criminalized bad news . They just don ’ t want to hear it . There is a hot-potato culture about problems .” He mentioned that a few companies , some long-time clients , had stopped commissioning studies because the numbers never seemed to change . A classic case of shooting the messenger .
While there is no shortage of horror stories , Bentzin at UT-McCombs noted that the American Customer Satisfaction Index has actually fluctuated over time . “ I ’ m prepared to reject the hypothesis that customer service just keeps getting worse . That premise does not match what I have taught .”
He suggested that technology has worked both for and against customer service . Chatbots and reiterative phone trees are common frustrations to be sure , but it has also become common that the system can call a customer back when a live representative is available , rather than have the customer wait on hold . “ That is definitely better service ,” said Bentzin .
One significant factor in customer expectations is that business makes decisions that make sense . So when major corporations do things that seem obviously wrong , confusion and frustration are added to the mix . Early in 2024 , Hewlett Packard updated the firmware in its printers so they would not work without branded ink cartridges , and they pushed customers to subscribe to an automatic cartridge-delivery scheme . There was widespread outcry over the printers being “ bricked ,” but the Federal Trade Commission took no action .
It is well known that printer manufacturers sell the machines at cost , or at a loss , and make their money on the ink . It is also well known that many people buy off-brand ink . It is understandable that HP would want to recapture some of that . What angered and mystified people is the heavy-handed and retroactive way it was done . The business and popular press are still full of articles , and a class-action lawsuit has been filed ( Robinson et al v . HP , U . S . D . C . Northern District of Illinois , 1:24-cv-00164 ).
“ HP changed the value proposition after the fact . How did that happen ? Why did the people inside HP think that was a good idea ?” asked Bentzin . “ There is a perception that big companies do extensive research . But choices are made at the C-suite level that might be counter to internal recommendations . In cases like that , I would suspect that there were people saying it was a bad idea .”
Digging deeper , Bentzin observed that “ CEOs rarely come out of sales and marketing ; they mostly come out of finance , sometimes tech or production or legal , but mostly finance . There is also the proliferation of C-level positions . Chief this officer and chief that officer . That divides customer responsibility . Someone has to take the view across the organization , and many CEOs are not qualified to do that . Some learn to do it , but don ’ t value it .”
David Soberman , chair of strategic marketing at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto , ascribed a large part of the decline of customer service to automation and dates the current cycle to the end of World War II . He also stressed the mixed blessing of more stuff but less interaction .
Before WWII , almost everything was directly interpersonal . “ You had to go to many different stores to get everything you needed — the butcher , the baker , the green grocer — but there was always someone to attend you ,” said Soberman . “ As automation became more common and
Customer Complaint Results
As production , order fulfillment and customer interactions have all become more automated , there has been a sharp bifurcation between complaint resolution that can also be automated and those that cannot .
The Three Things Complainants Are Most Likely to Get :
• Money back
• An apology
• Product repaired / service fixed
The Three Things Complainants Are Least Likely to Get :
• An answer in everyday language / more than a scripted response to their problem
• To be treated with dignity
• Just to express their anger / tell their side of the story
Source : Customer Care Measurement & Consulting , in collaboration with The Center for Services Leadership in the W . P . Carey School of Business at Arizona State University . January 2023 .
more sophisticated , stores got bigger , you could buy more in one place , and do it more efficiently , but there were fewer people . Now there is not even a clerk at checkout in some places .”
That is all very efficient as long as things go smoothly . But good luck finding someone to help if you have a question or need help .
“ The perception of customer service being worse is actually a lack of human interaction . Are things actually worse ? Forty years ago , if you wanted to fly to Europe , you had to call a travel agent who would then call the airlines and call you back to discuss options and then book the flights . You ’ d have to go to the office or they would mail you the tickets . If you needed to change something , you ’ d have to go through it all again . You interacted with people , so you felt like you got good customer service . But it took days and it was vastly more expensive .”
Gregory DL Morris is an independent business journalist , principal of Enterprise & Industry Historic Research and an active member of the Museum ’ s editorial board .
www . MoAF . org | Summer 2024 | FINANCIAL HISTORY 31