Customer dissatisfaction is rising, with the number of problems and complaints increasing to an all time high according to the July 2022 UKCSI index, which shows that 17.3% of customers experienced a problem with an organisation, the highest level ever recorded in the UKCSI.

Jo Causon, CEO of the Institute of Customer Services opens with:

‘Overall customer satisfaction in the UK is flat: any improvement we saw in the latter part of 2021 has stalled since January 2022 and there are early signs that satisfaction is declining in some sectors’.

Yet the Index still shows that 35% of customers would be prepared to pay more to guarantee excellent service vs only 12% who are willing to sacrifice service quality for price. How many business leaders still consider Customer Service a cost vs an investment?

When businesses are no doubt looking at additional challenges ahead, an investment, or further investment in customer service seems like the smart move.

At a recent awards programme, it was heartening to see a business investing significant amounts year on year in their customer proposition and the people, not just across their customer functions, but in customer initiatives across their entire business, led by their customer experience team. Transforming what had been a business that provided a service to their customers, to a Customer Experience business that provided that service. Each year, the customer initiatives and teams driving these initiatives made more improvements and saw more and more marginal gains, driving significant savings and increased revenue for the business. They focussed on doing the basics brilliantly, which in itself, does not necessitate a large capital investment.

The right purpose, motivations and drive were enough to start a movement which has become contagious, with the customer functions struggling to keep up with the business ideas for customer change and the business was doing the right thing for the customer.

When we look at the highest rated organisations in the ICS Index; UK Power Networks, Timpson and John Lewis, we see businesses focussed on a commitment to their employees and customers, whilst they may not get everything right and have the slickest tools, technology or process in every case, they have core values based around people which have helped deliver their results and continue to do so.

If your business is considering where to invest and not just your capital, a commitment to your employee and customer service seems like the smart move.

What do you think? As always it would be great to hear your thoughts and comments.