The Web is failing customers by lagging behind other channels at providing service, according to research from eService provider, Transversal.

Despite the growth of Web sales, Transversal’s annual online customer service analysis of 100 leading websites found that 69 per cent could answer fewer than four of the ten most often asked customer questions. Only 16 per cent answered more than six questions, which covered straightforward enquiries such as refund policies, tariffs and product details.

Consumers are being forced to wade through an ever-increasing number of Web site pages and, when that fails, to call or email overstretched contact centres. On top of which, in this survey, 33 hours was the average wait for an e-mail reply - and even then, 40 per cent of companies failed to give a useful answer to the question. The slowest response time recorded was a shameful 385 hours - over 16 days after the original query was sent.

Transversal surveyed one hundred organisations in the banking, insurance, travel, retail, telecoms and utilities sectors. Following a set methodology it asked ten common, sector-specific questions on each site, as well as e-mailing a single question to customer service departments. E-mail responses were marked for relevance and for the time taken to respond.

Unsurprisingly, given their focus on selling tangible goods, retailers came out top of those surveyed. However, grocery, fashion and CD/book sites were still only able to answer half of questions asked and only 10 per cent had dedicated customer search facilities, forcing consumers to spend substantial time and effort locating answers.

Worst performers were travel and insurance Web sites which only managed to answer a pitiful one question, on average - despite these sectors investing heavily in the online channel. Slowest at responding was the utilities sector, averaging a tardy 102 hours to reply - not inspiring confidence in potential customers looking to switch suppliers.

According to the UK Office of Fair Trading (OFT) UK online retail sales alone increased by 356 per cent in the five years to 2005 and are now estimated to be £8.2bn per year. This figure is forecast to increase by 163 per cent by 2010, with the value approaching £21.5bn.

“Our research shows that finding information online is like looking for a needle in a haystack, demonstrating a shameful disregard for customer service,” commented Davin Yap, CEO, Transversal. “While organisations are generating ever-increasing sales from the Internet, they don’t seem to care about backing this up with even basic levels of service. Consumers wouldn’t put up with this attitude on the High Street and increasingly will switch instantly to competitors for better service.”

The research showed little improvement from 2005 with the average number of questions answered online rising from two to three out of ten - still well under the response rate that consumers rightly expect. E-mail response times had not improved at all, taking 33 hours on average. And while fewer companies ignored their customers email than in 2005 only 69 per cent did reply. Overall 2006 average results were as follows:

Average number of questions answered online: Retail - Grocery 5 out of 10; Retail - Fashion 5 out of 10; Retail - CD/Book 5 out of 10; Utilities 4 out of 10; Retail - Electronics 3 out of 10; Telecoms 3 out of 10; Banking 3 out of 10; Consumer electronics 3 out of 10; Insurance 1 out of 10; Travel 1 out of 10; Average 3 out of 10.

Percentage of companies that responded to e-mail correctly Retail - Grocery 80%; Retail - Fashion 70%; Retail - CD/Book 60%; Utilities 70%; Retail - Electronics 90%; Telecoms 45%; Banking 40%; Consumer electronics 70%; Insurance 30%; Travel 40%; Average 60%.

Average e-mail response time: Retail - Grocery 23 hours; Retail - Fashion 23 hours; Retail - CD/Book 10 hours; Utilities 102 hours; Retail - Electronics 19 hours; Telecoms 14 hours; Banking 22 hours; Consumer electronics 35 hours; Insurance 12 hours; Travel 66 hours; Average 33 hours.

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BIOS, May 16, 06 | Print | Send | Comments (0) | Posted In Internet