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Survey Reveals Diminishing Tolerance for Slow Customer Service During Pandemic
The results of a new study by Aren-aCX shows that consumers are becoming less tolerant of automated "unusually high call volume" messages, and are becoming distrustful of businesses relying solely on these systems.
Aren-aCX collected the responses of roughly 280 US citizens between the ages of 18 and 65. Participants were asked questions related to personal shopping habits, their thoughts on call center operations, and how they feel customer service is related to their buying habits.
As businesses across the globe become more dependent on automated call centers to help manage pandemic restrictions, less responsive systems are negatively impacting general perceptions of customer service. According to the study, nearly 50% of participants reported that are not entirely convinced the automated voice recordings are truthful. It also found that nearly 70% of people of all ages have abandoned a brand after a negative customer experience.
“This should be a clear wake-up call to companies that the way they are delivering customer support is not working.” said Doc Shufelt, CEO and Co-Founder, ArenaCX. “Instead of simply relying on good management to hit high-level customer satisfaction metrics, brands must actually incorporate customer satisfaction into the heart of their operations – where performance actually affects the amount of interactions a given agent or team will handle.”
The study also pointed out that more than 56% of participants would be willing to pay a premium price for products if it guaranteed outstanding customer support. This surprising statistic demonstrates how highly regarded customer service is to consumers, and should act as a warning to businesses that rely too heavily on automation.
Edited by Maurice Nagle