If you’re like most of us, you probably had a bad experience with your television or Internet provider at some point. You’re not alone. More than 20 percent of consumers who have interacted with TV service providers and Internet service providers report having a bad experience during the previous six months, the highest levels of any industry, according to new research from the Temkin Group, What Happens After a Good or Bad Experience, 2016. The report examines the relationship between 10,000 U.S. consumers and almost 315 companies across 20 industries.
About a year ago we were experiencing trouble with our Time Warner cable service and told our supervisor we needed to call them to fix it since we work on the Internet. The supervisor said “I’d rather get a root canal.” During the call an agent made some promises that we found later were never carried out. We switched our television providers due to the bad service. And we’re not alone, although we understand TWC is trying to address some of its service problems.
AirTran Airways (28 percent), Time Warner Cable (27 percent), Comcast (27 percent), and HSBC (25 percent) have the highest levels of consumers reporting bad experiences, says the Temkin study.
At the other end of the spectrum, less than 5 percent of consumers report having a bad experience with a retailer or supermarket. Eight companies delivered bad experiences to 2 percent or fewer of their customers: Michael’s, Advance Auto Parts, Whole Foods, Publix, Subway, Vanguard, Trader Joe’s, and GameStop.
Bad experiences costly to companies
The research examines the impact of bad experiences on consumer spending across 20 industries. The percentage of revenues that are at risk due to bad experiences are highest for TV service providers (6.8 percent) and rental cars (6.5 percent), which less than 2 percent of revenues are at risk for retailers and supermarkets.
“Bad experiences are very costly for companies,” states Bruce Temkin, managing partner of Temkin Group, in a statement. “But when companies respond effectively to a bad experience, they can dramatically shift consumers’ spending patterns.”
The research shows that companies can increase their revenues when they respond very effectively after a bad experience. When a company has a very poor response to a bad experience, 63 percent of consumers cut back on their spending. On the other hand, when a company has a very good response after a bad experience, only 24 percent of consumers cut back on their spending and an even larger number, 30 percent, increase their spending.
Seventy-six percent of consumers share their experiences after a very bad experience, but only 69 percent share their very good experiences. About 50 percent of consumers share their experience directly with their friends, while about 19 percent share it on Facebook, 13 percent shared it on a third party rating site like Yelp, and 10 percent share it on Twitter. Thirty-one percent of consumers give feedback directly to the company after a very bad experience and 24 percent give feedback after a very good experiences.
This research can be accessed from the blog, Customer Experience Matters, at ExperienceMatters.wordpress.com or at the Temkin Group’s website, www.TemkinGroup.com.
