If you make a mistake, you should be given a second chance. But in the real world of business you cannont expect this kind of fairness. According to a survey conducted jointly by the Easynet service provider and the British polling firm YouGov, 37% of German business clients will turn their backs on their service provider in case they are dissatisfied with services, and most of the time they do this without warning and without giving a second chance.
One quarter of business clients takes action without complaining about deficiencies. Just 5% tolerate poor customer service inactively. In particular bad communication is something very much resented in business-to-business client relations. 75% of those questionned said that being placed on hold was most annoying. According to Easynet, sales experts from any line of business are aware of this problem and currently investing strongly in new systems of complaint management. This is said to be an important step for improving customer service, but not an insurance against client drain.
According to the survey, one aspect which is really important to German companies besides punctuality and cost stability (50% of clients said so) is reachability of their service provider. One in ten companies states this aspect as being the most important criterion for a good customer service, but only 47% of those questioned said that they could actually reach their service provider in practice.
In the course of the above study Easynet together with the British polling firm YouGov questioned 1666 companies from Germany, Great Britain, France, Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands on issues relating to customer service. 