Nearly a third of Brits will never spend again with businesses which provided bad customer service during the lockdown, according to new research from Infobip.
The research from the global cloud communications platform polled 2,000 British consumers to see how businesses rank in serving customers during the lockdown ordered by the UK Government. The majority of UK consumers (79 percent) reported experiencing bad customer service over this time.
Given each customer would have previously spent an average of £341 per year with said companies, those businesses providing poor experiences during lockdown could be set to lose a total of £2.5bn per year in future sales.
The biggest frustrations included waiting to speak with customer services (35 percent), limited ways and times to contact a company (31 percent) and repeating details to a customer service agent (20 percent).
Those businesses that get customer service right will reap the rewards – especially when more than half (54 percent) of UK consumers said they will purchase from businesses again if the service was positive.
Supermarkets get it right
UK supermarkets succeeded in keeping the nation happy during the hardest of times, with nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of shoppers satisfied with their lockdown supermarket shop. Tesco, Asda and M&S all make the top five brands identified by customers as delivering the best service. Supermarkets quickly adapted to the changing needs of the customer during unprecedented times, with many rolling out online services and offering additional support through mobile apps.
They didn’t disappoint with their digital offering either – half of British shoppers were happy with the online alternative to in-store provided by supermarkets. Banks and financial services also fared well keeping more than half (55 percent) of their customers happy, notably by the customer service they received.
Nikhil Shoorji, Managing Director Europe at Infobip, said:“If a business doesn’t deliver good customer service, this impacts the bottom line: consumers will vote with their feet. We know that if a business doesn’t get it right, customers will not shy away from dropping that brand in search of one that does.
“As we adapt to a “new normal”, UK businesses must invest time and resources into understanding and anticipating their customers’ needs – whether these are online or in real life.”