By Business & Finance 
Why do Telecommunications businesses leave their customers feeling so disconnected? For a sector that competes on speed and reliability, the tech has increasingly taken over from the talk as customers are reluctantly forced to accept that 10mb service is the price to pay for 1gb connectivity. This begs the question as to how the telecommunications industry has managed to leave its consumers behind.
What is your relationship with your Telecommunications company – please share your thoughts and complete the following survey.
Once you have completed the survey, please contact editor@businessandfinance.com to be in with a chance of winning a one night stay with dinner for 2 at The Powerscourt Hotel. Prize value up to €450, no cash alternative.
Offer ends April 30th, 2021.
Why is it such a challenge for these companies to deliver a good customer experience, particularly given the level of importance that connectivity plays in our lives. Because broadband is so critical, as has been proven over the last year, if you need to get someone on the phone, it is because you need to actually talk to a human there and then. You don’t want to go into a queue, you don’t want to be waiting 30 minutes, and you certainly don’t want to be given excuses about the customer care centre itself. Reports show the communications sector in Ireland saw its customer experience scores drop by over 10% last year, leaving it at the bottom of the league table for the second year running.
The annual customer experience report by the CX Company stated that in a time of crisis, our communications sector saw its “You Get Me” scores drop by almost 12%, the largest decrease across all of 10 sectors surveyed. You Get Me (one of the six measurements used in the survey) is all about walking in your customer’s shoes and being able to understand and empathise with their circumstances. This empathy is even more important in these current times of stress, worry and change, and its loss is indicative of an industry which may be disconnecting from its customer base.
To put this in perspective, the Communications Sector dropped by 10% with only 7% of its brands making it into the top 100 on the CX Company Customer Excellence Report – an annual fall of 10%.
In comparison, the supermarket sector saw 100% of its brands listed, while the financial sector went from 15% in 2019 to 67% in 2020 following a series of concerted customer excellence strategies.
No-one wants to be placed on hold for what seems like an indefinite duration at the very time when they may be frustrated and need advice on an issue. Separate research by customer and employee listening platform Usabilla, showed 73% of people of skip the robo-call, often pressing “0” to reach a human first. Getting the balance right between technology and the human touch and is critical to form a good relationship between supplier and consumer. For an industry dedicated to connecting people, it needs to realise that the most memorable experiences are the ones that are sparked by interacting with others.
