Millennials are an amazingly patient bunch
Millennials are the most patient generation of all, according to surprising new research.
A study examining the customer service experiences and expectations of 2,000 people found millennials are prepared to wait the longest times before getting agitated and are less likely to complain when things go awry.
The average 18- to 35-year-old was happy to wait 11 minutes on hold on the phone before their mood began to sour. That’s 38 percent longer than respondents over the age of 55, who wait just eight minutes before becoming flustered and upset.
Patience is even harder to come by when on an empty stomach, but millennials can also wait longer for a meal before frustration sets in. In fact, they’ll wait 21 minutes longer than any other generation.
The study of customer service expectations from Jive Communications found millennials are also the most likely to forgive and forget — with four in 10 (39 percent) willing to return to a business if they’ve experienced bad customer service there in the past. Just 23 percent of those over the age of 55 would do the same.
Millennials are also more likely to tolerate mistakes. Only 2 percent of those over 55 say they would forgive a dirty hotel room compared to 15 percent of millennials.
A third would let it pass if they were served the wrong drink in a restaurant — versus 12 percent of over-55s — and a fifth wouldn’t make a fuss if served the wrong food. A laid-back 15 percent would even be fine if a new article of clothing had a hole in it.
A spokesperson for Jive Communications said: “Attention to customer satisfaction will determine which companies succeed and which companies crumble.” Companies need to measure customer NPS (Net Promoter Score) and make improvements based off the customer feedback,” said Sterling Snow, communications director for Jive.
The study also found 87 percent of Americans have experienced bad customer service at least once in their lives. And the poor service doesn’t just stop there, with 42 percent of Americans experiencing an average of two to three really bad customer service experiences in a lifetime.
The study of 2,000 Americans shows that 30 percent use the telephone to complain after receiving poor customer service. In fact, 35 percent of Americans surveyed preferred to use the telephone instead of social media or email to complain about poor customer service.
A unified 78 percent of Americans say they are likely to complain about any negative customer service experience they’ve dealt with.
When respondents were asked about whether they’d complain about bad customer service via email, 71 percent were likely to do so.
The Jive Communications study examined the actions and behaviors of people after receiving bad customer service and what defines poor customer service. The research showed that when it comes to being on hold with a customer service representative, nine minutes was the average acceptable wait time. In fact, nine minutes was also the average expected wait time for Americans waiting for a drink at a restaurant or bar.
In addition, a whopping 76 percent of Americans have — at least once in their lives — asked to speak to a manager due to poor customer service that they were either experiencing at the time or had experienced relatively recently.
In fact, 83 percent of those surveyed said that if they were to receive good or exceptional customer service, they would likely leave a positive review.
As the results of the survey show, 54 percent of Americans are not very likely to return to an establishment or business after experiencing bad customer service.
Ultimately, 64 percent of Americans rarely get frustrated with a customer service representative. Obviously being transferred to multiple people is the biggest frustration that most Americans (55 percent) face when interacting with a customer service representative.
Besides that, 68 percent of Americans would expect some sort of free product or service from the brand after receiving bad customer service.
As you’ve seen, or most likely experienced, people are not afraid to complain about bad customer service. The survey also revealed that 51 percent of Americans read reviews before deciding on whether they will be doing business with a specific company.
The survey indicates that it is important to make sure that customers are happy, even if they’ve received poor customer service. Eliminate the long wait times, especially via telephone, as seven minutes is the ideal wait time for customers to feel like they have received good customer service and are likely to leave a positive review about a business.
So what’s the best way to gauge whether a company has good customer service? A whopping 82 percent of Americans claimed that friendly personnel was the answer.
The Jive Communications spokesperson added: “At Jive we’ve learned that every investment we’ve made in improving our customer service is an investment we’ve made in the growth of our company, brand, and employee satisfaction.”