UK Customer Satisfaction

12-Month Benchmark Report 2018

Customer Satisfaction Benchmarks

by Sector in the UK
About TTi Global Research
TTi Global Research is an accredited Market Research Society (MRS) Company Partner and leading UK-based market
research agency, specialising in helping brands world-wide achieve their goals through high quality customer,
employee and stakeholder research.

We have been delivering respected market intelligence for more than 30 years for private and public sector
organisations across a vast range of industries and are the market research partner of choice for organisations
including Haymarket, Northern Gas Networks, Jaguar Land Rover, Radian, Skanska, Honda and more.

What we do

� Customer and Consumer Research

� Employee and Employee Engagement Research

� Stakeholder Research

� Channel and Partner Opinion Research

About our UK Customer Satisfaction Benchmark Survey

Insight to Customer Satisfaction by Sector
Our UK Customer Satisfaction Benchmark survey delivers insight into the quality of customer service in 12 industry
sectors. Data is derived from an online survey of 3,875 UK respondents that was conducted over 12 months between
1 June 2017 and 1 June 2018.

Respondents were asked to provide customer satisfaction, customer effort and employee engagement ratings, as
well as answer questions about loyalty and recommendation intentions relating to their interactions with different
service providers and their employers.
Welcome to our first UK Customer Satisfaction Benchmark Report
Our report offers unique insight into customer satisfaction in your sector, allowing you to gauge your performance
and how customer and employee priorities are changing.

Based on the results of a monthly online survey of UK consumers, our benchmarking data delivers understanding of
the main drivers and inhibitors of customer satisfaction and employee engagement in 12 sectors.

Results of our inaugural survey show that at the beginning of June 2018, the UK customer satisfaction score was 7.6
(out of 10), 0.2 points lower than in June 2017 (7.8). Although customer satisfaction remained relatively stable during
the 12 months, seasonal fluctuations occurred around December and January. Customer satisfaction peaked at the
end of March this year with a score of 8.2 before falling away slightly to 7.6 in June [fig 1].

Online Retail Highest for Customer Satisfaction

The sector with the highest customer satisfaction rating was Online Retail with a score of 8.7 [fig 2]. As well as
demonstrating customers’ preference for convenience, it shows how smart technology is continuing to shape and
sharpen consumer expectations.

High levels of satisfaction with online shopping, as evidenced in this report, indicate that e-commerce retailers are
raising the bar on customer experience. Having set a precedent of choice, rapid delivery and attentive customer care,
consumers are coming to expect similar service from whichever organisation they approach - whether arranging
a car service at a local garage or querying their mobile phone bill. Meeting customers’ increasing expectations of
service quality means organisations need to prioritise business strategies that put their customers front and centre.

Low-effort, Frictionless Service

The idea that customers want easy, frictionless customer service is reinforced by our survey’s Customer Effort
ratings. Online Retail received one of the lowest customer effort scores (5.6) compared to Utilities, Automotive
Sales, Telecoms and Mobile Telecoms, which scored 6.5 and higher [fig 3]. Sentiment analysis shows that customer
interactions across all sectors involving ‘e-Mail and Communication’, ‘Call Time and Handling’ and ‘Problem Resolution’
[fig 17] scored highest for effort. The more effort a customer needs to put in to having a problem resolved, the more
customer satisfaction diminishes. Reducing customer effort at every stage of a buyer’s journey should play a pivotal
role in developing a successful customer satisfaction strategy.

UK Employee Engagement Scores

In the first cross-industry employee study of its kind, our benchmarking data also includes employee engagement
scores by industry sector. Findings indicate that sectors with higher employee engagement scores, receive higher
customer satisfaction scores [pg 22], adding weight to the theory that building a satisfied, loyal customer base starts
with building a satisfied, loyal workforce.

For organisations focused on nurturing staff engagement the benefits are far reaching, including improved
motivation, productivity and a workforce committed to delivering great customer service, all supporting long-term
growth and profitability.

Glyn Luckett
Commercial Director
TTi Global Research

Get in touch:
gluckett@tti-global.com

UK Customer Satisfaction 12-Month Benchmark Report 2018 3

Customer Satisfaction in the UK by Sector

Findings from our benchmarking survey reveal that UK customer satisfaction fell slightly in the 12
months until June 2018 with a score of 7.6 (out of 10), 0.2 points lower than in June 2017 (7.8).

