Poor service matters!

An interesting piece from the SMH a few weeks back on the natural reluctance that most consumers have to switching from one company to another, especially in the areas of finance and telecommunications. Whilst consumers are reluctant to move to chase a better deal, there is something that will get them moving:

What does prompt people into action to switch is poor service.

In a separate survey by AMR Interactive, more than three-quarters of the 1054 people interviewed said they had switched companies due to a poor customer experience.

The research, commissioned by RightNow Technologies, showed that the quality of customer experience - matched with the quality of product - was more important to 85 per cent of people than price and reputation when it came to loyalty.

And they had proved the point by taking their custom elsewhere. So while procrastination means consumers are failing to save money, they are still saving face when it comes to punishing poor service.

Telecommunication companies and financial services are the two industries consumers were most likely to walk away from.

Call centres were identified as a major source of customer dissatisfaction.

Almost half those interviewed said they would rather visit the dentist, clean the toilet or pay their bills than endure being put on hold for a long time.

Almost one in five respondents said they would rather be stung by a jellyfish.

Ouch!