Findings Show Some Surprises in Call Center Expectations

April 08, 2015

Cloud call center leader inContact has released the results of its new research detailing what customers experience when interact with a contact center, and the findings are quite revealing.

Produced in conjunction with leading research firm Harris Poll, the study was undertaken to “gather insights directly from consumers about their online and phone purchases and service experiences during the busiest shopping months of the year,” which are typically August through January.

The 48-page report, available for from inContact, showed some interesting highlights, including:

Consumers will pay more for a good service reputation, but they will even more readily switch brands after a bad service experience. “A large majority (86 percent) indicate if they had a bad customer service experience, they would very likely switch to another company in the future,” the report notes, adding “60 percent say if they read a negative customer service (in a review or on a social site), they wouldn’t do business with that company.” The findings underscore the need for contact center workers to always bring their “A” game.

Over seven in ten (72 percent) interacted with a company representative about their most expensive phone or online purchase totaling $25 or more before placing the order/during checkout/before receiving, whereas 29 percent interacted with a company representative after receiving their order. Again, the emphasis shows the importance of knowledgeable, sharp staffers.

Americans set high company expectations. Some 86 percent expect companies to let them choose options for follow-up or proactive communications (email, SMS/text, postal mail), and two-thirds (65 percent) expect companies to know their purchase history regardless of method of communication (e.g., phone, chat, email).

Surprisingly, Two-thirds of those asked (67 percent) indicated they would expect to be able to call the same company representative they worked with previously on an order or service issue. That said, 64 percent would also expect to be able to continue talking with the same company representative on the phone as they were talking with via online chat.

The survey was conducted online within the U.S. between January 29 and February 2 among 2,028 adults (aged 18 and over) by Harris Poll on behalf of inContact. The full report can be downloaded for free .