Do call centre agents even care?
9 September 2011
Just 31% of respondents feel representatives go above and beyond to help customers
According to latest figures from global research firm ORC International, just over two in five respondents in the UK were satisfied with their most recent experience of dealing with a call centre.
At 24%, the lowest levels of satisfaction were recorded by people who called to make a complaint; rating all aspects of their call a lot lower than callers with other intentions.
Complaining customers represent 25% of call centre traffic. Although these customers are a notoriously difficult group to deal with, the survey showed that those who were able to offer a superior experience were more likely to benefit from greater customer retention and even generation of new business.
Why customers make the call:
- 31% are calling to find out more about a product or service
- 25% to complain
- 12% to purchase a product or service
- 8% to cancel
- 6% to get a quote
- 18% for other reasons, such as tracking an order or getting a refund
The research also found that customers were most satisfied with the functional areas of their call centre experience. This included the politeness and friendliness of the last representative they spoke to.
Jane Tidswell, Associate Director at ORC International comments:
“Customers' experiences are known to have a huge impact on their overall perceptions of the brand. It is really important that organisations understand their clients’ expectations so they can measure performance against them and deliver on their brand promise.”
Customers were less satisfied with the emotional areas of the call. These factors included how sympathetic the agent was to their situation, how valued they made them feel and how much of a good rapport was built.
Tidswell continued:
“It’s not just about getting the functional elements of the service right; it’s about ensuring that the emotional aspects of the interaction are understood and acted upon.”
