Training staff to meet customer expectations

A new study by the Institute of Customer Service suggests that businesses which put customer service at the heart of their staff training will gain a competitive advantage. This is particularly true for those targeting markets aged 25-34, where expectations of excellent customer service are highest.

The Institute conducts a study twice a year, and said that businesses had improved in the last 12 months, and the gap between the best and worst performers had narrowed. Amazon topped the satisfaction poll, with Non-food Retail as the sector scoring highest, and Telecoms and Media as the lowest. The Institute said that "The evidence suggests that customers still feel that they are spending too much time and effort dealing with businesses. To turn this around a greater focus should be given to making things easier and less cumbersome for customers. We are seeing customers not getting the answers they want from customer service because those staff are not well trained or because they are not empowered to make a difference to the customer's experience."

The most important differentiator for customer satisfaction is given as "Staff doing what they say they will do", which does seem like a good starting point for any organisation aiming to offer good service. There is an infographic with the highlights of the latest survey here, and a short 2-minute video report here.

If you are looking for examples of businesses which have worked to improve their customer service, the Institute has a number of case studies on their website.