30 Crucial Customer Service Statistics To Pay Attention To [2023]: How Businesses Succeed

Research Summary. Good customer service has long been vital to keeping businesses strong, and today it’s just as important as ever. Here are some statistics on customer service and how it affects both companies and consumers:

• 61% of customers have switched to a competitor after a bad customer service experience.

• Customers will tell an average of 9 people about a positive customer service experience but will tell 16 people about a negative experience.

• 52% of Americans are willing to pay more for good customer service.

• 93% of customers are likely to repeat purchasing from a company after experiencing excellent customer service.

• 91% of customers are willing to switch companies after one bad customer service experience.

For further analysis, we broke down the data in the following ways:
Bad Customer Service | Good Customer Service | Experiences | Effect | Benefits | Trends and Projections

General Customer Service Statistics

• 94% of customers believe customer service is an important factor in their brand choices and purchasing decisions.

  More specifically, 38% say customer service is somewhat important to these decisions, and 56% say it’s very important.

• 58% of customers have contacted a customer service department within the last month.

  These surveyed customers answered yes to the question if they contacted customer service for any reason within the last month.

• According to the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), Chewy offers the best customer service.

  The company scored an 85 on the ACSI and boasted employees that were rated the most polite in their industry.

  Other top-ten companies and their ACSI scores include:

  Top 10 Companies and Their ACSI Score (2022-2023)

  Company	American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI)
  Chewy	85
  Trader Joe’s	85
  Amazon	84
  Lexus (Toyota)	84
  American Eagle Outfitters	83
  Chick-fil-A	83
  Clorox	83
  Hershey’s	83
  New York Life	83
  Procter & Gamble	82

Customer Opinions on Bad Customer Service

• It can take up to 12 positive customer service experiences to make up for 1 negative one.

• 39% of customers say that a customer service agent’s lack of knowledge is the most frustrating aspect of poor customer service, followed by 28% who say having to repeat information is the most frustrating part.

• 53% of customers believe companies don’t take any action on customer feedback.

Customer Opinions on Good Customer Service

• 42% of customers prefer to resolve customer service issues over the phone.

  In contrast, 38% prefer digital channels such as instant messaging or social media, and 20% prefer email.

• The majority (31%) of customers who contact a company with customer service requests or complaints via social media expect a response sometime that day.

  In comparison, 25% don’t expect a response, 24% expect a response within an hour, and 20% expect one immediately. [6]

  

• 79% of customers believe that the experience a company provides is just as important as its product or services.

  This is even more important to millennials, as 83% of this demographic believes that a good experience with a company is just as important as the product or service they’re paying for. [7]

• 83% of customers expect to reach someone immediately when they contact a company.

  In 2019, only 78% of customers felt the same way. This increase in 2020 correlates with the 58% of customers who have said that the COVID-19 pandemic and other recent crises have raised their standards for good customer service.

• 76% of customers expect to have consistent interactions with a company no matter how many departments they talk to.

  This expectation often isn’t reality, though, as 54% of that same group of surveyed customers say they feel like they’re communicating with separate departments instead of one unified organization when they contact a company, and 65% say they often have to repeat themselves to different departments.

• 40% of customers believe that resolving the issue in one interaction is the most important aspect of a good customer experience.

  38% believe that speaking to a knowledgeable agent is the most important aspect, 13% believe the same about not having to repeat their information or questions, and 7% see being able to find information themselves as the most important part of quality customer service.

Sharing Customer Service Experiences Statistics

• Customers will tell an average of 9 people about a positive customer service experience.

• Customers will tell an average of 16 people about a negative customer service experience.

• Only about 4% of dissatisfied customers will actually share their complaints with the business.

The Effect of Bad Customer Service Statistics

• 91% of customers say they won’t willingly do business again with a company that left them unhappy.

• 78% of customers have backed out of purchasing because of a negative customer service experience.

• Almost 60% of customers would stop shopping with a brand they previously loved after several bad customer service experiences.

• Businesses lose about $75 billion each year due to poor customer service.

• 61% of surveyed customers have recently switched to a brand’s competitor after a poor customer service experience.

The Benefits of Good Customer Service Statistics

• 52% of customers are willing to pay more if they know they’ll receive excellent customer service.

  25% of customers are willing to pay up to 10% more in any industry if they’re guaranteed great customer service, and 31% of hospitality industry customers are willing to pay that much more.

• 91% of customers say that they’re more likely to make another purchase at a company after a positive customer service experience.

  71% say they’ve even made purchasing decisions based on the quality of customer service they’ve received.

• A loyal customer can be worth ten times the amount of revenue earned from their first purchase.

  In addition, recruiting a new customer costs six to seven times more than maintaining an existing one. It’s also much easier to sell to a loyal customer than a new one: There’s a 60-70% chance an existing customer will make a purchase and only a 5-20% chance a first-time shopper will.

Customer Service Trends and Projections

• In 2015, 71% of surveyed customers said they’d contacted a customer service department in the last month.

  This percentage steadily declined until it hit 58% in 2020.

• The percentage of customers who stopped doing business with an organization because of poor customer service has dropped from 54% in 2017 to 40% in 2020.

