A new study from Pegasystems Inc. has found that customers and telecommunications companies have widely differing views on the quality of customer service provided by such companies.
The survey questioned over 1,000 consumers and “business decision-makers” from telecommunications and broadband companies, and found that just over half of respondents had interacted with their provider’s customer service team in the last 12 months. Though 52 percent of companies rated their quality of customer service as “very good,” only 26 percent of consumers with recent interactions said the same.
Though 64 percent of company decision makers felt they knew their customers well, less than a quarter of consumers agreed – and the evidence supported their feeling.
While the majority of company heads said they thought a shift to online chat options would provide better customer service, consumers overwhelmingly said they felt phone (52 percent) and face-to-face interactions (20 percent) offer the best customer service experience. Only 12 percent of consumers felt that online chat was the best medium for customer service. One in four customers reported that they immediately start searching for a new provider after a single run in with poor customer service.
Additionally, only 27 percent of consumers said telecomm companies respond quickly every time, contradicting the responses of a majority of providers who said the same. The top two customer service complaints from survey respondents were a “lack of a quick path to assistance” and “slow response time.”
Telecomm decision makers also appear to be underestimating the potential success of industry innovators. Though more than half of broadband consumers said they are considering a switch to a new provider, only 26 percent of decision makers said they were “extremely worried” or “worried” about the treat from disruptive brands.
More than half of consumers said better pricing and packaging options would be their motivation to switch, and another 15 percent said faster internet speeds would woo them away.
Around 56 percent of consumers surveyed were in the 25-44 age range, with around an additional 30 percent in the 45-64 age range. More than 60 percent of business decision makers surveyed work for companies with more than 500 employees.
Filed Under: Carriers