Customer satisfaction remained relatively stable during the 12 months. Seasonal fluctuations occurred in the build-
up to and following the busy December shopping period as the volume of customer interactions with retailers and
after-sales functions increased.

Satisfaction fell to its lowest point in November 2017 (7.4) before rising steadily throughout December, January and
February and peaking in March 2018 (8.2). From March this year customer satisfaction decreased slightly to 7.6.

Figure 1 - Overall customer satisfaction scores over 12 months

8.4
8.20

8.2 8.02
7.98
7.94
8.0 7.81 7.82
7.74
7.8 7.64
7.58
7.47 7.45 YTD mean
7.6 7.43
satisfaction score 7.77
7.4

7.2

7.0
June July August September October November December January February March April May

Highest and Lowest Performing Sectors for Customer Satisfaction

The strongest performing sector was Online Retail with a customer satisfaction score of 8.7, followed by traditional
Retail and Automotive Aftersales with a score of 8.2. Distribution received the lowest customer satisfaction rating
with a score of 5.4, followed by Telecoms with a score of 6.1.

Figure 2 - Overall customer satisfaction scores by sector

8.72
9.0
8.21 8.21
8.5 8.04 8.01

8.0 mean satisfaction score

7.13
7.5

7.0
7.36 7.33
7.27
6.5
6.82
6.0 6.67

5.5 6.05

5.0
5.38
4.5

4.0
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4 UK Customer Satisfaction 12-Month Benchmark Report 2018

Online Retail and Retail have Great Customer Service Sewn Up
Customers today want choice, value, convenience and no-quibble returns. Online Retail and Retail tick all these boxes
and more. Retailers of fast-moving consumer goods have re-imagined the customer experience, building it almost
entirely on buyer’s needs.

The dominance of e-commerce giant Amazon stems from its unrelenting obsession with solving customer problems.
Every aspect is designed to delight, from 1-click purchasing and free same and next day delivery, to anticipating what
customers want with personalised product recommendations.

Differentiating with Excellent Customer Service

Motivation for online and traditional retailers to continuously raise their customer service game comes from its highly
competitive landscape.

Since de-regulation UK Telecoms has become one of the most crowded marketplaces in Europe. As well as enticing
customers with competitive phone, broadband and mobile deals, operators are extending their offering again with
access to TV and film content. Differentiating with excellent customer service will enable operators to set themselves
apart from competitors whilst also improving customer satisfaction and loyalty metrics.

Similarly, as Distribution becomes increasingly competitive fuelled by the explosion in online shopping, organisations
ability to differentiate with compelling customer service will help bolster take-up and long-term viability.

UK Customer Satisfaction 12-Month Benchmark Report 2018 5

Customer Effort by Sector, Company and Interaction

Sectors with the highest customer effort score in the 12 months to June this year were Automotive
Sales with 7.1 (out of 10), followed by Telecoms with 7.0 and Utilities and Mobile Telecoms with 6.5.

Sectors with the lowest customer effort score were Restaurants with 4.9, Online Retail with 5.6 and Hotel and Leisure
with 5.7.

Figure 3 - Customer effort analysis by UK sector

7.5
HIGH

7.0
6.46 6.47
6.28 6.23 6.21
7.08
6.5 6.98
5.85 5.86
CUSTOMER EFFORT

5.70
6.0 5.60
YTD mean
5.5 score 6.13
4.93

5.0

4.5
LOW

4.0

3.5

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Making Contact by Phone - Customer Effort Ratings by Sector

Customers contacting providers by phone rated the Insurance sector as requiring the most customer effort,
awarding a score of 8.6 (out of 10).

