of respondents. In terms of empathy, the demands of 41 percent of consumers were met.

Companies are often not aware of which aspects are important to customers. While almost half of consumers (49 percent) complain about having to repeat their concerns to different customer service representatives, only 26 percent of companies believe that this aspect is relevant to the customer. At the same time, companies overestimate the importance of response speed. After all, 62 percent count this as a crucial aspect from the customer's point of view, while only 47 percent of customers actually attach importance to it.

The greatest discrepancy between the two groups is with regard to addressing customers individually. Thirty-seven percent of the respondents from the companies consider this aspect to be crucial to the success of customer service. On the customer side, however, only a good sixth (16 percent) share this assessment.

Weaknesses in customer service lead to change of provider

If companies do not want to lose their customers, they should act quickly. Because for almost half of the consumers surveyed (49 percent), a negative experience with customer service is a reason to switch providers. This contrasts with just 16 percent for whom a bad experience would not be a reason to turn their back on a company.

A first step toward avoiding a loss of customers is to make companies aware of the need for optimization. Company representatives see the greatest challenges in the quality of information (34 percent) and in the speed of response (30 percent). The majority of customers are more patient than expected. For them, the quality of the information is more important than the response time. 59 percent of consumers are prepared to wait five minutes or longer to speak to the employee best qualified to deal with their query.

Companies also have an opportunity to actively contact customers. After all, 45 percent of consumers have already abandoned an online purchase because of a question that arose. The overwhelming majority of 91 percent of consumers surveyed would have been pleased if the company had contacted them in this situation. However, only slightly more than half of companies (57 percent) actively contact customers.

Solving the customer's problem has top priority

Consumers and companies agree on some points. For example, resolving the customer's concern is the top priority for companies (71 percent) and consumers (72 percent). A good half of consumers (53 percent) are rather or very satisfied with the resolution of their concern. The second most important factor for high satisfaction is the professional competence of employees, as 70 percent of the company representatives surveyed and 68 percent of consumers agree. "Even if the views of consumers and companies diverge in some cases, they agree on one thing: the most important thing is to resolve consumers' concerns quickly and competently," sums up Heinrich Welter, Territory Vice President EMEA Central and General Manager of the DACH region at Genesys.

Chatbots are becoming more and more important. But there is still skepticism about them and human employees are still relevant. For example, 39 percent of consumers think it is important for chatbots to hand customers over to human employees if a concern cannot be clarified. "Companies must therefore be prepared to constantly adapt to current conditions. Today, it is crucial that companies optimize the way they serve their customers," Welter continues.

Source and further information: Genesys