The results of a recent study conducted by a leading professional services company revealed an interesting insight into the differences in perception of services to customers. The study surveyed nationals of different countries living in Dubai, and while nearly 60% of the respondents felt customer services in Dubai were better than that in their home countries, 85% of British expatriates felt that it was worse than customer service in the UK.
This stark difference in the quality of service as perceived by customers is obvious in this case. Britain's high expectations of the quality of customer service has brought about a change in industry, with UK brands opting out of outsourcing customer services and bringing them back to be based out of the UK. Brands are also investing resources and training in their customer services, with Tesco (Britain's top retailer) adding 20,000 new customer servicing roles over the next couple of years.
We know that Britain expects a good quality of servicing, but how fast is the rest of the world catching up? There has been a lot of debate around outsourcing and what 2012 holds for this sector. Many companies continue to work their customer services from overseas, and invest the time and resources to instill brand cultures and values in customer service agents. With companies aiming to improve and customers expecting more, this seems like a good place to start a discussion about customer expectations and loyalty, and how companies can strike a balance in cost and quality of the services provided. Do companies tailor their services to suit customer's expectations or are they looking ahead to truly understand their customers, predict shortcomings and address issues before they affect customers?
What do you think, from your experiences in the sector and as a customer? Let us know in the comments section!