Verizon (that's right) rates highest in online service
Face it, no one likes their phone company. But a new study shows progress toward closing the gap between "my phone company" and "my arrrgggghhh phone company." That gap is closing online, and Verizon is winning.
Go figure. A recent J.D. Power survey shows that only 27% of smartphone users are satisfied with their phone service. But in this area of great opportunity the effectiveness of online customer service solutions is playing a bigger role in customer satisfaction, retention and growth.
E-tailers best for customer satisfaction - survey
Online retailers performed best for customer satisfaction in a survey of five retail categories in the UK, including supermarkets, department stores and electrical retailers.
The UK National Customer Satisfaction Index scored retailers for Q4 2008, giving e-commerce a score of 82, much higher than the average of 74.8.
Right to reply: Webloyalty / ShopperDiscounts
Earlier this week on this blog Graham Charlton discussed whether or not retailers should promote third party shopper discount schemes at the end of the checkout process.
The way this usually works is that you buy something, and after having your order confirmed are invited to accept a ‘£10 off your next purchase’ or similar. The schemes are operated not by the retailers, but by a partner.
Graham bought some train tickets via TheTrainline.com and stumbled across one of these offers at the end of the checkout. He found it confusing, and he’s not alone… many consumers have also complained (‘I was duped’, ‘I’m another victim’, etc).
Naturally the discount scheme operator, Webloyalty, is not thrilled with our coverage, and marketing director Gill Hynes has written in to complain.
Gap.com's single checkout not a good idea after all: report
US clothing retailer Gap.com launched a nice new e-commerce site in June last year, but it seems the decision to integrate its four brands into one checkout function hasn't worked as well as it hoped.
The retailer has designed its site so that users can shop from Banana Republic, Old Navy, and Piperlime, as well as Gap itself, and checkout at the same time, but this has had the unintential effect of undermining perception of the brand, according to Foresee Results.
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Web 2.0
Graham Charlton
Strategy & Planning
