Public transport customer service in the United Kingdom is increasingly coming under focus. Consumers are rightfully becoming fed up with the lack of quality support. Reports indicate a significant decline in service standards, leading to questions about the underlying issues that contribute to this trend. A combination of corporate culture, consumer expectations, and regulatory frameworks play crucial roles in shaping the current landscape of customer service.
The Consumer Rights Act 2015 is key to enforcing the basic framework for how companies should respond to customer complaints. This legislation would give consumers clear rights when it comes to goods and services, opening up new channels of redress when things go wrong. The implementation of this law really comes down to the culture of customer service that is created at the corporate level.
Jo Causon, UKICS CEO, holds that transformation towards customer-centricity starts in the boardroom. Top leaders need to model this commitment for it to flourish across the organization. As she points out, when corporate executives take the lead on treating customers with respect, it can make a world of difference. Causon states, “If the board understands the imperative of treating customers well, it will inform the quality of the service.”
Recent surveys conducted by UKICS reveal that modern consumers value several key attributes when engaging with businesses: empathy, transparency, competence, and speediness. These traits have only grown in importance as consumers demand more and more responsive, personalized care.
Wonderful – these four of the top five companies in UKICS’s customer service league table aren’t shareholder-controlled companies. Timpson, Starling Bank, Nationwide and John Lewis all received very high customer satisfaction scores – as did the food division of retailer Marks & Spencer. This trend reinforces the reality that companies focused on serving their customers will ultimately win. Without that pressure, private entities can prioritize consumer interests without worrying about shareholder blow-back.
Here, Causon gives more insight into why strong communication skills are vital in customer service roles. According to her findings, companies that excel in customer satisfaction are those that actively listen to their customers by promptly responding to phone calls and emails. She stresses that it’s anything but a traditional contact center. Doing that, it’s not just about getting the right people and the right technology together. It’s the long-term strategy.
Further independent research carried out by Huntswood backs these claims, revealing that of those complainants who get the resolutions they are looking for, three-quarters are still customers. And most importantly, if consumers feel short changed or like they’re being dismissed, they’ll take their business elsewhere. In fact, three-quarters of them are going to jump ship to competing companies. This reveals a critical aspect of consumer behavior: effective complaint resolution can significantly influence brand loyalty.
Consumers are armed with a host of new tools as they walk through the complaint process. The Consumer Credit Act provides additional protection via Section 75. This very short section would make it easier for consumers to claim refunds when they’re delivered defective products or services. National organizations such as Citizens Advice issue template letters that enable the firms’ customers to simply and effectively assert their rights. They link users to businesses through their complaints portal, Resolver.
Many businesses are still falling short of new customer service expectations. Gigabit Britain Openreach, one of the telecoms providers, controls around 90 percent of the UK’s broadband infrastructure. In recent years, it has faced increasing criticism for its delivery of service. We hear from customers all the time about their frustrations with long response times and lack of proper support. Similarly, Evri, a delivery firm that ranked at the bottom of Ofcom’s league for two consecutive years, has yet to demonstrate substantial improvement despite investing in a new logo in 2022.
This clear disconnect between big-dollar corporate branding and marketing efforts and service delivery causes a lot of concern about what’s prioritized inside these firms. Unfortunately for customers, Evri’s new branding does nothing to disguise the problems at the heart of its customer service operation.