Hotel and Leisure required the least customer effort in terms of phone contact with a score of 7.0

Figure 4 - Customer effort scores for phone contact by sector

8.62
HIGH

9
8.18
7.90 8.00
7.73 7.75
8
7.21
7.00
CUSTOMER EFFORT

5
LOW

3
Hotel & Leisure Telecoms Utilities Supermarkets Banking Online Retail Retail Insurance

6 UK Customer Satisfaction 12-Month Benchmark Report 2018

The ‘helpfulness of staff’ rating, which can make a significant difference to whether a customer issue is resolved
satisfactorily or not, shows that Utilities required the most customer effort with a score of 8.3, followed by Telecoms
with a score of 8.0.
Figure 5 - Helpfulness of staff, recorded after 9 months and after 12 months, by sector

9.35
10
HIGH

8.25
8.08

8.00
7.83

7.71
9

7.57
8

6.54

6.47
6.40

6.33
6.25

5.91
7

5.60
5.50
CUSTOMER EFFORT

5.38
5.00

6
4.67
4.43

4.21

4.18
4.00
5

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YTD M9 YTD

Customer Effort by UK Companies

John Lewis & Partners scored lowest for customer effort with a score of 3.8, followed by M&S with a score of 5.3.

BT received the highest rating for customer effort with a score of 7.8, followed closely by Sky with a score of 7.6.

Figure 6 - Customer effort scores by company

9
7.60 7.75
8 7.30
6.75 6.79 6.86 6.87
6.48 6.62
7
5.85 5.87 5.89 6.00
6 5.50
5.28

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Our results show the strong correlation between Customer Effort and Customer Satisfaction scores. As the graph on
the following page illustrates, the more effort a customer needs to put in to get a problem solved or use a service,
the less satisfaction they feel.

Companies with the highest satisfaction and lowest effort ratings, such as John Lewis & Partners, M&S and Amazon
are well-known for fashioning simple, low-effort shopping experiences. On the flip-side, Telecoms providers, who
market complex and increasingly diverse offerings, face pressure from regulator Ofcom to improve customer service
quality, making ‘consistency and excellence’ the norm.

UK Customer Satisfaction 12-Month Benchmark Report 2018 7

 Figure 6 - Correlation between customer effort and customer satisfaction by company

9.87

10

9.22
8.75

8.75

8.58
9

8.32

8.34
8.13

7.90
7.80

7.75
7.60
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7.30
7.24
6.86

6.87
6.79
6.75
6.62
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5.90
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5.87

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5.28

5.05
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Customer Satisfaction Customer Effort

Reduce Customer Effort, raise Customer Satisfaction

Making customers jump through hoops to get what they want, whether asking a quick post-
purchase query or switching provider, is a sure-fire way to reduce customer satisfaction.

Hotel and Leisure and Online Retail brands’ customer service strategies centre on making customer lives’ easier, but
for Insurance, Utilities and Telecoms providers - whose products and services stem from necessity rather than desire
- what constitutes the ideal customer experience is still evolving.

To keep pace with customer requirements and digital disruptors, many have adopted omni-channel customer
strategies. For large, process-reliant companies, such as energy, water, mobile and insurance providers, this has
brought a raft of fresh challenges, including honing a consistent experience across multiple channels, streamlining
fragmented systems and implementing skilled customer contact teams and technologies.

Navigating these processes from a customer perspective will identify pain points which raise customer effort. For
example, customers needing to call about a problem more than once or having to repeat information. It will also
highlight where low-effort paths, such as self-service options, can be used or refined to deliver a smooth end-user
experience.

8 UK Customer Satisfaction 12-Month Benchmark Report 2018

Customer Recommendation

Whether it comes from a friend or a five-star online review, customer recommendation is the
life-blood of any thriving business. As well as signifying customer loyalty and strong re-purchase
intention, positive reviews drive new customers and spark growth.

Online Retail scored the highest for customer recommendation with a score of 8.8, followed by Retail with 8.3 and
Automotive Aftersales and Supermarkets with 8.2.

On a one to ten scale, Distribution scored the lowest for customer recommendation with a score of 5.6, tailed by
Telecoms with a score of 6.0.
Figure 8 - How likely are you to recommend a company to a friend?
HIGH

9
7.84 7.81
8 7.30 8.75 7.31
6.93 6.96
8.24 6.62 8.31
8.15
LIKELINESS TO RECOMMEND

7
5.97
5.62
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Customer Repurchase Intention

Repurchase Intention scores mirror the survey’s Customer Recommendation scores closely. Distribution is the
bottom rated sector with a score of 6.1. Telecoms received the second lowest score of 6.2.

