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Complaints to UK bank contact centres increase by 440% since recession began
Complaints to UK bank contact centres increase by 440% since recession began
Research reveals that the past 2 years has seen a 440% increase in the number of complaints about the failures and shortcomings of UK banks. In real terms, this means a jump from almost 2.8m negative calls in 2008 to over 12.2m in 2010.
However, it is not the case that the performance or quality of banks’ contact centre staff has declined: the proportion of complaints directed at the failings of the contact centre’s staff has reduced from 21% to 14% in that same timescale, with the vast and growing majority of customer complaints being about the workings and processes of the bank itself (up from 79% in 2008 to 86% in 2010).
Generally, the recession has driven more consumers to display negativity, stress and intolerance of mistakes, as well as there being general under-investment by companies, which has worsened the problems with the business processes that cause many of these complaints. Negative feelings towards financial services institutions, and specific issues around bank charges and the fall-out of the credit crunch have created many very unhappy customers who are now far more prone to complain than had previously been the case.
“The UK Contact Centre Decision-Makers’ Guide (8th edition – 2010)”, is a major study of over 200 UK contact centre operations, looking at all areas of contact centre performance, investment, technology, HR and strategy. This year, it is available entirely free of charge from http://www.contactbabel.com.
The report’s author, Steve Morrell, commented:
“It is no surprise the finance and banking sector comes out of this worst. In 2008, only 1.2% of calls made to banks were complaints – in 2010, that figure had increased by more than seven-fold to 8.5%. However, as the overall number of calls to banks’ UK contact centres has diminished since 2008, due to an increase in self-service and offshore support, the actual number of complaints has not risen by quite as much, although a 440% increase is certainly cause for alarm.
“Across every business sector – not just the banks – the vast amount of complaints received by a contact centre are not about how the staff handle calls, but rather about a failure of processes elsewhere in the organisation. However, it’s the contact centre that has to deal with the dirty work, and further failures within the complaints and resolutions procedure (or lack of it) can see customers calling into the contact centre again and again, becoming more irate each time, despite the real problem lying outside the contact centre.
“There is a real risk, especially within large contact centres and in those that operate offshore as well as in the UK, that a single agent does not have the capability or responsibility to deal with the customer’s issue. It may be that various internal departments (e.g. finance, billing, provisioning and technical support), need to work together to resolve the issue, but in many businesses, getting someone to take responsibility for sorting out the problem is a long and complex process in itself.
“This widespread and short-sighted failure of businesses to see the contact centre as part of a larger organic whole is the main reason that many people dislike using contact centres: too often, agents are simply not given the tools they need to solve the customer’s problem.”
Complaints to UK bank contact centres increase by 440% since recession began
Research reveals that the past 2 years has seen a 440% increase in the number of complaints about the failures and shortcomings of UK banks. In real terms, this means a jump from almost 2.8m negative calls in 2008 to over 12.2m in 2010.
However, it is not the case that the performance or quality of banks’ contact centre staff has declined: the proportion of complaints directed at the failings of the contact centre’s staff has reduced from 21% to 14% in that same timescale, with the vast and growing majority of customer complaints being about the workings and processes of the bank itself (up from 79% in 2008 to 86% in 2010).
Generally, the recession has driven more consumers to display negativity, stress and intolerance of mistakes, as well as there being general under-investment by companies, which has worsened the problems with the business processes that cause many of these complaints. Negative feelings towards financial services institutions, and specific issues around bank charges and the fall-out of the credit crunch have created many very unhappy customers who are now far more prone to complain than had previously been the case.
“The UK Contact Centre Decision-Makers’ Guide (8th edition – 2010)”, is a major study of over 200 UK contact centre operations, looking at all areas of contact centre performance, investment, technology, HR and strategy. This year, it is available entirely free of charge from http://www.contactbabel.com.
The report’s author, Steve Morrell, commented:
“It is no surprise the finance and banking sector comes out of this worst. In 2008, only 1.2% of calls made to banks were complaints – in 2010, that figure had increased by more than seven-fold to 8.5%. However, as the overall number of calls to banks’ UK contact centres has diminished since 2008, due to an increase in self-service and offshore support, the actual number of complaints has not risen by quite as much, although a 440% increase is certainly cause for alarm.
“Across every business sector – not just the banks – the vast amount of complaints received by a contact centre are not about how the staff handle calls, but rather about a failure of processes elsewhere in the organisation. However, it’s the contact centre that has to deal with the dirty work, and further failures within the complaints and resolutions procedure (or lack of it) can see customers calling into the contact centre again and again, becoming more irate each time, despite the real problem lying outside the contact centre.
“There is a real risk, especially within large contact centres and in those that operate offshore as well as in the UK, that a single agent does not have the capability or responsibility to deal with the customer’s issue. It may be that various internal departments (e.g. finance, billing, provisioning and technical support), need to work together to resolve the issue, but in many businesses, getting someone to take responsibility for sorting out the problem is a long and complex process in itself.
“This widespread and short-sighted failure of businesses to see the contact centre as part of a larger organic whole is the main reason that many people dislike using contact centres: too often, agents are simply not given the tools they need to solve the customer’s problem.”
