New research, undertaken by leading cloud contact centre vendor NewVoiceMedia, provides a snapshot of attitudes to customer service in the UK. Offering a compelling view of the consequences of poor customer service, the results reveal that an estimated £12 billion is lost by UK companies each year following an inadequate customer experience.

1. A nation of serial
switchersUnderstanding that good
customer service pays
New research, undertaken by
leading cloud contact centre vendor
NewVoiceMedia, provides a snapshot
of attitudes to customer service in the
UK. Offering a compelling view of the
consequences of poor customer service,
the results reveal that an estimated
£12 billion is lost by UK companies each
year following an inadequate customer
experience.

2. executiveoverview
Great customer service pays
dividends
Knowing how tough the current economic climate
is here in the UK, I was surprised to see how much
poor customer service is actually costing UK
businesses. An estimated £12 billion is lost each
year because consumers are unhappy with the
service they are experiencing and are switching
to a competitor. Worse still, many consumers
believe that the process of resolving issues is so
cumbersome that they don’t even attempt to make
contact. Our research showed that half of those
surveyed would switch their business. This should
serve as a wake-up call - half of a company’s
customers could literally disappear overnight and
they wouldn’t even know why!
However,ourresearchprovesthatifanorganisation
gets it right, customers will spend more and remain
loyal. Companies could therefore significantly
increase their business if they were to invest in
providing a positive customer experience.
Voice is still the first channel of choice, and there
are simple steps that an organisation can take to
get it right. Don’t leave customers on hold, resolve
issues quickly and integrate your telephony with
a cloud CRM system to provide a personalised
service.
The findings around social media were of particular
interest. Although not significant in volume
today, they clearly demonstrate the generational
importance of the channel – and that it’s likely
to explode in relevance as Gen Y consumers’
spending power increases.
For businesses to remain relevant, they have
to change the relationship that they have with
customers – treating them as individuals,
understanding their buying patterns, likes and
dislikes, and the overall experience they have with
your company. Companies need to harness the
power of cloud technology to allow them to provide
that level of personalised customer service.
Tel: 0207 206 8888 | Sales: 0207 785 8888 | www.newvoicemedia.compage 1.
by Jonathan Gale, CEO
NewVoiceMedia
Jonathan Gale

3. Tel: 0207 206 8888 | Sales: 0207 785 8888 | www.newvoicemedia.compage 2.
A nation of serial
switchers
key themes
Half your business could
disappear overnight
Half (50%) of consumers will buy from a competitor
as a result of a poor customer experience.
UK companies are losing £12 billion each year
because consumers are fed up with being passed
around to multiple agents, getting stuck in queues
or being put on hold. Respondents also say contact
centre staff often lack the information required to
adequately answer their questions.
Loyalty, what loyalty?
93% of respondents have switched business at
least once, and sometimes twice in the last year
because of poor customer service. This also
indicates how fickle consumers are when it comes
to sticking with one company.
‘On hold’ leaves customers cold
Almost half of those surveyed (49%) are actually
put off from calling a business directly to discuss
an issue, for fear of being kept on hold or in a
queue. This means that many could switch to a
competitor without even saying anything. 6%
imagine the process to be so slow that they simply
don’t bother.
Get it wrong and you’re gone
When asked what they would do if they experienced
poor customer service, over half of respondents
would never use that company again (56%), more
than a quarter would tell their friends and peers
(27%), nearly a fifth (19%) would post something
online and 1 in 6 would use social media (14%) to
spread the word. Only 5% said they wouldn’t do
anything at all.
Seeking social justice
Be warned, thinking you can keep complaints quiet
in this digital age is unrealistic. A staggering 1 in 3
(31%) 16 to 24 year-olds will post online if they are
unhappy with the service they are receiving. 19%
of the total sample size would post online and 14%
would complain via social media.
Good customer service pays
Companies could significantly increase their
business if they offer customers a great experience.
Following a good service, 74% of respondents say
they would be very loyal, 71% would recommend
a company to others and nearly half (44%) would
use the company more frequently. Clearly people
still like the idea of being loyal if they receive good
service. If not, they will go elsewhere.
Pick up the phone
Nothing beats direct interaction. Around two thirds
(66%) of respondents think calling would give the
quickest response to resolve an issue.
Get ready for Gen Y
While 89% of those surveyed stated that traditional
forms of communication such as email and phone
were the preferred means of complaining, the
younger generation is posting online and more in
tune with social media. This will only increase as
the younger generation matures. Over the next few
years we expect to see these statistics soar. We
expect this to increase as the younger generation
matures.

