Study: no customer service ... no customers

IRVING, Texas A recent study conducted by M/A/R/C Research and National In-Store found over 16% of consumers said they would stop visiting a store all together as a result of a bad customer experience.

The study included shoppers at stores in eight categories: consumer electronics, office supply, mass merchandisers, club, department, grocery, drug, and home improvement stores. The study included responses to an online survey from over 12,000 shoppers, and in-store audits of almost 4,000 office supply and consumer electronics stores.

According to the study, consumers most actively seek advice from sales associates at consumer electronics and home improvement stores. More than 95% of consumers indicate sales associates are very/somewhat important, with two-thirds indicating they are very important.

While shoppers most often sought advice from ce sales associates, they were cited as being the most unhelpful by survey respondents. According to the study, 51% of ce sales associates were not knowledgeable about products customers asked about.