Dell, HP, Chase, and Citi Customers Complain About Customer Service Language Skills in Vocalabs Survey

Study Tracks Customer Service Complaints at Apple, Dell, HP, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon, Bank of America, Chase, Citi, and Wells Fargo 

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota (May 9, 2012) – In an analysis of customer service complaints at eleven companies over the past 15 months, Dell, HP, Chase, and Citi customers often complained about the language skills of the companies’ customer service representatives. Customer service automation was the most common complaint overall, and led other complaints at Apple, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon, Bank of America, Chase, Citi, and Wells Fargo.

An analysis of 2,379 customer complaints collected during 7,194 National Customer Service Survey interviews between January 2011 and March 2012 yielded several other insights including:

• Customers of Dell and Wells Fargo we surveyed were more likely than customers of other companies to report incidents of rude or impolite behavior.
• Apple, Verizon, and Citi had the highest frequency of complaints about customer service automation in their respective industries.
• Customers of Dell, HP, and Wells Fargo were more likely to report being hung up on than customers of other companies.

“Our interviews for the National Customer Service Survey are fairly extensive, and at the end we ask the customer if he or she has any other comments or suggestions,” said Peter Leppik, CEO of Vocalabs. “This gives us a look at what’s really bothering customers about their customer service experience. In our analysis we expected to see complaints about language barriers and automation, but reports of rude behavior and customers getting hung up on were surprising.”

An executive summary of this data is available to download at http://www.vocalabs.com/published-research.

About This Research

The National Customer Service Survey (NCSS) tracks customer service quality in several industries, using telephone interviews conducted with a customer immediately after a customer service experience. Statistics in this press release are based on 7,194 interviews completed between January 2011 and March 2012. Customers of Apple, Dell, HP, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon, Bank of America, Chase, Citi, and Wells Fargo were interviewed immediately after a customer service call. As part of these interviews, 2,379 open-ended customer comments were recorded and analyzed for this report. The NCSS is underwritten and conducted by Vocalabs, independently of any of the companies covered.

To subscribe to the full data set, contact Vocalabs at inquiry@vocalabs.com, 952-941-6580, ext. 201.

About Vocalabs

Vocal Laboratories Inc. (Vocalabs) specializes in building effective customer feedback programs designed to measurably improve the customer experience. We use a combination of immediate live interviews and panel research to collect customer feedback tailored to each client's business goals. Our reporting tools serve the entire client organization, from executives to front-line customer service, and our unique expertise ensures ongoing improvement. Learn more at www.vocalabs.com.

Contact: Peter Leppik, Vocalabs, pleppik@vocalabs.com, 952-941-6580, ext. 201.