4. researchresults
Have you switched to a different
business as a result of poor
customer service?
50% have switched to a different business
as a result of poor customer service. Over
a quarter did so because they simply didn’t
feel appreciated as a customer (28%). Over
one fifth (22%) moved because staff were
unhelpful and rude, and one sixth (16%)
switched because they were passed on to
lots of different people.
If you switched, how much on
average were you spending?
Those surveyed, who switched, were
spending an average of £472.20 over the
course of a year which equates to a total of the
UK spending £12 billion (£11,981,602,800)
or 0.75% of GDP in 2012
*This has been calculated by multiplying the figure
(£472.20) by 50% of adult population of the UK
(50,748,000) i.e. 50% of respondents have switched,
therefore this equates to 25,374,000
How many times have you switched
businesses in the last year owing
to poor customer service?
73% of those surveyed have switched at
least once, and 19% twice.
The younger generation are also voting with
their feet, with the highest mean average
coming from the younger age group.
What puts you off calling a
business directly in relation to an
issue?
Almost half of the respondents (49%) say
being kept on hold puts them off. 45%
are disgruntled with having to repeat the
same information to multiple agents, and
44% are put off by the cost of the call.
Not being able to speak to a real person
straight away irritates 40% of those
surveyed.
People dislike being kept on hold, and
women object to having to repeat the
same question to multiple agents.
Over 55s clearly don’t like being kept
on hold (55%) whereas the younger
generation (16-24) are put off by the cost
of the call (56%).
Tel: 0207 206 8888 | Sales: 0207 785 8888 | www.newvoicemedia.compage 3.
Question1Question2Question3
Question4
55% of over 55s
clearly don’t like
being kept on hold.
40% irritated
by not being
able to speak
to a real person
straight away.
Undertaken by independent research
company, Opinion Matters from 12th March
to 26th March 2013 with a sample size of
2034 UK adults.

5. researchresults
What would you do if you
experienced poor service?
Over half (58%) would write to complain
using email or mail, while 56% would not use
that company again. Over one quarter (27%)
would tell friends and peers. Interestingly,
nearly one fifth (19%) would post a comment
online and 1 in 6 (14%) would use social
media. Only 5% wouldn’t do anything – this
means that 95% would react or respond in
some way.
Women are generally more verbal than men
when it comes to complaining, with over 61%
saying they would write a letter of complaint.
Over half (57%) would not use the service
again, and 28% would tell their friends. 19%
would post online and 15% would use social
media. These were all higher than those
quoted by men.
65% of over 55s would write a letter of
complaint versus only 33% of 16–24 year-
olds. Instead, 16-24 year-olds would head
online, with 31% saying they would post an
online review (versus 14% of over 55s) and
31% complaining via social media (versus
8% of over 55s). We expect this to increase
as the younger generation matures.
What do you think is the most
effective way to get your problem
solved?
When it comes to solving problems, dialogue
and traditional forms of communication are
still chosen over social media.
Emailing (29%), calling (28%) and sending
a letter (25%) were cited as most effective.
Twitter and texting remain low at 2%.
30% of women prefer to send an email, 26%
like to call, and 27% prefer to write a letter.
30% of men prefer to call, 27% email and
23% write a letter.
Younger people want to talk: 52% of 16-24
year-olds would prefer to speak to someone,
although they are five times more likely to
use social media and text than over 55s.
Tel: 0207 206 8888 | Sales: 0207 785 8888 | www.newvoicemedia.compage 4.
Question6 Undertaken by independent research
company, Opinion Matters from 12th March
to 26th March 2013 with a sample size of
2034 UK adults.
Question5
19% would
post a comment
online.
30%of women
prefer to send
an email as
an effective
problem solving
method.
52% of 16-24yrs
prefer to speak to
someone.

