Most consumers will pay more for customer service excellence

International survey shows that seven in ten consumers would be prepared to pay considerably more if they could be sure of great customer service

This is according to the American Express Global Customer Service Barometer, a survey exploring attitudes and preferences toward customer service conducted in the UK and nine other countries.

The survey - of a random sample of 1,000 consumers 18 and older in each of ten target countries including The US and the UK, was conducted February 2-10, 2011 - shows that 70% of consumers would be willing to spend 13% more if they receive excellent customer service. And consumers seem to be hungrier for better customer service, as those figures were 58% and 9% respectively in the 2010 Barometer.

They’re willing, but are they able? The Barometer reports that 42% of respondents said companies “are helpful but don’t do anything extra to keep their business,” and 22% think companies “take their business for granted.” Those figures are also up from the previous Global Customer Service Barometer–from 24% and 21% respectively.

Says American Express: “A notable bright spot? Small businesses. Four in five Americans (81%) agree that smaller companies place a greater emphasis on customer service than large businesses.”
The challenge for big businesses, then, is in acting like small businesses, which is made emi