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| Source: ServiceNow ebook, Customer Experience Intelligence Report: Addressing Singapore’s billion dollar customer service gap. A summary of the research findings. Singaporeans collectively spent over 30 M hours on hold because of customer service activities. |
Singaporeans spent more than 30 million hours on hold to address a customer service complaint or issue, according to new research* by ServiceNow, the digital workflow company. The average person in Singapore spent approximately two full working days (equivalent to 16.1 hours) on hold last year, representing a loss of S$1.24 B in wages** nationwide.
Slow service solutions will see Singapore business’ operating costs increase, with employees spending an average of 4.7 working days to resolve each customer issue. According to Wee Luen Chia, MD, ServiceNow Asia, “The effect goes wider than just the individual businesses putting their customers on hold, it’s impacting Singapore’s competitiveness.”
Over a third (34%) of Singaporeans have had to resolve issues by themselves because of poor service, ServiceNow said. Customers ranked the top three frustrations with customer service as having to repeat their issues to multiple people/departments (60% of respondents); being transferred to multiple people or departments (53%), and waiting on hold (42%).
Respondents also suggested why the country is ‘stuck on hold’:
- Staff not having any power to make decisions/resolve issues (52%)
- A lack of ownership and responsibility between different departments (48%)
- Inefficient communications within the organisations (48%)
- Customer service department is understaffed or overwhelmed (47%)
- Customer service staff not listening to me (40%)
Seven in 10 (72%)
of Singaporeans have even less patience with bad service because of
inflated costs; a similar number of locals (70%) think customer service
is getting worse because companies are cutting costs.
One in
three respondents believe that the time they spent on hold in 2023 is an
increase from the previous year; over two out of five respondents (43%)
believe the time it takes to resolve an issue has also increased.
Another 43% of Singaporeans say their expectations of an organisation’s
customer service department increased in 2023.
Seventy percent
of Singaporeans also reported encountering service disruptions from key
providers. On average, each Singaporean experienced two disruptions each
year.
"Businesses that empower their employees and teams to
collaborate quickly and transparently to resolve issues will succeed in
2024,” said Chia.
"Frustrating wait times, little resolution and abrupt
service disruption is costing Singapore its patience along with national
productivity, too.”
The research also compared generational
service experiences. Baby Boomers were left waiting the longest for service
in Singapore, in 2023, spending an average of 5.7 days for their issue
to be resolved. For younger generations, it takes around two days less
on average to have their issues resolved (3.6 days).
More than
half (56%) of Gen Z used self-service options more frequently over
the past year to resolve issues and are less likely to speak to an
agent, while 55% of Baby Boomers preferred to speak directly to a person
(24% for Gen Z).
“A better customer experience starts with
clearer visibility of where and why processes are currently letting
customers down,” said Chia.
“Only then can organisations invest in
improving operations, to consolidate, augment, or replace the service
gaps. Instead of betting on quick-fix solutions, customer experience
requires a long-term commitment to building service roadmaps to
progressively meet and even exceed Singaporeans’ evolving expectations.”
Good service is about being strategic around speed, empathy and transparency, ServiceNow said. Two
thirds of Singaporeans think that having their issues resolved quickly
is key to good customer service, with transparency and empathy
frequently emerging as top themes for an exemplary customer experience:
- Having the issue resolved quickly (67%)
- Getting through to someone quickly by phone, chat or in person (52%)
- Having an empathetic customer service agent who cares (47%)
- Being able to track progress (46%)
- Customer service agent knowing all your service details/interaction history (42%)
“Customers
expect every part of a business to communicate and work together to
solve their issues, fast. The research shows that customers attribute an
organisation’s inability to solve issues to business siloes and
disempowered teams,” said Chia.
“To break this downward spiral and earn back trust, customer service needs to enable the service teams to do their best work. Routing the right people to the right process, at the right time will solve the customer’s issue fast - this is where automation and AI technologies can deliver their best work in the service of employees and also for customers."
Explore
Read more about the research at https://www.servicenow.com/content/dam/servicenow-assets/public/en-us/doc-type/resource-center/ebook/ebk-customer-experience-intelligence-report.pdf (PDF)
*One thousand and thirty Singaporeans aged 18 and above took part in ServiceNow’s study,
conducted by Lonergan Research in early 2024, to assess the state of
service in Singapore within the past year.
**S$1.24
B estimated loss in wages was calculated at a median hourly rate of
S$28.38 multiplied by the total average number of hours spent by workers
resolving issues (17.9), multiplied by working population.