Online Retail and Supermarkets came top, attracting scores of 9.0 and 8.6, respectively.

Figure 9 - How likely are you to repurchase from or use this organisation again?
HIGH

9
7.92 8.04
7.74
8 7.43 8.97
7.22 7.13
8.53 8.59
8.25 6.73
7
LIKELINESS TO REPURCHASE

6.18
6.05

3
LOW

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UK Customer Satisfaction 12-Month Benchmark Report 2018 9

UK Customer Satisfaction by Company

Companies committed to creating compelling customer service in an omni-channel environment

can benefit from enhanced brand reputation, new and repeat sales and customer loyalty.

UK companies who received the highest customer satisfaction scores were John Lewis & Partners with a score of 9.9
(out of 10), Waitrose & Partners with a score of 9.2, and Amazon with 8.8.

Companies rated lowest for customer satisfaction were Virgin Media (4.8), TalkTalk (4.9) and BT (5.1).

Figure 10 - Overall satisfaction scores by companies with the most interactions

9.89

10
9.22

8.75 8.75
8.58
9
8.34 8.32
8.13
7.90 7.80
YTD mean
8 satisfaction score 7.77
7.24
HIGH

7
6.20
5.90
LIKELINESS TO RECOMMEND

5.05
4.92 4.84
5

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10 UK Customer Satisfaction 12-Month Benchmark Report 2018

Tackling Customer Experience Challenges in Telecoms
Although online and offline retailers face aggressive competition and consumer fickleness, which gnaws into
customer loyalty, the linear relationship between retailer and consumer – supported by manufacturer obligations -
puts crafting a winning customer experience within reach.

Unlike delivering products, Telecoms and Mobile Telecoms deliver services, services which we all rely on, so that
when an issue arises, customers are more likely to notice and complain. As the Telecoms sector has evolved, so too
has its offerings. Alongside fixed-line operations, providers offer broadband, mobile and digital TV packages along
with equipment and installation services. Add managing customer data, billing, upgrades and switching supplier into
the mix, and the frequency and volume of customer service errors rises exponentially.

Making great customer experience the norm in a complex multi-functional business requires getting to know
customers’ needs at each point of connection. Gathering regular feedback from customers with first-hand
experience of call centre and self-service functions, such as web, chat and e-mail, will expose the service gaps putting
dents in customer experience quality.

UK Customer Satisfaction 12-Month Benchmark Report 2018 11

UK Sectors and Companies with Highest Customer Satisfaction

Online Retail and Retail achieved the highest customer satisfaction scores over the 12 months with
respective scores of 8.7 and 8.2 [fig 2].

The highest scoring retailer was John Lewis & Partners with 9.9 (out of 10), followed by Ikea with 9.7. Online retailer
ASOS was the third highest with a score of 9.1.

The lowest scoring company was electrical retailer Currys with a customer satisfaction score of 4.6, followed by
Littlewoods with 5.5 and Matalan with 6.0.

Figure 11 - Highest and lowest scoring companies for overall customer satisfaction

9.89
9.67
10
9.13 9.05
8.75 8.75

8.32
8.14

8 7.52 7.50
HIGH

6.33
6.00

6 5.50
CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

4.57

4
LOW

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12 UK Customer Satisfaction 12-Month Benchmark Report 2018

Interactions Scoring Highest for Customer Satisfaction
Interactions with companies in Online Retail and Retail all received customer satisfaction scores of 8.3 and higher.

Figure 12 - Customer satisfaction scores by type of interaction in Online Retail/Retail

8.85 9.05 8.98

10 8.57 8.70
8.48
8.27

0
Customer Delivery Ease of Returns Cost of product/ Online Payment
service contact process promotions presence

Interactions with the highest customer satisfaction scores were:

ƒƒ Ease of contact: 9.05

ƒƒ Cost of product: 8.98

ƒƒ Delivery: 8.85

John Lewis & Partners’ Winning Customer Satisfaction Formula

John Lewis & Partners appear to go to from strength-to-strength, even successfully navigating a challenging
market where consumers are spending less. Their secret? Putting customers and employees first.

