Last month, the University of Michigan’s American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) conducted a customer satisfaction survey. The results show that customer satisfaction with the goods and services that Americans buy continues to improve, but at a slower rate.

While customers are growing more satisfied with utilities and cellphone companies, they are unhappy with the customer service they get from restaurants, cable, and airline companies.

What is the impact of this information?

ACSI conducts these surveys to help companies assess their overall performance in terms of the bottomline. According to Professor Claes Fornell, director of the University of Michigan’s National Quality Research Center, which compiles and analyzes the ACSI data, “Companies don’t have much pricing power unless there is shrinking supply or higher customer satisfaction. There are no signs of the former in most industries, so the latter becomes more critical. Companies may begin to see narrowing profit margins unless there is further improvement in customer satisfaction.” Read more…

In the latest scheme of things, the demand for exceptional customer service has now become a factor to consider in pricing. This is a good thing for customers, who have been longing for exceptional customer service.

Although customers now have more avenues to express their misgivings over a product or a company, I’m surprised that companies have not been heeding the voice of the customer. Are these companies out to ignore the clamor of customers for better customer service? What satisfaction do they get by continuing to provide lousy customer service?

Source:
American Society for Quality (ASQ) News

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