Missing human link in customer services proves to be a bane

ACCORDING to Accenture Strategy's latest Global Consumer Pulse Research, Singapore consumers say that it is becoming increasingly challenging to resolve issues by talking to a customer service person, even as companies are working to be more accessible.

As organisations invest in digital technologies and channels to support customer services, due to the potential to reach a larger volume of people at a cheaper cost, they have started to over-rely on these channels to solve customer queries and issues. This has given rise to "human-less" customer services, and it is not being well received by consumers.

According to the study - which gauges the experiences and attitudes of 24,489 consumers in 33 countries including Singapore about marketing, sales and customer services experiences - Singapore consumers want more human interaction when dealing with companies. Eighty-three per cent prefer dealing with human beings over digital channels to solve customer services issues, and another 76 per cent prefer dealing with people to get advice.