Poor Customer Service Costs Companies £37 billion

If you still doubt the impact that Customer Experience has on the bottom line – look at this new research by Ombudsman Services. It shows that 19% of consumers took their business elsewhere due to poor service, while another 15% made a conscious decision to spend less with a brand in future.

This cost businesses a staggering £37 billion in 2016 as consumers either spent less or switched to a rival following poor service.

Complaints on the Increase

The Consumer Action Monitor published by Ombudman Services is based on 2,477 interviews conducted between the 4th and 6th January 2017, with the results extrapolated to the adult population. It showed that 37% of UK consumers raised a complaint in 2016, with total complaints reaching 55 million – up 6% from last year.

Many consumers appear disillusioned with complaining with 19% believing that companies do not listen to consumers. 14% said they feel disillusioned with business and feel that complaining will not have any real impact. While 17% who had, an issue did nothing about it because they had complained previously and nothing improved.

Fortunately, research also shows that complaints don’t have to be bad for a brand with nearly half of consumers (47%) thinking more highly of a business that handles complaints efficiently, and three-quarters (75%) would be likely to return to a company if a complaint they made was handled well. Conversely, only 8% would be likely to return if a complaint was handled badly.