Banks fail online service test

Online customer service from Britain's banks has sunk to an all time low, according to a report. Half of the major banks surveyed were unable to answer a single one of ten basic customer questions asked via their websites, although a minority of banks scored highly. The company that conducted the research, Transversal, who specialise in maximising online customer service, claims the results show a growing chasm between the best and worst performing banks. The whole sector averaged 2.5 out of ten, answering a quarter of common questions. Overall findings are worse than in 2005, when only two banks scored zero and the sector successfully answered three questions on average. Questions were based on typical customer enquiries and asked for information on credit card offers, borrowing and mortgages. The report’s authors said the results demonstrate that banks are failing to take online service seriously, despite 56 per cent of Britons now banking on the web. Of those banking websites that provided the ability to email, they took an average of 22 hours to respond. The shortest response took 8 hours, with slowest taking 69 hours. Davin Yap, chief executive officer at Transversal, said: "The immediacy and speed of the online channel suits both consumers and banks, but must be backed up by fast, accurate customer service. "While more and more Britons are banking online overall customer service has taken a dramatic step backward over the last year. Our research shows a growing chasm between the best and worst performers. Those laggards that fail to understand and invest in online customer service face frustrated customers that won't hesitate to move to rivals." Banks also failed to provide simple customer information on their sites, with only half having Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) pages. http://www.transversal.com

More news via RSS Post item to Del.icio.us Post item to Digg.com