CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR: Customers Service Expectations are Higher

According to an Empathica Consumers Insights survey, retailers are coping with higher customer expectations. According to the survey, 55% of US respondents said they feel customer service is getting worse. However, Canadians who responded to the survey were less negative about their customer service, with 45% indicating that customer service has gotten worse. Have you gauged your store's customer service lately? What are some ways you can improve your customer-staff relationship?

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Majority of U.S. Consumers: ‘Customer Service is Getting Worse’

Empathica Consumers Insights survey indicates that while Americans are spending less, retailers must cope with higher customer expectations.

By Gary Edwards, PhD, and Sherri Kolomayz

EMPATHICA CONSUMER INSIGHTS PANEL
Q1 2010, Issue 2

Empathica Inc., a leading provider of Customer Experience Management (CEM) solutions to some of the world’s most respected brands, announced that its survey of more than 13,000 American and Canadian consumers reveals that the majority believe customer service is suffering in today’s economy.

Fifty-five percent of U.S. consumers feel their country’s customer service is getting worse, 13% are unsure, and 32% say they haven’t seen service suffering in this economy. Canadians were less negative about their customer service, with 45% of consumers indicating customer service has gotten worse, compared to 39% who said it hasn’t gotten worse, and 16% reporting that they are unsure.

Insights chart

Regionally in the U.S., those in the South were more apt to say customer service is getting worse (58% of respondents), in contrast to the West who had 49% in agreement.

One in Five Consumers Value Good Service Over Good Food

Those who think customer service doesn’t matter should be aware. The data also revealed that customer service is so important to U.S. consumers, that one in five respondents said they value good customer service over good food. Younger people (18-34) were the bulk of respondents who responded this way, but were also the age group most forgiving of a bad experience at a restaurant.

Older customers (55+) were more willing to interact with management to either express their dissatisfaction, or offer a compliment.

“With consumers reducing their spending, they consequently have heightened expectations when they do go out,” explained Gary Edwards, EVP of Client Services at Empathica. “There is less tolerance for poor service, which is a huge challenge for casual and fine dining restaurant brands struggling with lower traffic, less incoming cash and higher expectations to deliver.”
The survey found that those who receive poor service -- even at a restaurant they’ve been to several times -- can cause huge damage to a brand. One in four U.S. consumers stated they would tell others not to go there in addition to never going again. In comparison, even more Canadians (28%) would take the same actions.

Despite Reduced Spending, Consumers are More Loyal to Brands They Love

While overall restaurant spending was down in 2009, the survey showed increased customer loyalty. In the current economy, consumers indicated they have been just as loyal (68.3%) or more loyal (15%) to specific restaurants.

The now commonplace practice of discounting and couponing, something unheard of for most casual dining brands just a year or two ago, seeks to entice new customers.

A coupon is most likely to encourage American consumers to try a new restaurant (44%), yet only 28% of Canadians agreed. In fact, a restaurant coupon or discount offer recently prompted 62% of Americans to go to a restaurant they might not have otherwise visited. Thirty-nine percent of Canadian consumers said the same thing.

“Expectations around the future economic outlook in part dictates consumer motivations for visiting a restaurant,” explained Edwards. “In this instance, our survey showed that while 67% of Canadians are optimistic about their economy, Americans are much more divided. Their consumer confidence is influencing their discretionary spending.”

Source: Empathica Press Release