Nearly 90% of vulnerable customers struggle to access contact center customer support services
MaxContact today revealed the challenges faced by vulnerable customers seeking assistance from customer service teams.
According to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), 27.7 million adults in the UK fall under their definition of a vulnerable customer. This includes poor health, negative life events, low financial resilience, or low decision-making ability. This number is expected to increase further as the cost of living crisis impacts people’s finances and mental health.
However, many companies are unprepared to provide the specific customer service that vulnerable customers now need. MaxContact surveyed 1,000 vulnerable customers who had recently interacted with a contact center and found:
» 48% had trouble finding a phone number to contact a business in the past year
When they managed to contact the customer service of a company, 51% felt they were being treated unfairly and their needs were not being met
The main issues revealed by vulnerable customers include:
– Being passed between different members of staff and having to explain the problem several times (51%)
– Having to navigate too many phone (IVR) menus to reach the right person, eg press 1 for this, press 2 for that (45%)
– Feeling like the person they were talking to was trying to get them to hang up quickly (30 %)
– Not understanding the adviser because he spoke too quickly (18%)
As a result, 52% said they had to give up on solving a problem because it was just too difficult, and 57% said it had a negative impact on their mental or financial well-being.
The main support that vulnerable customers say they expect from companies is:
– Have their problem solved by one person rather than being transmitted between several advisers (46%)
– Being able to reach a real person quickly to explain their problem (39%)
– Have enough time to properly explain and deal with the situation (31%)
The study also shows that vulnerable customers would like customer support departments to be more empathetic (23%) and 20% want customer service representatives to communicate with less jargon.
Gareth Morgan, Director of Operations and Communications at H&T Pawnbrokersexplains how H&T guarantees its vulnerable customers the support they need,
“Our customer service center provides direct and instant contact with an agent on standby. Every member of the H&T team is trained to identify, explore and support vulnerable and potentially vulnerable clients.
“It is important to us that vulnerable or potentially vulnerable customers have their account managed in the best possible way from the first request. We prioritize call quality and customer service and do not impose limits on call times, handle times or account updates. Therefore, H&T agents have the ability to focus on providing the best possible service and outcome for the customer. By providing time to ensure that detailed and accurate notes can be recorded, we eliminate the client having to repeat or re-explain their situation in the future.
To help customers better support the largest number of vulnerable customers who will contact them, MaxContact has created a practical checklist measures that contact centers should consider implementing.
Ben Stand, CEO of MaxContactsaid,
“It’s the perfect storm for customer service teams. Customer complaints are at an all time high and there are more complex situations and vulnerable customers to support than ever.
We know that to make a real difference to vulnerable customers, as well as stay compliant with the FCA’s new consumer obligation guidelines, leaders need practical, easy-to-follow advice they can implement. immediately in their own organizations.
Helen Lord, CEO of the Vulnerability Logging Servicesupports MaxContact research,
“Our own recent research underscores MaxContact’s findings. The cost of living crisis will undoubtedly place many customers in incredibly difficult circumstances. It is therefore essential that companies identify vulnerable customers early in order to provide them with the support they need, not only to meet the expectations of regulators, but also from a corporate responsibility perspective.
It is imperative that organizations can tailor their customer journeys appropriately, taking into account not only financial hardship, but also mental or physical health and life events such as relationship breakdown or bereavement, coercion or dependency.
MaxContact is a customer engagement technology company with a difference. It was founded in 2015 by a group of contact center professionals who had grown frustrated with vendors who overpromised and underdelivered on features, support and resiliency. It is now one of the fastest growing call center specialists in the UK with a 97% customer satisfaction rating and over 100 customers. The company was ranked among the 50 fastest growing technology companies in the North by the Northern Tech Awards in 2021 and 2022.
For more information about MaxContact, see their company profile
Methodology – MaxContact commissioned an independent market research firm, Censuswide, to survey a representative national sample of 1,000 UK vulnerable customers aged 16 and over, between 1st and 2n/a September. Unless otherwise stated, all figures are taken from this survey.
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