CallMiner Survey Shows Frightening Results

The pandemic put businesses to the test. Organizations were faced with making rapid changes across operations. From the C-suite to the contact center, it is a much different world, but having recognized the shift virtual, too many firms are not able to recognize shortfalls in the customer service transition.

Today, CallMiner unveiled the results of “Customer Experience Insights from the Pandemic: Brand Performance, Consumer Preferences and Lessons Learned,” a study that spoke with over 2,000 consumers in June 2020 and demonstrated some frightening results.

Less than 20 percent of those surveyed felt brands handled call volume and customer service requests exceptionally well. As COVID-19 kicked into full gear, far too many companies poorly disseminated information of policy to customers. Research indicates only a small fraction of agents are able to offer educated, accurate responses to customer queries in regard to the pandemic.

While businesses are embracing the WFH model, customers are not, noting that nearly 70 percent of those surveyed were aware most call center agents are working from home. Some 60 percent of respondents stating issues specifically related to agents working from home.

Almost half of those that switched providers during the pandemic wish they did not, stating the reason of feeling more connected and better customer service. In addition, customers named speed, empathy and flexibility as the top demanded qualities of customer service.  

“We set out to discover how brands performed during the pandemic and uncovered much more, including a growing demand for human-to-human connection and service,” said Eric Williamson, chief marketing officer at CallMiner (News - Alert). “Our research found that 77% of consumers called customer support despite warnings of long wait times and encouragement from brands to use self-service channels. Fifty two percent said they used the phone for customer service more than usual during the pandemic, preferring it over social media and self-service options.”

The pandemic is certainly an obstacle, but not one incapable of overcoming. How is your contact center adjusting?

Edited by Maurice Nagle