Customers worldwide are most satisfied with customer support provided via telephone, according to a recent report by Zendesk.
The analysis of support interactions across the globe in 3Q13 found that 91% of customers are satisfied with service provided via phone. Chat has the second-highest customer satisfaction rate of all channels (85%), followed by help centers/Web forums (83%).
Satisfaction with support provided via email (82%), Twitter (81%), and Facebook (74%), is somewhat less.
Below, additional key findings from the report, which was based on data from actual customer service and support interactions from more than 16,000 companies across 125 countries.
Support by Time of Day
- Zendesk found that support tickets submitted outside normal business hours have the slowest first reply times (FRT) and so, not surprisingly, the lowest satisfaction scores.
- The longest FRTs occur around 5-6 PM local time, when support staffs often leave for the day and non-urgent tickets sometimes wait 12-14 hours before being tackled.
Trends by Country
- Satisfaction scores with customer support made big gains in 3Q13 in emerging markets—specifically Brazil (the top riser) and Russia.
- Canada had the highest customer satisfaction scores overall (91%), beating out Australia by less than 1 percentage point.
Trends By Industry
- In 3Q13 the IT services and consultancy industry just barely edged out government and non-profit for the highest customer satisfaction levels.
- Social media has been steadily improving since 2Q12, and the industry saw an increase of 3 percentage points in customer satisfaction levels in 3Q13.
About the research: The report was based on data from actual customer service and support interactions in 3Q13 from more than 16,000 companies across 125 countries.
