2008-11-05 18:31:22 -
One in 10 consumers have experienced waits of more than two hours
Telecoms companies offer the worst call centre service
Four out of five callers experienced poor connections to overseas call centres
62 per cent do not realise companies are charging above the standard rate for call centre calls
Consumers want to listen to comedy, news and heavy metal while on hold New research has found that British consumers are continuing to be frustrated by call centres. The survey, conducted by online insurance company swiftcover.com, found that 91 per cent of callers are aggravated by the length of time waiting to get through to a call centre, an increase of more than 10 per cent from the same survey carried out in
2005.
Even though the research from 2005 found that customers were unhappy with the level of service received from overseas call centres, the 2008 research, which polled 878 consumers nationwide, found that call quality continued to be a problem. 84 per cent claim to have experienced a bad line after being connected to a call centre abroad.
The research also found that call centre waiting times have increased. In May 2005, one in 20 callers experienced waits of more than an hour. The latest survey found that one in 10 callers have experienced waits of more than two hours, and nearly half (43 per cent) are regularly put on hold for half an hour. In addition, four out of five (81 per cent) callers have been cut off after waiting for ten minutes or more.
Three quarters of consumers surveyed thought that call centre employees were powerless to help them.
Ironically, telecoms companies have been determined to be the worst providers of call centre services. More than one third of British consumers taking part in the survey said that telecoms companies offered the worst service, followed by cable and satellite TV providers.
The industries offering the worst call centre experience:
Telecoms 38 per cent
Cable & satellite TV providers 17 per cent
Utilities 14 per cent
Banks 11 per cent
Nearly two thirds (62 per cent) of those surveyed did not realise that some companies charged callers above the standard rate for calls to their call centres.
Frustrated by the endless automated options given whilst trying to call, nearly three quarters (73 per cent) of those surveyed said they deliberately pressed the wrong number on their telephone key pads just to ensure they spoke to a human being.
As waiting seems an inevitable part of dealing with call centres, swiftcover.com asked what people would prefer to listen to:
Comedy 23 per cent
News 18 per cent
Heavy Metal 16 per cent
Current Pop 15 per cent
80s cheese 10 per cent
Classical 9 per cent
Motown 8 per cent
Commenting on the results, Tina Shortle, marketing director at swiftcover.com said: 'The research confirms the fact that call centres continually frustrate people and that service isn't improving. One of the main reasons swiftcover.com's business model is internet-based is because we acknowledged that call centres were inefficient and consumers didn't like them.'
'We also hope companies with call centres will take note of customers' choice of hold music. Comedy is probably the most popular because irritated consumers clearly feel the need for some light relief whilst waiting,' Shortle concluded.
ENDS
For press information, please contact:
Joshua Van Raalte or Jenny Duffy
Brazil (PR agency for swiftcover.com)
01865 725 269
swiftcover@agencybrazil.com
About swiftcover.com:
Based in Send, near Guildford and employing over 250 people,
www.swiftcover.com was born out of a desire to revolutionise the general insurance market. swiftcover.com started trading in June 2005, jointly owned by the founding management team and international insurer Primary Group.
swiftcover.com offers car, travel and pet insurance online, and is Britain's only insurance company without call centres, which means that the cost savings can be passed directly onto the customer and premiums are kept low. As a result, swiftcover.com was voted cheapest car insurance, on average, by moneysupermarket.com in 2007.
This powerful operating model combined with successful marketing and competitive pricing has proven to be a tremendous success. Last year swiftcover.com sold more than 312,000 policies and is considered to be the fastest growing insurer in the UK.
In 2007, AXA UK acquired swiftcover.com. It is now a wholly owned subsidiary of AXA Insurance UK PLC which forms part of AXA Group.
About AXA:
AXA UK is a part of the AXA Group. AXA is a world leader in financial protection. AXA's operations are diverse with major operations in Western Europe, North America and the Asia/Pacific area. AXA employs 120,000 staff and tied agents and, as of June 30 2006, had 1,091 billion in assets under management. AXA reported total IFRS revenues of 72 billion and IFRS underlying earnings of 3,258 million for the full year 2005. Our previous company performance is not a guide to how we may perform in the future.
