Here is a fascinating survey regarding customer service from large companies. The article is from ManageSmarter.com – Return to Sender: Responding to Customers.
I think you will find the format quite clever:
Every year, our organization conducts a customer service survey by sending the following one-sentence e-mail to our list of respected and admired companies: What is your corporate policy regarding the turnaround time for e-mails addressed to customer service? The subject of the e-mail is “Customer Service.” The goal of the research is to see who actually answers the question, which is different that simply responding and how long it takes them.
The results:
Here are highlights from this year’s survey:
€¢ 33 percent of companies answered us within 24 hours, down almost half from a high of 63 percent in 2002.
€¢ 51 percent answered us, regardless of time frame from 2002’s high of 86 percent.
€¢ My favorite response: “Thank you for your inquiry. [Our] corporate goal is to respond to ninety-five percent of all inquiries within twenty-four hours. I know that seems strange as I’m responding to you seven days after receiving yours€¦I apologize for that.”This is not a game and we were not trying to trick anyone. We are simply looking at companies through the eyes of a humble customer, because the proof of dedication to customer relationship management is what happens to one individual’s e-mail; it’s where the rubber meets the road.
And I can’t top the closing paragraph:
Based on the dismal results of our annual e-mail survey, the common thought seems to be, “We would have a great business if it weren’t for all those annoying customers.” This begs two important questions: How responsive is your company? How do you know?