Top Industries Revealed – Who Leads in Customer Service Excellence within the contact centre?
• UK consumers have to wait more than five minutes on average to speak to a human customer service representative.
• Financial services ranked highest with shortest wait times (2m 31s) and strong communication options
• Retail performed worst, with longest wait times (11m 42s) and limited support, including only 60% offering phone support.
New data by business communications provider Esendex, has unveiled how industries stack up when it comes to customer standards, with financial services ranking highest and retailers the lowest.
The research analysed key factors, such as wait times to speak to a human representative and the number of communication channels offered, including web chat, SMS, and WhatsApp, across industries including financial services, retail, utilities, insurance, and telecoms.
Financial services emerged as the top-performing industry, having the shortest wait times to speak to a human representative and a higher-than-average number of communication channels.
Customers in this sector wait just 2 minutes and 31 seconds on average to speak with a human, well below the overall average of 5 minutes and 6 seconds.
By contrast, the retail industry ranked the lowest, with customers experiencing significantly longer wait times, averaging 11 minutes and 42 seconds, and a limited number of communication channels.
Retail also trails in phone support availability, with only 60% of providers offering a phone line for direct customer service, compared to almost universal phone support in the other industries sampled.
Further research by Esendex, analysing the Customer Happiness Index, recently revealed that the UK retail sector has the most dissatisfied customers, with an average Trustpilot rating of 3.3.
The findings underscore the importance of investing in diverse communication channels and efficient service systems to deliver a superior customer experience.
Utility providers offer the highest average number of communication channels (3.2), whilst telecoms and retail provided the fewest channels, with an average of just 2.2 each.
Richard Hanscott, CEO of Esendex, said:
“The findings clearly highlight the critical role that both efficient response times and a variety of communication channels play in shaping the customer experience. With busy lives, customers expect choice and flexibility, needing to fit queries around work, family and social commitments. Offering WhatsApp, SMS and web chat allows them to engage on their terms.
“There is a clear correlation between the number of communication channels and overall customer wait times, with industries with more accessible options, like utility providers, seeing shorter wait times. Financial services has clearly set the benchmark for excellence, proving that a quick, accessible, and multi-channel approach is key to maintaining customer satisfaction. The retail sector’s longer wait times and limited communication options shows that there’s much work to be done for many industries to meet today’s customer expectations.”
For additional information on Esendex visit their Website
