Five9 Customer Service Index 2018 – The Customer Experience Era is Now

The leaves have changed color, the weather has started to cool, and Sundays’ agenda consists of good old fashioned football. Now is the time when we decorate our homes with bright lights and decorative trees, gather with family and friends and before you know it we’ll be fully immersed in the end of the year holiday rush. Everybody knows that shopping during this time of the year can be stressful and it can be difficult to find good or sufficient service amongst the hustle and bustle of the crowds.

At Five9, we believe that the customer experience era is now and as a result, Five9 has commissioned Zogby Analytics for the second year in a row to help bring data and insights to help businesses better meet their customers’ changing needs and expectations. The report, Five9 Customer Service Index 2018, validates the correlation between customer satisfaction and a positive customer experience, resulting in customer loyalty and higher customer retention.

There’s no better time to deliver a great experience for consumers than during the holidays, as a truly positive experience is sure to be remembered amongst the chaos and will have a lasting effect on future interactions. In Five9’s survey, 95 percent of respondents said that a positive customer service experience is very or somewhat likely to make them continue to do business with a company.

The good news is that today, consumers have a variety of options when it comes to interacting with businesses. We’re swiftly moving away from lengthy and repetitive customer service calls. With digital channels such as email, online chat, and social media, consumers can reach and interact with businesses using their method of choice. Interestingly enough, with all these options at the customers’ fingertips, the phone is still the number one preferred channel of choice with almost half of the survey’s respondents.

We wanted to share some additional findings from the survey that help illuminate the changes brought about by digital transformation:

• The number one response in the survey around what has the most impact on creating a positive experience is getting the right answer from a representative, even if the interaction takes a longer time than expected. 
• Regardless of age group, the portion of respondents that are more willing to interact with automated bots drastically increases when they are assured that they can speak with a live agent.
• In general, respondents expect their customer service issues to be resolved fast: over three-quarters believe that should happen in 15 minutes or less and 84 percent expect resolution to take no more than half an hour.
• 48 percent of survey respondents said it’s unlikely they would continue to do business with a company again if every time they contact a company they must identify themselves or explain their issue.
• 68 percent of respondents were comfortable with their past purchase history being shared, and 77 percent were comfortable with this practice if it results in a higher level of service.

To read the full Five9 Customer Service Index, please visit Five9 or contact CustomerIndex@five9.com.