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Customer issues: Response vs. Resolution

Fast response times aren’t worth much without a speedy resolution to customer issues.

Nearly two-thirds (71 percent) of business leaders surveyed say that the customer experience at their companies is “better than it was one or two years ago,” according to “The State of Customer Service Experience 2023,” a report from The Northridge Group, a management consulting group specializing in customer experience.

Yet only 67 percent of consumers surveyed say that companies make it “easy or very easy” to resolve customer service issues efficiently, according to the same.

Most consumers surveyed for the report admit they’ll wait only “a few minutes” to contact customer service a second time if their issue remains unresolved. That’s a big switch from The Northridge Group’s 2019 survey where those surveyed were more patient, saying they “would wait a day.”

Even though respondents agree that digital channels, including web self-service, mobile apps, chatbots, and text messages are becoming faster, they still prefer interacting with a human to resolve most issues, says the report:

“Customers do draw a distinction between reaching a company and having their issues resolved. Customers want to resolve issues quickly and they view human-assisted channels as the fastest. Survey respondents report that they receive the fastest response as well as the fastest issue resolution from the phone and live agent chat channels.”

Response vs. Resolution: Which matters most?

Customers want their issues resolved fast but quick “response” time is only part of the positive customer experience. The speed of issue “resolution” is just as important.

“Repeat calls are a sign that a contact center has deficiencies that can stem from inadequate training, poor associate behaviors, inefficient business processes, or unaddressed feature or function issues with the underlying products or services,” said Jeff Quinn, principal, technology, telecom and media at The Northridge Group in the report.

“Repeat calls drive up operational costs, indicate a negative Customer Experience, and can lead to increased customer churn,” said Quinn. Focusing on First Contact Resolution (FCR) is critical for contact center success. However, to reduce repeat calls, it is essential to figure out what is driving them in the first place.”

Quinn recommends identifying the drivers of repeat calls by conducting a root cause analysis and leveraging data so your company can identify what it is about the process, systems or behaviors that aren’t working.

“Uncovering the root causes of repeat calls makes it possible to redesign the customer engagement leading to an improved experience, reduced costs, and increased retention,” said Quinn.

Human-assisted channels offer both

Customers surveyed said they receive the fastest response as well as receiving the fastest issue resolution when they call the contact center or use live agent chat, says the report.

Nearly half (49 percent) of customers surveyed said that phone contact offers the fastest response. And more than half (54 percent) said that contacting a company by phone also offers the fastest resolution.

“While the wait times for reaching an associate by phone are usually longer than for chat, after the associate responds, issue resolution by phone can be faster than chat because associates generally field one call at a time but often field multiple chats,” says the report.

“Fortunately, with the right processes in place, contact centers can often leverage their data to achieve this delicate balance,” says Quinn. “Identifying the exact causes of repeat calls and determining solutions for those drivers is key to reducing the calls and improving the customer experience.”