The automotive industry, a major component of this sector, enjoys a stable index score of 79 for overall quality, but satisfaction with service quality is five points lower than satisfaction with product quality. Similarly, personal computers also suffer from a four-point gap between service and product quality. Even though most economic data continue to suggest a strong economy, consumers don't feel they are doing any better. Ironically, good economic times make it harder for companies to deliver customer service. But the decline is not limited to service companies.
Manufacturing sectors show declining customer satisfaction as well.
Success is the litmus test of how genuinely a company is focused on its customers. When the economy is strong and business is booming, suppliers have their hands full trying to fill orders and expand fast enough to keep pace with rising demand. As they get busy, they may pay less attention to quality and customer satisfaction than when times were leaner. American consumers have become accustomed to being asked to evaluate their own level of satisfaction with goods or services they purchase. This has made satisfaction more of a conscious criterion than it was in the past, resulting in customers who are smarter about what they want and need.