What does ‘good’ customer service look like to consumers?

Key findings 

• Whilst phone lines are the preferred method of communication for many, offering multiple channels of communication, including phone calls, email, social media and chatbots helps the accessibility for consumers.
•  Consumers have experienced a number of negative experiences in both the regulated and retail sectors. There are a range of problems being experienced by consumers from being passed around, dismissive or unhelpful advisors and an inability to easily access lines of support. 
• A common theme within retail sector experiences is a feeling that providers lacked trust and often questioned if the consumer was telling the truth about their issue. 
• Those fortunate consumers who have had a positive experience reference the importance of an understanding and friendly advisor and keeping consumers up to date on their problem resolution.  

Introduction

Customer service is essential for consumers as it provides a way of seeking information and support from businesses. It is vital that consumers are able to access this for both the service and products they purchase. However, we know from Which?’s past work in sectors such as broadband and travel, consumers’ experiences of customer service aren’t always positive. To explore this further, we asked our Which? Cost of Living Panel about times they have contacted customer services in both regulated and retail sectors.

How are consumers engaging with customer service? 

Technology continues to develop and opens doors to different ways of contacting providers (e.g. chatbots, online chat, email, social media and more traditional phone calls),  opening opportunities for businesses to be more inclusive and more responsive to consumer needs.  For example, one participant in the panel explained how chat allows a way to write their thoughts succinctly. 

“I don't remember phone calls once they end. So having the chat log is handy, and I can also organise my thoughts a little more. I don't have to be 100% focused on that thing. I don't have the noise of the hold music. The live chat works for me.”

The range of methods also reduces the time burden on consumers, for example, email and chat allow households to continue on with their lives whilst seeking the redress or information they need. Whilst there are positives to these newer forms of communication, many will try different methods and often resort to a phone call if a problem is not solved.

“There was plenty of communication, but I do my communication via Messenger. I always have a good experience in Messenger. If it doesn’t work in Messenger I will probably hit the phone.”

Many find whilst chat and emails are useful for simpler issues and FAQs, responses are often generic and it isn’t always clear if you are talking to a Chatbot or a human. 

“Well you started off talking to like a chatbot and then if it didn’t answer your queries you got put through to an advisor. Even though it said you were talking to an advisor you were just sort of getting random answers that didn’t make sense to the question I’d ask. So I was always dubious whether you were actually speaking to someone or just the computer”

Customer service can go wrong in a range of ways for consumers

Whilst consumers engage with businesses in various ways, both online and offline, some of these touch points are negative for consumers. Within the current research, we explored the issues experienced both in the regulated and retail sectors. One complaint identified was the time it had taken to speak to an advisor only to get an unsatisfactory outcome, as explained in the case below:

Issues can occur even before consumers speak to an advisor as they could have problems finding the right number or contact details, meaning an extra time burden for consumers. 

“It’s really difficult, and I’m sure it’s intentional, to actually find the phone number to contact customer services.“

This is linked to consumers often feeling like they are passed around to different departments or people, having to re-explain their issue, often causing further distress. 

“My experiences were awful, perhaps because I used the chat function. But, I think it takes so long to get anywhere, and then you’re passed from chat room to chat room. And ultimately, I think neither of my queries were resolved.”

“We called up and you sit on hold for 20 minutes. Then, this person couldn’t deal with our enquiry, so they put us through to another person. Before we called up, said that this was going to be an extremely painful experience, which it was.”

Some households feel that advisors didn't care about them as consumers, with a few feeling they were not being heard. 

“It was just really the lack of care, to be honest”

“No, just, even the tone in their messages that they weren't really trying to resolve it there or they were just trying to find… yeah, just kind of, tone, just not really trying to resolve it or not trying to own up to their mistakes or anything like that.”

Finally, a theme which was particularly common within the retail sector is the feeling of not being trusted by the provider. A few households explained that sometimes it felt as though the retailer didn’t trust they were telling the truth about the issue and often expecting the customer to go above and beyond in providing evidence, one example of this is in the case study below:

Both good and bad experiences help shape what ‘good’ looks like

Experiences weren’t always negative, with many households experiencing positive encounters. One household explained how a delivery company turned a problem into a positive experience by delivering a timely and understanding service:

Both the positive and negative experiences have shaped what ‘good’ looks like for consumers. There are a range of general principles identified including: 

• The advisor being understanding of the issue 

“She listened to what I had to say and then said, 'Right, let me see what I can do for you.' Although I didn’t get it for what I paid last year, she did give me a discount and I was happy with that.”

• The service is responsive and has a timely resolution 

“Prompt response and a good resolving action.”

• Companies acknowledge when they are in the wrong 

“He investigated it all, and he said, ‘The person who got the first email should have dealt with this. It completely went wrong from start to finish, and we are dealing with that. And things went wrong, and I'm really sorry it went wrong.’ He dealt with it beautifully.”

• The importance of a friendly and approachable advisor

“Just a good listener or just making sure everything is addressed there and just doing whatever to try and resolve the complaint and then improve the overall experience.”

• Advisor having good communication skills 

“Somebody with good communication skills, as well, to be able to deliver the information, I think, is key.”

• Most consumers appreciate sometimes it takes time to reach a resolution but appreciate being kept up to date 

“They were sending me updates every few weeks there just letting me know when they expect to get someone out to do the survey and when I can expect it to be in installed and they sent me a link about compensation there because they weren't able to provide the service to me on the day that I requested internet.”

Conclusion

Our research helps firstly highlight the importance of offering different contact methods readily available to meet all customer’s needs. It also found the quality of customer service has a big impact on the customers' experience, for example,  if the consumer feels the advisor is friendly, understanding and acknowledges both the issue and if they (the provider) have done something wrong. Should the providers ensure that their customer service is attentive, respectful and trustworthy it is likely to lead to more positive outcomes and high customer satisfaction.