Attitudes Towards Call Centres
New MORI research for Citizen's Advice shows that use of call centres in Great Britain is pervasive: four in five (79%) have used a call centre in the past 12 months. Call centres operated by financial institutions and utilities companies are the most widely used services; around half the public have recently contacted each (56% and 45% respectively), while around a quarter have used the call centres of government agencies (27%) and retailers (24%) in the past year.
New MORI research for Citizen's Advice shows that use of call centres in Great Britain is pervasive: four in five (79%) have used a call centre in the past 12 months. Call centres operated by financial institutions and utilities companies are the most widely used services; around half the public have recently contacted each (56% and 45% respectively), while around a quarter have used the call centres of government agencies (27%) and retailers (24%) in the past year.
Perceived standards of service in call centres are polarised and a significant minority of users are dissatisfied with the services they receive. Satisfaction tends to be highest with those call centres operated by industries traditionally committed to delivering good customer service: retailers' call centres generate highest satisfaction, while call centres operated by utilities companies are seen to be least customer-friendly (67% and 49% of customers satisfied respectively).
When prompted, almost all call centre users (97%) have some criticisms of their experiences. Half of all callers (51%) find prolonged hold periods one of the most annoying aspects of using call centres. Being routed through complicated response systems and presented with lots of automated options are another common complaint (38%).
Technical details
Questions were placed on the MORI Omnibus, the regular MORI survey among the general public. A nationally representative quota sample of 2,253 adults (aged 15 or over) was interviewed throughout Great Britain by MORI between 8th and 13th July, 2004. Interviews were conducted face-to-face, in respondents' homes, using CAPI (Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing).
Topline Results
- Interim topline findings based on interviews with a nationally representative sample of 2253 adults (aged 15 or over) across Great Britain.
- Data have been weighted for age, sex, social class, standard region, work status and cars in household to the known profile of Great Britain.
- Respondents were interviewed face-to-face between Thursday 8th July and Tuesday 13th July 2004.
- Data based on all unless otherwise stated.
- Where figures do not sum to 100% this may be due to computer rounding, multiple codes or the exclusion of 'Don't know'.
- An asterisk (*) represents a figure greater than zero, but less than 0.5%.
- Where bases are below 30, absolute figures are given rather than percentages, and are shown in italics.
Q1 Which, if any, of the following types of organisations have you contacted by telephone, through a call centre, in the past 12 months?
| % | |
|---|---|
| Bank, building society, insurance company or other financial institution | 56 |
| Utilities company (e.g. water, gas, electricity or telephone) | 45 |
| Retailer (e.g. shopping catalogue) | 27 |
| Government agency (e.g. DSS or Inland Revenue or job centre) | 24 |
| Other type of organisation | 4 |
| None of the above | 21 |
| Don't know | 1 |
Q2a Thinking about the last time you contacted a bank, building society, insurance company or other financial institution, how satisfied were you with the experience overall?Base: 1,256
| % | |
|---|---|
| Very satisfied | 19 |
| Fairly satisfied | 41 |
| Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied | 10 |
| Fairly dissatisfied | 16 |
| Very dissatisfied | 14 |
| Don't know | * |
Q2b Thinking about the last time you contacted a utilities company, how satisfied were you with the experience overall?Base: 1,027
| % | |
|---|---|
| Very satisfied | 11 |
| Fairly satisfied | 38 |
| Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied | 11 |
| Fairly dissatisfied | 20 |
| Very dissatisfied | 19 |
| Don't know | * |
Q2c Thinking about the last time you contacted a Government agency, how satisfied were you with the experience overall?Base: 548
| % | |
|---|---|
| Very satisfied | 19 |
| Fairly satisfied | 39 |
| Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied | 12 |
| Fairly dissatisfied | 13 |
| Very dissatisfied | 17 |
| Don't know | * |
Q2d Thinking about the last time you contacted a retailer, how satisfied were you with the experience overall?Base: 598
| % | |
|---|---|
| Very satisfied | 21 |
| Fairly satisfied | 46 |
| Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied | 11 |
| Fairly dissatisfied | 9 |
| Very dissatisfied | 13 |
| Don't know | * |
Q3 What if anything, would you say are the two or three most annoying aspects of using call centres?Base: 1,775
| % | |
|---|---|
| Leave me waiting too long before I speak to someone | 40 |
| Too many/complicated automated options | 25 |
| Not being able to speak to someone in person /face-to face | 18 |
| Automated response system | 17 |
| Being passed from department to department | 17 |
| Leave me on hold while my query is being handled | 16 |
| Music played while on hold | 16 |
| When I get through they can't deal with my problem | 13 |
| Staff are not professional/efficient | 11 |
| Not telling me where I am in the queue/how long I have to wait | 10 |
| Difficulty understanding/ poor understanding/ poor English | 9 |
| High costs of the phone call | 6 |
| Foreign/Indian call centres | 4 |
| Staff are not friendly | 3 |
| Advertising/information messages while on hold | 3 |
| Not being able to speak/ get through to the right person | 1 |
| Not being able to speak/ get back to the same person | 1 |
| Impersonal | 1 |
| Having to repeat yourself | 1 |
| Limited/ irrelevant automated options | 1 |
| Sales pressure | * |
| Not returning my calls | * |
| Other | 2 |
| No annoying aspects | 3 |
| Don't know | 1 |
| Over-coded responses: | |
| Being kept on hold | 51 |
| Automated responses/options | 38 |
| Staff unfriendly/unprofessional/unhelpful | 23 |
| Music/messages while on hold | 18 |
| Not face-to-face/impersonal | 18 |
| Difficulty understanding/being understood/foreign call centres | 11 |
