New Consumer Reports survey sheds light on poor customer service

YONKERS, N.Y. — As evidenced by the 10% upswing in Better Business Bureau complaints over 2009, Consumer Reports will be sharing its survey around a consumer outcry of poor customer service in its July 2011 issue.

As many as 64% of respondents reported having left a store because of poor service. And 67% had hung up on customer service without having had their problem addressed, though not having an actual human to gripe to on the other end of the line when complaining about poor service was the No. 1 “dislike” in the report’s “Gripe-O-Meter” graphic. Additionally, more than 70% of survey respondents reported being “tremendously annoyed” when they couldn’t reach a human on the phone.

Most Americans fielding a customer service issue, however, would rather deal with the situation over the phone. Only 16% of Americans would prefer to deal with a customer-service problem in person — 20% favored the phone and 2% favored live chat.