Jun 14, 2007 6:01 AM, PROMO Xtra

Consumers’ two biggest complaints about customer service call centers are not getting their problem solved on the first call, and communication problems with offshore call centers, according to a new consumer survey on call center service.

Dissatisfied customers are not only more likely to defect from the business, they’re also more likely to complain to friends and family.

“Too many companies treat call centers as cost centers rather than seeing them as an opportunity to solidify the customer relationship, resulting in increased loyalty and retention,” said Sheri Teodoru, program director at research firm CFI Group, in a statement.

CFI Group conducted its Call Center Satisfaction Index by surveying call center customers across six industries, then ranking their satisfaction on an index of 100.

The survey found that almost 20% of customers hung up with their issue unresolved. Of that group, 43% said they’d definitely defect, and 25% said they might.

The survey also reports that customers who think a call center is located outside the U.S. score the service an average of 26 points lower than centers they think are based in the U.S. Consumers are twice as likely to leave a brand if they think its call center is overseas.

“Offshoring has a negative impact on satisfaction because offshore customer service reps are less adept at solving customer problems,” Teodoru said. “Customer service reps located outside of the U.S. are rated lower on communication skills. When communication skills are poor, customers’ issues remain unsolved in the majority of cases.”

Call center representatives with poor communication skills can solve customer issues only 45% of the time, compared to 88% of the time when reps speak clearly, according to the study.

Of the six industries that CFI Group studied, catalog marketers and banks fared best, while personal computer centers scored worst. On the 100-point index, customers’ satisfaction within each industry was:

• Catalog Call Centers: 80
• Banking Call Centers: 77
• Cell Phone Service Call Centers: 69
• Cable and Satellite Television Call Centers: 68
• Insurance Call Centers: 68
• Personal Computer Call Centers: 64

The survey used the same methodology as the University of Michigan’s American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). CFI Group was founded in 1988 by University of Michigan professor Claes Fornell.

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