ANN ARBOR, Mich.–Customer satisfaction with call centers operated by retail establishments is down this year compared with last year, but is still higher than with the centers of all other industries except hotels.
A new study using the American Customer Satisfaction Index, a measure developed at the University of Michigan, found that those who make use of the retail call centers registered a four-point decline in satisfaction, or 76, on the ACSI’s scale (100 is the highest score). In 2007, the retail satisfaction score was 80.
Nevertheless, all other industries except for hotels had lower scores. The lowest was attributed to call centers run by cable or satellite television companies.
Among the six components of “satisfaction,” service representatives who are employed by retailers “continue to outperform those of any other measured industry,” according to a statement released by the CFI Group, the firm conducting the survey. The survey reflected the views of 22,000 online participants.
Within retail alone, courteousness generated the highest degree of satisfaction.
The survey also noted that retail call centers thought to be on-shore tend to generate greater satisfaction than centers perceived as off-shore. Fewer than one in 10 consumers think the call center they are speaking with is located outside the United States.
More than three quarters of retail customers, or 77 percent, have their problems solved. While considered high, this is down 10 percent from 2007.