Key customer and employee strategies include:

ƒƒ Customer and employee-centric business strategy

ƒƒ ‘John Lewis & Partners’ - All 85,500 permanent staff are Partners with a stake in the business, fostering
ownership and a single ‘corporate conscience’

ƒƒ Seeking online customer reviews and regular customer feedback

ƒƒ Clear tagline ‘never knowingly undersold’ conveying company values

ƒƒ Innovating to enhance the buying experience, such as, providing Partners with apps to answer customer
queries effectively

ƒƒ Delivery and Collection are integral to customer experience

John Lewis & Partners’ unswerving focus on the customer and its staff differentiates its brand from others,
giving competitive advantage in a challenging and competitive arena.

UK Customer Satisfaction 12-Month Benchmark Report 2018 13

UK Sectors and Companies with Lowest Customer Satisfaction

Telecoms and Mobile Telecoms were given the lowest customer satisfaction scores over the 12
months with respective scores of 6.1 and 6.7 [fig 2].

The highest scoring provider was Tesco Mobile with a customer satisfaction score of 9.3 (out of 10), followed by EE
with 7.5 and Plusnet with 6.3.

The lowest scoring provider was Vodafone with a customer satisfaction score of 3.5.
Figure 13 - Customer satisfaction by Telecoms/Mobile Telecoms company

9.25
HIGH

10

9
7.50
8
6.33
CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

7 5.90 5.75
5.05 4.92 4.84
6

5
3.50
4

1
LOW

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Tesco Mobile EE Plusnet Sky O2 BT TalkTalk Virgin Media Vodafone

Interactions Scoring Lowest for Customer Satisfaction

While consumer interactions such as ‘Upgrading your package/contract’ scored fairly high for customer satisfaction
with 8.5, interactions with the lowest satisfaction scores were:

ƒƒ Reporting a problem: 4.83

ƒƒ Customer Service: 5.95

ƒƒ Ordering new phone/TV/Broadband: 6.24

Figure 14 - Customer satisfaction scores by interaction in Telecoms/Mobile Telecoms

8.50
9
7.64
7.30
8

7 6.24
5.95

6
4.83
5

0
Upgrading your Making a Making account Ordering new Customer Reporting a
package/contract payment changes phone/ TV/ Broadband Service problem

14 UK Customer Satisfaction 12-Month Benchmark Report 2018

Raising Customer Satisfaction when Reporting a Problem
Notifying an organisation of an issue, whether product, service or billing related, often involves talking to a customer
representative via phone, web chat or e-mail.

Problems occur when customers need to take time out of their day to resolve seemingly simple issues. Keeping
customers waiting on hold or being unable to resolve a problem first time are primary reasons for customer loss,
complaints and negative online feedback, which can exacerbate reputational damage further. Whether down to a
training need or better communication about customer self-service channels, research can uncover the root cause of
dissatisfaction and improvement action needed.

UK Customer Satisfaction 12-Month Benchmark Report 2018 15

Customer Satisfaction versus Customer Loyalty

Customer Satisfaction is different to Customer Loyalty. Customer Satisfaction is a one-off

measurable moment; Customer Loyalty is a feeling and behaviour a customer exhibits. Achieving
both is the recipe for sustainable business success.

Our benchmark results demonstrate the close link between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. Although
different, their values are intrinsically linked – broadly speaking, the higher the customer satisfaction rating, the
higher the customer loyalty rating.

Sectors with the highest customer satisfaction and customer loyalty ratings are, in respective order, Online Retail
with 8.7 and 9.0 (out of 10), Retail with 8.2 and 8.5 and Automotive Aftersales with 8.2 and 8.3.

Sectors with the lowest customer satisfaction and customer loyalty ratings are Distribution with 5.4 and 6.1,
Telecoms with 6.1 and 6.2 and Mobile Telecoms with 6.7 and 6.7.

