Expectations For Outstanding Customer Service Higher Than Ever

In our last blog entry, we discussed the importance of issue resolution rate to customer satisfaction levels. Another new report, a Harris Interactive study sponsored by RightNow(R) Technologies, also illustrates just how important customer service is to companies: 80 percent of consumers will never go back to an organization after a bad customer experience, up from 68 percent in 2006. That’s a significant percentage jump in just one year.

The report revealed that service is a significant differentiator for companies: 51 percent of consumers cited "outstanding service" as a top reason they continue to do business with a company. Another 60 percent noted "outstanding service" as a top reason they would recommend a company. Not only does great service keep customers, it gets you new ones. A pretty basic idea, but some organizations still don’t get it.

Finally, and most interesting to me, the study found that some consumers feel sick and become outraged after a bad customer service experience with companies. For example:

74% registered a complaint or told others;

47% swore and/or shouted;

13% posted a negative online review or blog entry; and

29% got a headache, felt their chest tighten and/or cried.

With such negative physical reactions to poor customer service, it is no wonder that a person would go out of their way to avoid interacting with a company that made them feel this way.

More information can be found at www.SupportIndustry.com.