6. researchresults
How long are you prepared to hold
before hanging up?
Interestingly, only 16% said that they were
prepared to wait less than 5 minutes, which
demonstrates that as a nation we are still
pretty tolerant. Nearly two thirds (64%) were
prepared to wait between 5-10 minutes.
Men are generally more impatient than
women. One fifth are prepared to wait less
than 5 minutes (20%) versus only 13% of
women.
The older generation (55+) are more
impatient. Over one fifth (22%) would wait for
less than 5 minutes versus 8% of 16–24 year-
olds. 49% of 16-24 year-olds are prepared
to wait 5-10 minutes, and 30% are prepared
to wait 11-20 minutes. That’s compared to
only 9% of over 55s willing to wait the same
amount of time.
If a company gave you good
service, how would this affect your
relationship with them?
74% of respondents said they would be very
loyal, 71% would recommend the company
to others, nearly half (44%) would use them
more frequently and 34% would spend more
money with the organisation.
Women are more vocal at recommending
versus men who would actually use the
service more frequently.
When looking at the age ranges, the older
generation are more likely to recommend
than younger people. They would also be
more likely to use the service more frequently
(50%) for the 55+ range, and 46% for the 45-
54 range.
Tel: 0207 206 8888 | Sales: 0207 785 8888 | www.newvoicemedia.compage 5.
Question7Question8
20% of men
are prepared to
wait less than
5 mins before
hanging up.
13% of women
are prepared to wait
less than 5 mins
before hanging up.
Undertaken by independent research
company, Opinion Matters from 12th March
to 26th March 2013 with a sample size of
2034 UK adults.

7. researchresults
What is your preferred method of
communication with a business?
Emailing was the most popular form of
communication (44%), closely followed by
calling (43%). These were clearly the two
most preferred forms of communication
with letter writing chosen by just 7% of
respondents.
There was no real difference between
men and women when it came to
communication.16-24 year-olds prefer to call
(55%) than to email or write, and the older
generation (55+) use post (9%) more than
any other age group.
What method of communication do
you think would give the quickest
response to getting your issue
resolved?
It was evident that direct contact was still
the preferred method. 66% said calling, 23%
said emailing, and 3% said the post. Social
media channels were all below 3%.
Calling was unanimously the preferred
method of communication amongst men
and women, and across all age ranges.
Tel: 0207 206 8888 | Sales: 0207 785 8888 | www.newvoicemedia.compage 6.
Question9Question10 Undertaken by independent research
company, Opinion Matters from 12th March
to 26th March 2013 with a sample size of
2034 UK adults.
At 44% emailing is
the most popular form
of communication with
a business.
At 43% calling is
the second most
popular form of
communication with a
business.

8. aboutnewvoicemedia
ContactWorld from NewVoiceMedia is an
enterprise class contact centre, delivered via
a true multi-tenant cloud architecture. Our
customers benefit from fast, flexible and cost
effective access to contact centre capabilities that
would normally be very complicated, expensive
and slow to acquire, integrate and use.
ContactWorld offers customers an incredibly
rich suite of integrated call centre technologies.
We leverage the cloud to provide complex data
driven routing of calls so they are delivered to
the correct agents. We provide them with the
technology and information to resolve more
enquiries first time, resulting in a more rewarding
interaction between agents and customers.
The ContactWorld platform provides a market
leading 99.999% service availability SLA,
and processes hundreds of millions of calls,
for thousands of agents working across the
globe. We have customers in 30 countries on 5
continents, including DPD, Topcon, H.R. Owen,
QlikTech, Royal Mail, Lumesse and SHL Group.
For further information, please visit:
www.newvoicemedia.com