Figure 15 - Customer satisfaction (first figure) and customer loyalty (second figure) scores by sector

9.5
Online Retail
8.72 / 8.97

9.0

Retail

8.5 Banking & 8.21 / 8.53

Insurance
8.01 / 8.04 8.21 / 8.25
Restaurants
Automotive
CUSTOMER LOYALTY

8.0 7.36 / 7.74 Aftersales

Airline 8.04 / 7.92

7.5 Hotel & Leisure
6.82 / 7.22 Automotive
7.13 / 7.43 Sales

7.0 Mobile Telecoms 6.67 / 6.73

7.27 / 7.13

Utilities
6.5 Telecoms
Distribution
6.05 / 6.18
5.38 / 6.05

6.0

5.5

5.0

5.0 5.5 6.0 6.5 7.0 7.5 8.0 8.5 9.0

OVERALL SATISFACTION

16 UK Customer Satisfaction 12-Month Benchmark Report 2018

How to Capture Customer Loyalty
Viewing the results, you might think that if a customer is satisfied then they are also loyal, but this is not always the
case. This is because loyalty is a future event. It is also something a customer may or may not do. Certainly, retention
is more likely if the customer enjoyed a five-star customer experience but the only way to really tell is to pose the
question.

Ask customers if they are loyal and what actions they would take to demonstrate this – purchase again in the future?
Recommend you to a friend or colleague? Also, measure what actions customers take to demonstrate loyalty, for
example, finding out where new customer referrals come from. It is also important to measure behaviours which
show active disloyalty, such as a drop in return customers or a rise in complaints or negative online comments.

UK Customer Satisfaction 12-Month Benchmark Report 2018 17

Customer Sentiment Analysis
– Customer Satisfaction and Customer Effort Drivers

Sentiment analysis gains deeper understanding of the quality of customer experience, identifying
customers’ motivations for contacting providers, how much effort they needed to put in to get their
issue resolved, and to what degree these interactions were positive or negative.

During the 12 months to June 2018, customers’ top reasons for contacting service providers were ‘ Customer Service’
(345), ‘Helpfulness of Staff’ (205) and ‘Problem Handling’ (150).

The more positive customers felt about the encounter with their provider, the higher the score.

Customer interactions relating to ‘Customer Experience’, ‘Customer Service’ and ‘Price Positioning’ were largely
positive with scores of 0.7 and above. Interactions relating to ‘Complaint Handling’ and ‘Timeliness of Resolution’
scored between 0.5 and 0.6.

Interactions relating to ‘Problem Handling’ and ‘Payments/Refunds’ scored between 0.3 and 0.4. The interaction with
the lowest score was ‘Billing Issues’ with a score of 0.3 and was mentioned by 1.8% of survey respondents.

Figure 16 - Customer comments analysis by type of interaction

Topic Number of responses Sentiment score % of the sample

Customer Experience 30 0.74 1.88%

Customer Service 345 0.71 21.70%

Price Positioning 74 0.71 4.65%

Helpfulness of Staff 205 0.69 10.51%

Delivery Services 92 0.67 5.79%

Product Quality 96 0.66 6.04%

Complaint Handling 24 0.57 1.51%

Timeliness of Resolution 132 0.52 8.30%

Problem Handling 150 0.37 9.43%

Payments/Refunds 27 0.34 1.70%

Billing Issues 28 0.29 1.76%

Average 1590 0.63 100%

To distil areas that impact customer satisfaction the most, our findings include verbatim customer comments.
Feedback where customer satisfaction was low include:

Problem Handling Payments/Refunds Billing Issues

“Problem went on for “I was promised a refund, but
almost two weeks.” it hasn’t been seen through
after a month.”
“Had multiple issues including
poor customer service, problems
with communication and having
to pay a bill I was told I would not
have to pay, twice!”

18 UK Customer Satisfaction 12-Month Benchmark Report 2018

Customer Effort
Sentiment analysis also allows us to measure customer feelings about the amount of effort they needed to put in to
have their issue or enquiry solved.

Customer interactions relating to ‘Website Access/Navigation’, ‘Online Ordering’ and ‘Customer Service’ were largely
positive with scores of 0.6 and higher. Interactions relating to ‘e-Mail and Communication’ and ‘Call Time and
Handling’ performed less well for customer effort, both receiving scores of 0.4.

The interaction with the lowest score for customer effort was ‘Problem Resolution’ with a score of 0.3 and was
mentioned by 5.9% of respondents.

