Workforce Management Featured Article
Would You Rather Shave Your Head or Contact Customer Support?
While most companies spend a lot of time spouting about “customer excellence,” it would appear that there is a disconnect between the quality of customer support companies claim to provide and the perception of the quality of service they actually provide.
A recent poll of customers conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Twilio (News - Alert) Flex found that 24 percent of customers – nearly a quarter – would, in fact, rather shave their heads than deal with today’s customer support. The lighthearted survey was conducted by interviewing 2,000 customers. The survey examined the effect customer service can have on Americans’ habits. It also ventured into current pain points people experience, to see why they might go to such extremes to avoid resolving their issue.
What other things would Americans rather do than deal with customer support? Instead of trying to resolve an issue, many respondents said they would rather:
- Do their taxes (30 percent)
- Go to the dentist (28 percent)
- Visit the Department of Motor Vehicles (25 percent)
- Spend a night in jail (22 percent)
Joking theoretical scenarios aside, the problem is urgent. Customers recognize poor service and have a growing intolerance for it. Well over half (62 percent) have stopped using a company or service specifically because of a bad customer support experience. On the flip side, 80 percent are more likely to be loyal to a company in the future if they have a positive experience with their support team.
As for specific pain points, there probably aren’t any big surprises here. These are many of the top things customers have been complaining about for years – yet, they are still prevalent.
- Needing to repeat details of an issue to a new representative after being transferred or disconnected (45 percent);
- Needing to contact a company multiple times to get an issue resolved (42 percent); and
- Having only one option for a communication method (email, phone, etc.) to reach a customer support representative (40 percent).
Overall, two thirds of customers (66 percent) say the pain involved in the process causes them to delay reaching out to companies. That, of course, only makes matters worse in many cases.
“A major root cause of bad customer service is enabling technology that isn’t built to meet today’s customer expectations,” said Simonetta Turek, GM of Customer Experience Products, including Flex, Twilio’s contact center solution. “Representatives aren’t equipped to deliver seamless and contextual experiences when they’re using outdated technology not designed foremost with the customer experience and customer journey in mind. This results in a poor experience for both the representatives and customers.”
Edited by Erik Linask