No Complaints Doesn’t Necessarily Mean Happy Customers

A recent survey by Youstice.com involving 3,000 people has revealed that shoppers in the UK are willing to lose up to £20 before they complain about a product or service, The Drum reports. This could help brands become more aware of their customers’ feelings, even when they don’t express them via a formal complaint.

The most popular way of lodging a complaint is via e-mail, with 67% of respondents in the survey saying they would choose this method over alternative channels. Other options include going to a shop in person to complain, an option that only 19% would choose, and complaining on the brand’s social media channel, as cited by 12%. One common characteristic of all these groups is that they only act if they believe the effort will be worth it.

What’s more important for brands to remember is that many customers continue to hold a grudge against a brand even if they don’t complain. Almost half (49%) said that they would contemplate not buying from a brand again if it failed to live up to their expectations, and an impressive 40% said they would absolutely never buy from the brand again. Customers’ willingness to lose money rather than complain is due to certain online retailers who make it hard for customers to receive a refund or exchange a product, according to Youstice chief executive Zbynek Loebl. E-retailers have made it so customers believe there is no point in trying to get a refund or an exchange.

Trust is another issue regarding e-commerce, with 60% of customers saying they base their online buying decisions on the feedback of others and the greatest 91% combine this feedback with an online product search.