The research from analytics leader SAS revealed that just 13 per cent of respondents would want to use digital-only options to interact with customer services. Automated tech which lacks intelligence can’t rival human interaction, respondents said, with three-quarters (74 per cent) expressing frustration when they realise they are communicating with a robot.
Almost nine in 10 (88 per cent) said that speaking to a human is an essential part of the customer service experience, with 64 per cent of these mentioning that this is because they feel better understood when speaking to a human.
At the same time, customers also said that they would switch to another provider if they didn't get a satisfactory response in five minutes or less. Additionally, the research also found that 75 per cent of customers would change provider if a competitor offered a faster service.
The results indicate that businesses need to make consumers feel like they are being understood...