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Research: Poor customer service will cause 62% of Europeans to change provider
October 29, 2008
A study commissioned by DHL Express, the world's leading international express company, has revealed that the average European consumer spends more than two hours and three minutes per week dealing with customer service.
The independent online survey of 6,435 adults in France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Sweden and the United Kingdom, has revealed some consistent expectations amongst European respondents about customer service:
- Lengthy waiting times (86 percent) is cited as top frustration for Europeans dealing with customer service, yet 71 percent of Europeans had to wait up to a week for their problem to be resolved
- 62 percent said they would seek an alternative supplier of the product or service if they received bad customer service, and 66 percent disliked automated answering services
- Interestingly, more European men say they prefer to deal with customer service operators face-to-face than women (35 percent vs. 31 percent). When asked about their preferred method of communication, Britain and France are in agreement, opting to speak to a representative face-to-face (39 percent vs. 48 percent), compared to the rest of Europe who prefer speaking to a representative on the telephone (41 percent).
When asked which industry provides the best customer service, opinions were mixed with banks, retail and hotels all ranking well, amongst others such as telecommunications, utility, restaurants, insurance, healthcare, express delivery and online industries. For instance, banks are rated as the best customer service provider, according to respondents from Poland, France and Sweden, whereas the Italians and Germans consider retail companies to offer the best service. A quarter of Britons (24 percent) have chosen the hotel industry, while 14 per cent of respondents from France infer that hotels, restaurants, and banks provide equally good customer service.
Across Europe, 17 percent of people did not have their problem resolved within a day and had to wait up to a week for it to be resolved, and 12 percent received no resolution at all. Polish people have the best outcome when dealing with customer services, with 92 percent of the population having their issue resolved, compared to only 83 percent of people living in France.
"We commissioned this survey to better validate the most important aspects of customer service across the diverse European market," said George Kerschbaumer, executive vice president, commercial, DHL Express. "The results from our pan-European study have helped us gain a greater understanding of the expectations of Europe's varying demographic groups whilst also being able to compare and contrast the requirements of customers in the different markets."
The European online survey revealed that almost a quarter of Italians and French say they would lose their temper and shout at the operator (24 percent), compared to only five per cent of Germans. Furthermore, the survey concluded that people living in the capital cities of Germany and Sweden are less likely to escalate a complaint to the manager of the company than people living outside the capital (13 percent vs. 21 percent and 21 percent vs. 22 percent respectively).
The survey found that Italians are the least likely to give a financial reward for good customer service, with only four per cent tipping, compared to British people who are the most likely to tip (39 percent). Across Europe, women are more likely than men to do nothing to reward good customer service (16 percent vs. 13 percent) suggesting men are the more generous sex.
On which country offers the best customer service worldwide, Italy, France, Sweden and Germany all say that their countries offer the best customer service. However, almost half of Britons say that they think the United States offers the best customer service (47 percent), whilst Poles think that customer service in Germany is the best (19 percent).
"We commissioned this survey to better validate the most important aspects of customer service across the diverse European market," said George Kerschbaumer, executive vice president, commercial, DHL Express. "The results from our pan-European study have helped us gain a greater understanding of the expectations of Europe's varying demographic groups whilst also being able to compare and contrast the requirements of customers in the different markets."
The European online survey revealed that almost a quarter of Italians and French say they would lose their temper and shout at the operator (24 percent), compared to only five per cent of Germans. Furthermore, the survey concluded that people living in the capital cities of Germany and Sweden are less likely to escalate a complaint to the manager of the company than people living outside the capital (13 percent vs. 21 percent and 21 percent vs. 22 percent respectively).
The survey found that Italians are the least likely to give a financial reward for good customer service, with only four per cent tipping, compared to British people who are the most likely to tip (39 percent). Across Europe, women are more likely than men to do nothing to reward good customer service (16 percent vs. 13 percent) suggesting men are the more generous sex.
On which country offers the best customer service worldwide, Italy, France, Sweden and Germany all say that their countries offer the best customer service. However, almost half of Britons say that they think the United States offers the best customer service (47 percent), whilst Poles think that customer service in Germany is the best (19 percent).
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