Call centre blues could be harming UK businesses.

UK businesses that operate a call centre that does not meet sufficient standards could be harming their reputation instead of enhancing it. In recession hit Britain it is becoming increasingly apparent that the public at large are not prepared to accept standards of customer service that do not answer their requirements, both in terms of professional knowledge or levels of politeness.

Recent research has shown that around fifty percent of UK consumers in the 25-50 age brackets, who represent a large proportion of the spending power in the UK these days, are taking their business elsewhere rather than having to deal with the levels of inefficiency and lack of courtesy that they have encountered. And even more potentially damaging for UK companies whose customer service centres leave a lot to be desired, is that bad news travels fast. Consumers who have had a negative customer service experience are very inclined to spread the news, and fast.

The new research, carried out by a leading market research company, was implemented to coincide with the launch of the UK’s biggest ever industry-wide mystery shopping study to discover the standards set by the country’s customer service centres. The initiative was planned to recognize the professional levels required and to attempt to raise customer service standards across the industry.

The growing importance of word of mouth recommendations was highlighted by the research, particularly amongst younger consumers, with 51% of 16-24 year olds saying they would definitely tell someone about a negative call centre experience, compared to 38% of 45-54 year olds.

The research was designed to pinpoint the most important aspects of customer service that call centre could stand or fail on. They ran as follows:

• Friendly agents were seen as the most important aspect by 53% of consumers.
• Call response time were seen as the most important aspect by 57% of consumers.
• Agents with knowledge of the company’s products as well as their services were seen as the most important aspect by 49% of consumers.

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Tags: British Economy, call centres, customer service, Economics, market research, Recession, Retail, UK businesses, UK consumers, UK Economy, UK Recession