  2017 saw a spike in customers leaving companies because of bad customer service, as only 49% did this in 2016. After that increase, the share declined steadily until it hit 40% in 2020.

• The percentage of customers who contacted customer service departments via voice channels declined from 51% in 2015 to 34% in 2018.

  From 2018 to 2020, however, it increased by nine percentage points, reaching 43%.

Customer Service FAQ

1. What are the three Ps of customer service?

   The three P’s of customer service are Product, Process, and People. All three are vital to creating a positive experience for customers.

   Having a product that truly meets your customers’ needs is the first step to providing great service. Otherwise, there isn’t a point for them to interact with your company at all.

   After you have a great product, having a smooth and enjoyable process of finding, buying, and receiving the product is vital to enticing customers to purchase from your company over your competitor’s.

   If purchasers have to jump through unnecessary hoops, they’re more likely to not complete their purchase or to not come back in the future.

   The final piece to the customer experience puzzle is people. Providing excellent customer service requires having professional, competent, knowledgeable salespeople and customer service representatives in place to help customers solve their problems.

2. How does customer service impact revenue?

   Customer service impacts revenue by increasing or decreasing the likelihood of a customer making future purchases. Providing good customer service creates loyal customers, and over time loyal customers create ten times the amount of revenue they generated with their first purchase.

   On the other hand, poor customer service loses businesses $75 billion every year. This is because, in addition to not working with your company again in the future, unhappy customers tend to tell their friends — 16 of them, on average — about their bad experience, turning them off to your company as well.

3. How many customers actually complain?

   Only about 4% of customers actually complain to companies. This means that even though the organization may not be hearing bad reports, it still likely has a significant number of dissatisfied customers that it has lost the opportunity to help and can do very little to woo back.

4. How many people do customers tell about a good customer experience?

   Customers tell an average of nine people about a good customer experience. On the other hand, they tell about 16 people about a negative experience.

5. What is the main role of customer service?

   The main role of customer service is to resolve complaints and issues. For example, a customer service representative might receive a call from a customer who’s reporting a missing or damaged product. The representative would then inform the customer that they can return the product for a refund or exchange at the nearest store.

   Whether or not the customer is angry, it’s vital for the customer service representative to maintain a professional, helpful, and calm composure. In turn, this will increase the likelihood of resolving the conflict.

Conclusion

There is no doubt that good customer service is important for businesses’ success: About 94% of customers say it’s a major factor when they’re choosing a brand to shop with. 52% of consumers are even willing to pay more for their purchases if they come with excellent service, some up to 10% more.

Poor customer service costs companies $75 billion each year and can even drive the most loyal customers away. 60% say they’d leave a brand they previously loved after several bad customer service experiences.

This is fixable, though. For example, ensuring customer problems are handled within one interaction would remove 40% of dissatisfied customers’ top complaints, and making sure your customer service agents are knowledgeable would remove another 38%.

References

1. Microsoft Dynamics 365. “Global State of Customer Service.” Accessed on October 19, 2021. ;

2. Statista. “Share of Customers in the United States Who Have Contacted Customer Service for Any Reason in the Past Month From 2015 to 2020.” Accessed on October 19, 2021.

3. Forbes. “These Companies Have the Best Customer Service.” Accessed on October 19, 2021.

4. Glance. “Counting the Customer: The Complete Guide to Dynamite Customer Care.” Accessed on October 19, 2021.

5. Statista. “Communication Channels Customers Prefer To Use To Resolve Customer Service Issues in the United States in 2019.” Accessed on October 19, 2021.

6. Statista. “What is Your Expected Response Time for Social Media Questions or Complaints?” Accessed on October 19, 2021.

7. Salesforce. “State of the Connected Customer.” Accessed on October 19, 2021.

8. Sharpen. “Customer Service Statistics That Prove You Need To Invest in Customer Happiness.” Accessed on October 19, 2021.

9. PWC. “Experience is Everything: Here’s How To Get it Right.” Accessed on October 19, 2021.

10. Bloomfire. “What is the True Cost of Poor Customer Service?” Accessed on October 19, 2021.

11. Microsoft Dynamics 365. “State of Global Customer Service Report.” Accessed on October 19, 2021.

12. Forbes. “Customers Will Pay for This.” Accessed on October 19, 2021.

13. Statista. “Share of Customers in the United States Who Stopped Doing Business with a Company Due to Poor Customer Service From 2016 to 2020.” Accessed on October 19, 2021.

14. Statista. “Use of Voice in Customer Service in the United States From 2015 to 2020.” Accessed on October 19, 2021.

15. MDM. “The 3 Ps of Outstanding Customer Experience.” Accessed on October 19, 2021.

16. ACSI. “Win on Customer Satisfaction; Win in the Market. Top Ten ACSI Companies.” Accessed on April 2, 2023.

Author

Abby McCain

Abby is a writer who is passionate about the power of story. Whether it’s communicating complicated topics in a clear way or helping readers connect with another person or place from the comfort of their couch. Abby attended Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she earned a degree in writing with concentrations in journalism and business.