Figure 17 - Customer comments analysis by customer effort

Topic Number of responses Sentiment score % of the sample

Website Access/Navigation 44 0.73 3.03%

Online Ordering 40 0.7 2.75%

Customer Service 126 0.64 8.68%

Staff Interactions 66 0.59 4.55%

Customer Effort 73 0.56 5.03%

Product Quality 68 0.55 4.68%

e-Mail and Communication 40 0.42 2.75%

Call Time and Handling 100 0.42 6.89%

Problem Resolution 86 0.29 5.92%

Average 1452 0.57 100%

Customer comments about the encounters which required them to work harder include:

e-Mail and Call Time Problem

Communication and Handling Resolution

“Constantly ignored all “I had to constantly phone and “Took too long to resolve
my e-mails.” argue for a better service.” the problem.”

Less Customer Effort = Happier Customers

High customer effort scores are red flags for areas where customers feel they are spending excessive time and
energy on getting a problem fixed. Organisations can pin down ways to reduce customer effort by experiencing their
customer journey for themselves. This will help identify recurring, stubborn stumbling blocks. Reducing customer
effort in turn will help increase customer satisfaction, reduce customer churn and maximise customer call centre
productivity.

UK Customer Satisfaction 12-Month Benchmark Report 2018 19

UK Employee Engagement Analysis by Sector

Employees working in Telecoms, Banking and in the Airline sector are the most engaged.

Unlike measuring Employee Satisfaction, measuring Employee Engagement involves gauging the extent staff believe
in the organisation they work for, how it is run and what it stands for. It also discerns how staff talk about the
organisation outside of work and whether they would recommend it to people they know, either as a good service
provider or employer.

Why is this important? How engaged a workforce is impacts directly how customers feel about a brand. Unlike
satisfied employees, who are largely content in their role and with colleagues, engaged employees are enthused
about, and committed to pushing a company forward. They want to help the company achieve its aims and are
prepared to go the extra mile to fix customer problems, inspiring them to come back for more.

Our results show that Telecoms received the highest employee engagement score with 8.8 (out of 10), followed by
Banking & Financial Services and Airline, which each received a score 8.7.

Sectors with the lowest employee engagement scores were Utilities with a rating of 7.7, Restaurants with 7.8 and
Public Sector with 8.0.

Employee engagement fluctuates according to the unique and seasonal challenges staff face. Notably the
engagement score for Automotive fell to 6.5 in the nine-month data set, coinciding with the change in registration
plates and the last big push for car sales before the anticipated autumn slow-down.

Figure 18 - Employee engagement by sector: Taking into account all your experiences, how engaged are you with your job role?

10

8.72 8.67 8.76

8.60 8.50
9 8.34 8.36
8.10 8.16 8.10
7.98
7.82 7.71
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Top Engagement Factors for UK Employees across all Sectors

The top five factors influencing employee engagement for UK employees are:

1. Understanding what is required of you (34.3%)

2. Flexibility in your role (34.0%)

3. Working closely with your immediate team (32.0%)

4. Support from your line manager (28.0%)

5. Being empowered to make decisions (27.0%)

20 UK Customer Satisfaction 12-Month Benchmark Report 2018

Highest Engagement Attributes by UK Sector
40% of Telecom employees rate ‘Clear direction with your tasks’ as their top engagement attribute, while a third
(33%) of Banking & Financial staff and over a third of Medical staff (39%) rate ‘Working closely with your immediate
team’ as their top engagement priority.

39% of Retail workers rate ‘Flexibility in your role’.

37% of Utilities and 38% Public Sector employees rate ‘Understanding what is required of you’ as their highest
engagement attribute.

Figure 19 - What is most important to employees in different sectors

Sector What is important to employees? Expected by (%) of employees

Hotel & Leisure Understanding what is required of you 37%

Medical Working closely with your immediate team 39%

Restaurants Working closely with your immediate team 34%

Retail Flexibility in your role 39%

Telecoms Clear direction with your tasks 40%

Utilities Understanding what is required of you 37%

Public Sector Understanding what is required of you 38%

Banking & Financial Services Working closely with your immediate team 33%

Increasing Employee Engagement in Utilities, Public Sector and Telecoms

Uncovering and integrating attributes employees value has a positive effect on staff engagement which plays a key
role in enhancing customer satisfaction.

