MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA — (Marketwire) — 10/19/11 — Businesses beware: Australian consumers are among the most vocal in the world when they-re victims of bad service; however, they baulk at confrontation. Instead, consumers favour venting their frustrations more widely among their social circle, with reports of bad service outstripping good experiences by more than two to one.
These are among a number of findings released today in The Global Customer Service Barometer(1) – a survey conducted in ten countries, exploring public attitudes and preferences towards customer service. It quantifies the true reach of word of mouth and the importance of businesses getting service right.
When they-re victims of bad service, Australians voice their frustration more often and to more people than most other countries surveyed. Sixty five per cent will tell other people about the experience, second only to Mexico. Australians will tell an average of 23 people about bad service compared to the ten people who will hear about a good service experience. The number of people Australians complain to is only eclipsed by Italy and India.
The American Express research found that poor service can create lasting brand damage. Globally, Australia ranks first for those who say a bad service experience has the greatest impact on their impression of a company-s brand.
While Australians are vocal in their criticism a bad service experience, it takes Australians more than most to lose their temper at the perpetrator. Only 61 per cent have ever lost their temper with a customer service professional, only four out of ten countries are rated lower.
Australians- reluctance to speak up when bad service is delivered is supported by an American Express dining study(2) which found that on average, people are 50 per cent more likely to complain to others, than complain directly to the dining establishment. The study highlighted the popularity of social media as an outlet to air grievances, with 14 per cent complaining on Facebook, 4 per cent on blogs and 3 per cent on Tweets.
Christine Wakefield, Head of World Service for American Express said that often businesses don-t realise when customers walk away unhappy and this can mean service mistakes are repeated. “Businesses need to find new ways of gauging customer satisfaction given the reluctance of many to directly say what they really think. Getting service right or swiftly making amends when things go awry has never been more important with social media making it much simpler for customers to air their grievances and cause irreparable damage to a company-s reputation.” said Christine Wakefield. Christine believes businesses should view feedback – good or bad – as invaluable and use it to raise service standards.
“Every single experience has an impact well beyond just one customer. Because consumers share their experiences so widely, every interaction counts. That-s why finding quality employees and ensuring they have the skills to make a connection, is central to giving customers a consistently excellent experience.”
Customers are also responding to bad service with their wallets. Eighty six per cent of Australians have disregarded an intended purchase and walked out of a store because of a poor service experience – a result second only to Mexico.
Brett Whitford, Executive Director of the Customer Service Institute of Australia said that customers actively seek out good service and once a relationship with a business is established are more forgiving of the occasional service slip-up.
“Businesses that will perform the best in the current retail climate are the ones that don-t sacrifice on the quality of their service and who have built-up a loyal clientele and have invested in the training and development of staff.”
is encouraging Australian businesses to place a renewed emphasis on delivering great service by sharing some valuable insights into a servicing philosophy it has rolled out globally called -Relationship Care(SM)-.
“Relationship Care is all about fostering customer relationships rather than treating service like a transaction”, explains Wakefield. “It-s about responding in a personal way to who customers are, discovering their needs and then delivering an outcome that surpasses all expectations. And it all starts with listening to the customer.”
American Express- tips for listening to the voice of the customer using the principles of Relationship Care:
1. Make it simple for customers to provide feedback in an honest and open way such as through a suggestion box, feedback survey or company website.
2. Be receptive to customer feedback. View feedback as constructive and something that can be used to improve your business.
3. When possible, respond to customers personally, make them feel special and acknowledge that they have been heard.
4. Be intuitive to more subtle signs that a customer isn-t happy such as reading body language or tone of voice.
5. Anticipate the needs of your customer – don-t wait to be asked before acting.
Notes to Editors:
1. The American Express Global Customer Service Barometer research was completed online among a random sample of 1,021 Australian consumers aged 18+. Interviewing was conducted by Echo Research in February 2011. Overall, the results have a margin of error of +/- 3.1% at the 95 percent level of confidence. The same survey methodology was used in Canada, Mexico, France, Germany, Italy, the U.K., the Netherlands, the US, and India.
2. The American Express Dining Insights Report was completed online among a random sample of 1,032 Australians aged 18. Interviewing was conducted by Galaxy Research in May 2011. The data was weighted by age and region to reflect the latest ABS estimates.
About American Express – American Express is a global services company, providing customers with access to products, insights and experiences that enrich lives and build business success. The American Express service ethos, Relationship Care(SM), is designed to train Customer Care Professionals to not only respond to a customer-s question or solve their problem, but go the extra step of offering the customer tailored information about how they can get more value out of their card and their relationship with American Express. Learn more at , and connect with us on , and .
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