Survey: Customers will pay for great online service

Online shoppers are dissatisfied with many aspects of customer service, but satisfying them can pay dividends.

According to the fifth annual Customer Expectations Report from customer service platform Gladly, 83% of surveyed consumers will spend more money with retailers that deliver great online customer service. Meanwhile, nearly three in 10 (28%) respondents say their customer service expectations are not being met. 

Top reasons for this dissatisfaction include having to explain a customer service issue over and over again (73%) and having to know their ticket number (21%). Nearly half of respondents (45%) will never shop with a brand again after two negative service experiences. 

Key elements of a satisfying online interaction with a customer service rep include 
chatting with a knowledgeable expert on the product in question (78%); receiving recommendations from the rep for other products they know the customer will like (34%); and a rep who is willing to spend extra time consulting on other options (21%). 
 
Forty-six percent of surveyed consumers expect customer representatives to respond within a minute of initiating live chat. Additionally, more than six in 10 (62%) respondents want the ability to complete their purchase during a live chat conversation with a customer service representative.
 
Examining consumer attitudes toward chatbots, the survey uncovers mixed feelings about the technology. More than half (53%) of respondents found chatbots most helpful when they don’t want to talk to – or wait for – a real person, while 51% find chatbots helpful when they need a simple question answered as quickly as possible (51%). Conversely, chatbots are most frustrating for respondents when they present an obstacle to speaking with a human representative (43%) or when they make them feel like a number vs. a valued customer (52%).

Zogby Analytics conducted a nationwide, online survey in December 2020 on behalf of Gladly. Thousands of U.S. adults were invited to participate in the interactive survey, yielding 1,507 total respondents.