Indians value quality of customer service: Study

Quality of customer service is more important to Indian consumers than the value of a product, a study by American Express said on Wednesday.

"The quality of service is very important for 84 per cent Indian consumers when they decide to become a customer than value-for-money product," revealed the American Express Global Customer Service Barometer.

Leading marketing analytics specialist Ebiquity conducted the online survey for the US-based financial services behemoth in Britain, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Singapore and the US, interviewing about 1,000 respondents in each country between December and January.

Noting that 86 per cent of Indians were willing to spend more on a company providing excellent customer service, the study said businesses were rewarded for quality service with a positive word compared with counterparts in other markets.

"After India, customer experience is valued by 72 per cent in Singapore, 70 per cent in the US, 59 per cent in Britain and 33 per cent in Japan," said the finding.

Similarly, 59 per cent of Indian consumers value positive experience from a quality customer service as against 43 per cent each in Mexico and the US, 38 per cent in Canada and 19 per cent in Hong Kong.

"Though companies stress on product value, importance to customer service is essential for competitive advantage. Putting customers' needs first to deliver quality service makes business sense," said Pradeep Kapur, Vice-President of American Express Global Servicing Network in Japan and Asia-Pacific.

Indians are also ahead of their counterparts in the other eight countries in sharing customer service experience on the social media.

"Indian consumers (73 per cent) post more positive customer service experience on social media than negative experiences (47 per cent)," said the survey.

Similarly, 64 per cent Indians surveyed used the social channel to avail of customer care services as against 59 per cent in Mexico, 47 per cent in Hong Kong, 35 per cent in the US and 19 per cent in Japan.

"Nearly 63 per cent of the Indians chose not to transact or purchase owing to poor customer service," pointed out the study.

Observing that happy customers were likely to be brand ambassadors to influence others, Kapur said customer care was a competitive differentiator.

"Excellent service experience can be a game changer for companies when consumers spread about it by word of mouth," asserted Kapur.

For a customer care professional, efficiency (36 per cent) and consultative approach to providing resolution (19 per cent) emerged as an attribute during the survey.

"At the same time, what irks consumers most in negative service interactions is the time taken to resolve their query (49 per cent) and the inability of the representative to answer their questions (32 per cent)," found the survey.

Indians also appreciate when a service professional suggests an additional service or upgrade (76 per cent) based on their needs or history of the company.

"An important aspect of a good customer experience is the understanding of their needs and advising them on available solutions," Kapur said.

In choosing the medium for feedback, 30 per cent of Indian consumers are open to using messaging tools such as live chat and SMS than their counterparts in Hong Kong and Italy (26 per cent each) and Mexico (25 per cent).

"Indians (39 per cent) are more open to using self-service tools like apps, kiosks and voice assisted than other markets despite a preference to speak with a real person (44 per cent).

"In an automated voice system, the biggest frustration which might cause Indians to hang up or opt out is atoo many steps or questions' (59 per cent)," added the study.

--IANS

fb/tsb/vm