Learning Unit 1 : Some Hard Facts on Customer Satisfaction

Several surveys have been conducted in America on issues relating to customer, In a 1997 report published by the American Society of Quality (ASQ) and Arthur Andersen Consulting Inc., several significant facts were revealed by customers regarding service related issues. Among the significant findings are:

• 90% of customers feel that they pay enough to get the highest possible level of service. Yet, 64% of them say that service providers do not care about their needs.
• 64% of customers walk out of a store or service outlet if lines are too long.
• 26% leave because of dissatisfaction from the attitude of a salesperson
• Customers tell 8 friends about satisfying experience and 20 friends for a negative experience.
• 70% of complaining customers will return if the complaint is resolved on the spot.
• It is easier to influence existing customers to buy 10% more than it is to increase the customer base by 10%.
• 80% of successful new products and service ideas come from existing customers.
• 50% of clients who are dissatisfied would leave if there is a visible option.
• There is a strong correlation between the customer satisfaction scores of individual companies and their stock performance.
• Companies capable of increasing their quality index by one point per year for five years improved their average ROI during that period by 11.33%.
• Repeat customers can substantially increase profits and costs 1/5 less than new customers.
• 82% of America’s fastest growing companies cite quality of customer service as very important to the growth of their business over the next twelve months and expect it to produce the single most profitable return for each dollar.

• Customers demand value for the money they pay service providers. They demand the best service for the least possible expense.
• Customers have many options to whom they approach to provide them service
• Customers are reasonable individuals that do not necessarily demand perfection. They just need to be dealt with properly, should problems with them arise.
• The impact of a negative experience is greater than that of a positive experience.
• Securing customers to be loyal is cheaper then securing new customers
• Service excellence is a vehicle for long-term company growth.

The findings of this study are not shocking or new. It serves an alarm to all those who have not yet exerted enough effort to improve on their customer service. The McDonald’s Corporation has long been aware of this and has been a pioneering company in customer service improvement. Its efforts and actions have been emulated by many companies and cited in many books dealing with this topic.