Yet, us companies satisfied their customers less well in '95 and '96 and stats are down again for '97. Services continues to top the list in terms of consumer dissatisfaction. More complex products, software, hardware, and broadening customer bases are forcing companies to re-evaluate how they do business, and highlighting the need to see service as a highly strategic part of every organization. Service has become a key factor in purchase and repurchase decisions, and therefore, directly impacts costs, revenues, and profits. This is not surprising.
Services are essentially intangible processes.
Customers are frequently searching for cues to help determine a company's capabilities. Oftentimes the only cues available are from its front-line employees. To the customer, people are inseparable from the services they provide. It is no wonder, then, that companies with superior people management, invest heavily in training and retraining. One of the biggest issues facing call centers today is high turnover.