Customer satisfaction plunges as AI chatbots take charge
Our CEO Jo Causon gives comment to The Telegraph as The Institute's latest UK Customer Satisfaction Index (UKCSI) shows another drop, falling to its lowest level since January 2015.
Keeping service at the heart of the agenda in 2024
2023 has been a challenging year for businesses and customers alike. Economic conditions have been tough, unpredictability has been a watchword – and customer satisfaction has taken a sharp decline. But what will 2024 hold? On one level, I fear…
Cross-sector consistency is key to unlocking the value of customer service
The arrival of Consumer Duty earlier this year is a clear sign that the FCA is placing a greater emphasis on all aspects of the customer journey and in particular on positive outcomes for customers. In the face of falling…
Service matters even more when things go wrong
There is never a good time for a business’s systems to go down, but outages at a major bank last week proved particularly unfortunate timing. With customers on the lookout for Black Friday deals ahead of the festive season – or just…
Are retailers equipped to serve their customers this Black Friday?
Black Friday marks the start of one of the busiest, and potentially profitable, trading periods of the year for retailers. But this year, as the sales launch once more, it’s impossible to ignore that customer service is under more pressure…
The Telegraph: ‘I called up Barclays for help, but the WFH agent was too busy with her dog’
The Institute of Customer Service's UK Customer Service Index results featured in a Telegraph article discussing challenges faces by customers when service staff are working from home.
M&S’s FTSE 100 return shows the power of customer service
This week, I was asked by The Grocer to give some thought to the part that M&S’s renewed focus on the customer experience has played in its recent success. A week on from M&S's return to the FTSE 100, it is interesting…
How the travel industry can turn chaos into opportunity
This past week we saw an all-too familiar story in the UK headlines – a weekend of disruption, confusion, and ‘chaos’ for holidaymakers and travellers alike due to an air traffic control issue across the country. Following a spring and…
When it comes to Consumer Duty, value is the key
We are just three weeks into the start of Consumer Duty, the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) new powers to set higher and clearer standards of consumer protection. But if firms thought they’d get a summer grace period with the new…
How customer service can save the high street
For many, the banking crisis of 2007-8 hit home the hardest when high street stores began to disappear. A perfect storm of rising costs, the growth of online shopping and dwindling footfall has seen many of our nation’s high streets…