Australia’s first positive-only review site, kudosto.com.au, has commissioned a survey to reveal the good and the bad of Australia’s customer service industry.
With 96% of the more than 1,200 surveyed claiming good customer service is important to them, and with consumers expected to spend $18 billion this Christmas, now is certainly the time for retailers to get it right.
When it comes to making our hearts sing this festive season, the survey revealed the most desired element of customer service for men was excellent product knowledge (46.09%). According to the blokes, the retailers that best deliver on this are electronics stores.
More senior shoppers (55+) also valued staff expertise highly, and are the most appreciative of a “hello” when entering a store (26.01%). Contrary to this, those under 24 prefer to get in and out quickly, with 51% rating fast, efficient service as most important when making a sale, and found a personalised shopping experience of least value and pushy sales people their biggest peeve (43.07%).
For women, friendly, approachable staff topped the list of most important traits, particularly those who will go out of their way to help them solve problems (40.94%). It was department stores that most disappointed them in this field, with 30 percent of women rating them as the worst retailers for customer service, and the biggest frustration being a lack of staff.
As Kudosto founder Paul Ryan explains: “Customer service is a very subjective experience. Everyone is looking for something different when they enter a business or store, and it’s how a business understands its customer’s needs that determine if it’s a stand out retailer or not.”
“Smack bang in the middle of the busiest few weeks, there’s a key opportunity for retailers to go above and beyond for customers and make Christmas shopping that much less stressful,” said Ryan. “It’s those businesses and individual employees doing so that we want to recognise with Kudosto, as an online community that celebrates great service.”
“It’s as simple as jumping on to the site, sharing the details of the business and even the employee who helped you and sharing the Christmas spirit this festive season, both to acknowledge and celebrate our customer service super heroes, and to help other stressed-out shoppers find the best and most helpful stores to shop at,” he said.
