some customer care factoids

Dave Ginsburg

• Cheap calling plans are the top reason customers switch carriers, according to the survey by CFI Group, a research firm based in Ann Arbor, Mich. But customer service was a significant factor, cited by 27 percent of cell-phone users as the reason they switched or canceled their service.
o Cell-phone industry wants to play nice after years of customer rage, Oct 2008


• "Customer care centers and service representatives are under pressure to handle the increase in inquiries, while still trying to understand and resolve the customer's issue on the initial contact. This can potentially increase the number of transfers and the hold times for customers. With an increase in hold times, providers run the risk of decreasing customer satisfaction and losing customers to other providers, as switching levels are 83 percent higher among customers who are put on hold, compared with those who are not."
o J.D. Power and Associates Reports: Customer Service Hold Times for Wireless Phone Customers Reach an All-Time High, Aug 2008


• “Best Customers More Likely To Switch: Subscribers buying the most in services and new products were found to be the most likely to be disappointed and more likely to switch to another provider offering better customer experience.”
o New Research Reveals Most Subscribers Are Satisfied, But Many Will Switch Service Providers for a Better Customer Experience, Amdocs, Feb 2008


• “Future churn levels are almost four times as high among those who rate their wireless carrier below average in customer care. Thus, the challenge for wireless providers is to offer an easy and efficient customer care transaction experience.”
o JD Power and Associates, Feb 2008


• "What Do Customers Really Want? - 1. Listen to me, 2. Know more than I do (about your product or service), 3. Be easy to work with
o What Do Customers Really Want? Survey Reveals the Truth, by Kevin Stirtz the "Amazing Service Guy", May 2007