Customer service is the backbone of any successful business – after all, a happy customer is a loyal customer. Yet many companies are falling short of expectations. Rather than support and resolutions, dealing with support can feel like more hassle than it’s worth – long wait times, a lack of care, and no guarantee of a resolution.
Gradient Labs conducted a customer support survey to evaluate consumer sentiment towards customer service processes, the issues they commonly face, and how they deal with them – with the results showing that customer satisfaction is far from guaranteed.
In a survey of 1,500 adults, conducted by Gradient Labs, consumers were asked to share sentiment towards customer service processes, the issues they commonly face, and how they deal with them.
Key research insights:
- Some 75% of consumers rank long waiting times as a major customer service frustration, with 52% believing companies intentionally complicate the process.
- Only 11% of consumers say all of their customer service inquiries are resolved, while 13% report that their problems are rarely or never addressed effectively.
- Frustrated by a lack of resolution, 51% of consumers say they have taken their complaints further, with 19% visiting a company’s physical location, 17% threatening legal action, and 13% filing a government complaint.
- After wasting time on inefficient and ineffective support processes, 71% of consumers believe businesses should financially reimburse customers for poor customer service interactions.
“Despite all the new-age customer service touchpoints available, most consumers still prefer to do it the old-fashioned way. Promising immediate support, 78% prefer to pick up the phone rather than wait for a reply to their email, tweet, or message,” said the report.
“But even a phone call doesn’t guarantee a quick resolution. Too often, a simple query or concern can turn into hours spent on hold and days of back and forth with no answer or resolution in sight. Just 11% of consumers say their issues are always resolved by customer support agents, while 13% insist their problems are rarely or never adequately addressed.
“Seeking help can be frustrating, but few experiences are as exasperating as reaching out to customer support only to be told to “Google it” – a scenario encountered by 10% of consumers – as if you hadn’t already tried before wasting your time on hold.”
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