customer satisfaction Archives

Apparently American consumers surveyed in the 2010 American Customer Survey Index ranked Facebook lower than any other business in its category, but it still managed to beat Myspace by a point. Facebook scored 64 out of 100, Myspace scored 63 out of 100, and by comparison Google scored 80 (A drop of 7 points on last year’s score). (h/t Mashable).

The question is whether anyone is surprised:

a) That social networks can lead to dissatisfaction?

b) That social networks are still growing massively despite such dissatisfaction?

(Note – I’m not picking out any specific network here – I’m talking about everything from a traditional forum to the big social networks).

Firstly, social networks in themselves can be immensely frustrating and problematic – knowing how they work, putting up with them when they crash, receiving messages about problems from an anonymous staff member with no route to reply or dispute are just some of the things which can annoy social network users.

As someone who has used social networks for many years, I’ve become accustomed to the fact that quite often you can try for months to get a response on a business-related issue. Sometimes even when you want to spend some budget with the company in question.

But it’s even worse if you’re a ‘normal’ user – when you signed up to the Terms and Conditions, you agreed your account could be deleted, and unless the media or a prominent tech blogger takes up your case, there’s no real recourse.

Secondly, social networks are fantastic and will continue to grow and attract new users, even amongst those frustrated with them. And it’s all because of a simple selling point – other people. Even if a social network is clunky and frustrating to use, you’ll continue to use it if there’s a critical mass of your friends, family, contacts and information.

Unfortunately Twitter wasn’t included, as so many people encounter it via a 3rd party client. And I didn’t see any mention of LinkedIn. Suffice to say, most of the main social networks do a reasonable job until something goes wrong – then you’re at the mercy of a large company which has scaled quickly to deal with massive demand.

Interestingly, Wikipedia topped the Social Media category with a score of 77. In News and Information, FoxNews.com debuted with a score of 82, which is the highest ever for any news site. There’s a little more info at ForeSee Results.

It’s always nice to be able to post about good things for a change. So I thought I’d highlight a television advert I actually enjoy, and a company which have given me good service.

First up – the advert:

It’s a new Dyson, and I think it’s a great example of a product with the marketing built right into it (something which Dyson do a lot). What I like is that 30 simple seconds outlines the problem that the new vacuum cleaner solves without any outlandish claims of hard sell.

If it’s a problem which you recognise, you’ll want to buy one. And the best thing is the flipside – it doesn’t worry that people who don’t have that particular problem won’t buy the product, because they wouldn’t have bought it anyway. In fact it even makes you feel better about owning an alternative if it’s avoided the problem.

And on another positive note, I just wanted to mention that the firm I’ve used for car insurance, Adrian Flux, have been great both when I first booked the policy, and when I recently cancelled the renewal while I spend some time rebuilding my car. Considering my pathological hatred of phoning company hotlines or helplines, they were well-informed and helpful, and didn’t try to upsell me with things I didn’t want or need. So credit where credit is due – and I’ll happily use them again for insurance.

It’s why the announcement of record profits of the Co-operative Group lept out at me:

‘Chief Executive Peter Marks contributed the company’s success to a rejuvenated Co-operative Group.

He said the food business has been driven by successful store refits, product innovation and greater customer service.’ (bold added by me).

So innovative products and improving customer service could lead to record profits?

So why are so many companies absolutely rubbish at customer service?

Two things I’ve enjoyed recently

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