Utilities and Public Sector employees rated ‘Understanding what is required of you’ as their top engagement
attribute, indicating that letting staff know what they need to do and what is expected of them is important for
generating engagement. Affirming what an employee’s role involves and individual and group performance goals not
only sets out what they need to accomplish to receive their salary - and any performance-related bonuses, significant
in target-driven sectors - but encourages employee initiative in how they decide to reach those goals.

Clear direction with tasks is also a significant engagement factor for Telecoms employees. Providing clear, concise
instructions with duties lets employees know the precise steps they need to take to meet their responsibilities. It also
reduces confusion and raises process consistency, crucial when serving multiple customers across multiple channels.

UK Customer Satisfaction 12-Month Benchmark Report 2018 21

Employee Engagement versus Customer Interactions

Our results underline the link between employee engagement and customer satisfaction.

Higher Staff Engagement = Higher Customer Satisfaction

Retail employees indicate a fairly high level of employee engagement with an overall engagement score of 8.1 (fig 22).
Staff also rated ‘Flexibility in their role’ as their number one engagement priority (fig 19, pg 21). On the other side of
the checkout, customers awarded Retail Customer Service a score of 8.3 and Ease of contact 9.1 (fig 20 and 21).

Our data suggests that because retail employees’ desire for choice over when and how they work is being met, staff
are engaged and happier in their role, resulting in better customer service and higher customer satisfaction scores.

Figure 20 - How satisfied were you with this service provider regarding their customer service?

10 8.49 8.33 8.29 8.18

7.62 7.42
8 6.00
5.11
6

0
Online Retail Distribution Retail Supermarkets Utilities Banking Airline Telecoms

Figure 21 - How satisfied were you with this service provider regarding ease of contact?

9.17 9.09
8.76 8.36
10

8 5.71

0
Utilities Telecoms Banking Insurance Retail

Figure 22 - Taking into account all your experiences, how engaged are you with your job role?

8.72 8.67 8.60 8.50 8.76

10 8.34 8.36 8.10 8.16 8.10 7.98
7.82 7.71
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What our Findings Tell Us

Regularly collating Employee Engagement scores about what is important to staff at each stage of their journey with
an organisation, enables leaders to flex and improve their employee experience accordingly.

Bringing about a positive step-change in employee behaviour means staff are likely to stay, reducing churn, and
be more energised and productive in their service delivery, resulting in interactions that customers love and,
importantly, want to come back for.

22 UK Customer Satisfaction 12-Month Benchmark Report 2018

UK Customer Satisfaction - Looking Ahead
Rising customer expectations, coupled with weaker consumer spending due to uncertainty around Brexit, present a
challenging market for UK businesses. Differentiating on customer experience can help stave off competition whilst
locking in customers, current and future.

Our findings reveal three core elements for memorable customer experience:

� Reduce customer effort, raise customer satisfaction:

Implement and improve processes that make customers’ lives easier.

� Pinpoint problems in customer-facing interactions:

Use research to acquire a 360-degree customer experience view across all touchpoints. This will expose gaps in
customer service, such as leaving customers on hold too long, inaccuracies with payment and billing systems or
weaknesses in customer service training, enabling effective, targeted action planning.

� Enhance employee engagement, enhance customer satisfaction:

Understand and integrate factors that motivate and engage employees to increase staff engagement, in turn
improving customer interaction and retention.

We hope you have found our report informative. For further details about our annual customer satisfaction
benchmarking report, or to find out how our customer research and analysis solutions can help overcome your
customer experience challenges, e-mail: research@tti-global.com
Sector Spotlight
Benchmarking Reports
Alongside this annual report we issue
regular spotlight customer satisfaction
benchmarking reports tracking customer
satisfaction and loyalty across a broad
range of UK sectors. Our statistics are
reported and referenced regularly by
government and other industry bodies,
including Ofgem, the government
regulator for the electricity and gas
markets in Great Britain and Ofcom, the
UK’s communications regulator.

To receive future Sector Spotlight

Benchmarking reports email:
research@tti-global.com

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please visit:
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