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“As the balance of power continues to shift from businesses to consumers, we believe the companies that have a firm understanding of consumers’ desires have the opportunity to truly differentiate themselves from their competitors.”

The Aspect Index measures the quality of consumers’ telephone and Internet interactions with companies and their representatives. The survey takes into consideration 27 qualities across three categories:

• Empathy and Advocacy – the human aspect of customer interactions, such as patience, knowledge, professionalism, and friendliness.
• Efficiency – the overall quality and speed of the experience including being able to quickly speak with an agent, authority to resolve issues, and clear connection.
• Automation – explores ease-of-use of technologies like automated menus, multiple contact choices, and access of contact information from website.

Based on the findings of the Aspect Index, applying an “A through F” report card measurement tool, contact centers are performing on average at a D+ (69.6) level according to consumers.

Patricia Seybold, CEO of The Patricia Seybold Group and an expert on the customer experience, said, “Contact centers are still being evaluated on cost per call, rather than percentage of single call resolution; on efficiency of call-handling rather than on reducing the time-to-connect to a knowledgeable person; and on professionalism, rather than knowledge about the customer’s context and situation. When will executives realize that providing a D+ customer experience on the phone does permanent damage to their brand?”

“The results are quite important because they expose information that could be a considerable risk for companies who do not recognize the challenge before them or choose not to acknowledge it. Similarly, companies that understand and appreciate that there is a gap between what they deliver and what consumers expect have an enormous opportunity. With the Aspect Index they have the facts to back up implementing specific customer contact strategies,” said Sheridan.

Key Findings of the Aspect Contact Center Satisfaction Index

Using a combination of telephone and online methods, the Aspect Index surveyed more than 1,000 consumers and 150 contact center professionals on 27 topics including knowledge of agents, the ability to speak with a person without a long delay and ease of access to a person from an automated menu. The Aspect Index found that, overall, contact center professionals believe they are performing better than consumers believe them to be and they are underestimating consumer expectations, while also not satisfying them.

Some of the key findings include:

• 23 percent of consumers feel that contact center interactions fall short of their expectations
• Contact center managers overestimate consumer satisfaction with their performance with 90 percent believing they meet or exceed consumer expectations, but only 77 percent of consumers agree
• Contact centers received a C- (72%) for consumer satisfaction across the valued people-related measures of Empathy and Advocacy
• Consumers rate their experience with the Efficiency of contact centers with an overall D grade (66%)
• Consumers rate their experience with contact center Automation as a D- grade (61%)
• The telephone is still king with 79 percent of consumer interactions taking place via this channel
• While only 18 percent of customer interactions happen via email, 82 percent of them met or exceeded customer expectations, the highest satisfaction rate of any channel
• 24.7 percent of interactions with telecommunications companies fell short of consumer expectations, while 18.1 percent of retail company interactions and 18.9 percent of financial company interactions fell short

“The Aspect Index reveals the true extent of the disconnect between what customers care about and what contact centers are resourced to provide,” added Seybold. “Contact centers need to take notice that customers want you to answer their inquiry and let them speak to a knowledgeable person quickly, address their needs in a single interaction, know who they are, in short, show them you value their business!”