HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE 2017 CUSTOMER RAGE SURVEY: Small Uptick In Problems, Less Rage, Improved Complaint–Handling, But Still A Failing Grade Affecting Billions Of Dollars Of Future Sales October 4, 2017

Survey Conducted By… In collaboration with

Methodology Follow-up to 1976 White House Study Beginning in 2003 8th wave of Rage Survey Both land line and cell phone respondents Representative sample (age, gender, income) of US households 1,000 household interviews

PROBLEM EXPERIENCE

Small Uptick In Customer Problem Incidence In 2017 2017 results 2 percentage point increase over 2015 Increase from 54% to 56% Only 32% problem incidence in White House Study

Top Five Customer Problems In 2017 1. 2. 1. Internet accounts for 12 percentage points Accounts for 58% of most-serious problems Same order as in 2015

While Posting On The Web About The Most-Serious Problem Has Increased, It Is Still A Minority Phenomenon Only 34% of problem households posted on at least 1 of the above websites

Age Does Have An Impact On Posting In 2017 29% of 18 to 34 year olds posted on social networking web sites about their most serious problem Only 17% of 55+ year olds posted on social networking web sites Still a minority phenomenon

Less Rage, But Negative Emotions Still Unacceptably HIGH In 2017 Good News 10 percentage points less RAGE than in 2015 Drop from 66% to 56% Bad News Other negative emotions were associated with respondents’ most-serious problems

CORPORATE COMPLAINT-HANDLING PRACTICES

Improved Complaint-handling Practices: But Still A FAILING GRADE 1. 1. 23% complainant satisfaction for 1976 White House Study

In 2017, Telephone Is Still The Primary Channel For Complaining By Nearly A 6 To 1 Margin Over the Internet 1. 1. Less than 4 percentage points of these problem households named websites as their primary channel.

In 2017, Even The Young Prefer The Telephone DON’T FORCE COMPLAINANTS TO USE CHANNELS THEY DON’T WANT TO USE

In 2017, Complainants Got BUPKIS Note: Shading indicates a non-monetary remedy.

SO WHAT

There’s No Free Lunch Anymore White House Study found that there was a brand loyalty UPLIFT over non-complainants even when complainants were NOT satisfied (+9%) This is the basis for expansion of corporate complaint solicitation practices In 2000’s, Rage Surveys report a loss of brand loyalty for dissatisfied complainants (-10% to -12%) Given today’s low complainant satisfaction, most companies earn a NEGATIVE ROI on complaint- handling

We Live In A Top Box World in 2017 % Repurchase Intention Satisfaction With Action Taken (% Complainants) SATISFIED (21%) 68% 57%-point drop MOLLIFIED (39%) 11% DISSATISFIED (40%) 3%

Commonly Used Telephone Complaint-handling Practices That People HATE 1. Examples of practices that scored less than 2.5 on a 0 – 10 point scale where 0 was “would significantly decrease your satisfaction” Misuse of automated telephone technology e.g., no option to talk to a live person (1.19) Try to sell you something (1.58) Must repeat info. already given (2.15) Talking too fast (2.38)/agent accents (1.98) Outsourcing; esp. outside the US (2.01) 1. 2006 CCMC Study

Although In 2017 Posting On The Web Is Not The Primary Complaint-handling Channel, It Spreads A Massive Amount Of Negative Word Of Mouth (WOM)

A Spoonful Of Sugar Helps The Medicine Go Down In 2004 – 2017 1. 2. 3. 4. 1. A comparable question was not asked in the initial wave (2003) of the Customer Rage Surveys. 2. Top 3 boxes Monetary remedies include product repaired/service fixed, money back, free product/service in future, or compensation for damages Non-monetary remedies include treated with dignity, agent didn’t use scripted response, assurance problem would not be repeated an explanation why the problem occurred, a thank you for patronage, offending company showed empathy to complainant’s concerns, opportunity to vent, and an apology

Vital Statistics: 2017 Survey Findings Extrapolated To The Nation’s Population 1. Number of households experiencing at least one problem during past 12 months Number of households experiencing RAGE Number of households posting information about their most serious problem on at least one website Revenue at risk to business 2. 62,720,000 35,750,400 3. 21,324,800 4. $313,286,400,000 1. Statistics apply to ONLY most serious problem during the past 12 months 2. Assuming 112,000,000 total US households 3. Based on “extremely” and “very upset” respondents 4. The mean cost of products/services for most serious problem multiplied by the number of households experiencing problems

A Few Final Thoughts COMPANIES ARE DOING ALL THE RIGHT THINGS, BUT THE WRONG WAY Call centers Satisfaction surveys Monetary remedies Use of the web DO IT RIGHT, OR DON’T DO IT

For more information about the 2017 Customer Rage Survey, please contact: Scott M. Broetzmann President & CEO Customer Care Measurement & Consulting 2121 Eisenhower Ave., Ste. 501 Alexandria, Virginia 22314 703.823.9531 scott@customercaremc.com www.customercaremc.com