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Consumers Reveal Their Top Customer-Service Gripes
A new survey reveals that 64 percent of shoppers have left a store in the past year due to poor customer service. What's the one factor that bugs them the most?
Posted 6/ 8 11 at 2:00 PM | News, Sales, Consumer Products & Services, Retail
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The way your salespeople interact with customers could be costing you business. According to a new Consumer Reports survey, which asked 1,010 adults about their customer-service experiences, 64 percent of respondents said they have left a store in the past year because of poor customer service. Among the top in-store customer gripes were rude and pushy salespeople, cited by 65 percent of respondents. Customers were least annoyed by having to wait in a long line at the checkout counter or wait for a scheduled repair.The survey also asked about customer service over the phone, and found that 71 percent of respondents were most annoyed about the experience when they weren't able to reach a human on the phone. Additionally, 67 percent said they hung up the phone without getting their issue resolved. However, when asked about preference for handling a customer service issue, only 16 percent said they prefer to resolve the issue in person.
Consumer Reports National Research Center also looked at the best and worst companies and service providers in 21 industries. According to the findings, brokerage firms, eyeglass retailers and pharmacies were some of the highest-rated industries based on service, while computer tech support, TV, phone and Internet service providers earned some of the lowest scores. Consumer Reports takes a more in-depth look at the customer service industry in its July issue.
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Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Whatever the reason these printable coupons or "Printapons" exist and it is valid to use them, although it can skew the marketing research for which they were intended.
At Rothstein Jewelers in Beverly Hills, people come back to us because of our good customers service. Most people say we treat them like a member of our family. In this economy, customer service is the most important facet of our jewelry business. You can't judge them if they can only afford to fix up their costume jewelry. We'll do that when most companies won't. We also help people remodel the old jewelry of their loved ones passed on, and have to be sympathetic.
How to stay in business these days is by getting positive reviews on websites like yelp, MerchantCircle, and Google.
My main gripe is the service at new car centers, like Honda Dealers in Arlington Tx and Duncanville Texas, the service is so bad on the cars that we buy that taking them back is not an option, it's become just live with it because if you take it in for service they either A don't fix it B tear it up worse than what it is or C charge you for a service and then not follow thur with it. Any more Hondas in my furture are out.
CUSTOMER SERVICE REALLY DOES GO BACK TO 'TRAINING'.
MANY, MANY, MANY COMPANIES OVERLOOK THIS VERY, VERY VALUABLE ISSUE. IF, IN REAL LIFE, THE WORKER IS A CARING PERSON, IT WILL RELATE ON THE JOB. IF, IN REAL LIFE, THE WORKER IS A LAZY PERSON, IT SURELY WILL RELATE ON THE JOB. IN THE JOB INTERVIEW, ASK DETAILED QUESTIONS. ASK QUESTIONS THAT NEED A DEFINITIVE AND DESCRIPTIVE ANSWER.
WE, THE SHOPPING PUBLIC, WANT TO FEEL THAT YOU, THE COMPANY, CARE ABOUT US AND OUR NEEDS. WHEN WE ASK FOR A DIFFERENT COLOR OR DIFFERENT SIZE, DON'T GIVE US THAT JAZZ ABOUT, 'WELL, IF IT'S NOT OUT THERE, WE DON'T HAVE IT'. OBVIOUSLY YOU REALLY DON'T KNOW YOUR INVENTORY OR EVEN CARE. YOU'RE JUST TOO LAZY TO GO AND LOOK. SO, MAKE SOME SUGGESTIONS OF OTHER CHOICES OR OTHER STORES, WE WILL COME BACK JUST BECAUSE YOU SHOWED US YOU CARED AND GAVE US GOOD AND CONCERNED SERVICE.
Brownells Gunsmith Supply in Montezuma, Iowa. Greatest products & service on Earth. Gotta problem?, call. A friendly, highly knowledgeable person comes on the line. Problem solved.
I even once lost a specialized wrench under my bench. I called to order another...but no...they just sent me one free.
Got a technical problem?, call & ask for a tech. You get right there and you are guided through the process step-by step.
AJC - 25 yr. Custom Gunsmith
My top gripe is having my change handed back to me in a wad without the clerk counting it back. Of course, I realize that most people cannot make change unless the register tells them what it is ... but handing it back to the customer in a wad without counting it back is about as slack and rude a thing that you can do in customer service. Just another prime example of what Liberals and women have done to our education system and sense of proper conduct.
My biggest complaint is the atrocious service at the drive-throughs at most fast food restaurants and even the inside service. The only restaurant where service is always excellent is Chick-Filet. At chick-filet they obviously have high standards for hiring people and they do great training. You are always greeted with smiles and helpful employees. They worst customer service is at Wendy's, where the grouchy and glum employees act like you are taking money out of their wages to serve you. McDonald's is often not much better. These companies need to do better training and to always have a manager on site to supervise young employees.
It appears we have widespread 'don't give a flip' attitude. It is a PAYCHECK for far too many employees, sales or otherwise. One comment included blame on liberals and women. Our country's standards have plummeted and we can blame who we want. It boils down to home base. We reached the point long ago where men are not primarily heads (no, I don't mean dictators) of their homes; most children are not sincerely/consistently disciplined when needed and we may as well throw in "polictical correctness" to complete the recipe. Too many people are hired and/or promoted for reasons other than ability. If you think this comment covers more than "customer service", think again. Ultimately, whether as an individual or a business, we are all customers at some point and good, solid work ethic goes a long, long way. Where does discipline begin to mold ethical, conscientious citizens?
It really is the quality of people you hire and the people that interview them and make decisions on this. Just compare the service at Target vs Walmart sometime. Also compare how fast you move through the line at Targer vs how slow you go through at Walmart. Target hires workers (at least at checkout counters) that are 100 times better then Walmart, this is obvious to me everytime I go to either of these places.