Public sector needs to modernise customer service

Miya Knights

Public sector organisations are lagging behind their private sector counterparts when it comes to providing customer service resources, research shows.

While consumers see no difference between customer service levels of public and private sectors in general, the research suggests the public sector is lagging behind in modernising its customer resources.

The findings are the result of nationwide consumer research comparing the overall quality of customer service of public and commercial organisations.

Some 38 per cent of respondents gave an equally 'good' rating to both sectors' customer service levels, as opposed to 'average' or 'poor'.

The research also found that consumers particularly rated the quality of customer service agents and call response times as virtually identical.

'The private sector does not have a monopoly on good customer service,' said Paul Renucci, managing director of communication service provider Damovo UK, who commissioned the research with fellow provider Ericsson.

But there was a weaker showing of a 32 per cent 'good' rating for the range customer contact options available in the public sector compared to 41 per cent for private sector organisations.

'The public sector needs to broaden the quality and range of call centre support it offers,' said Renucci.

Some 61 per cent of respondents recognised the importance of automated telephone response menus to shortening response times when accessing personal account details (cited by 63 per cent), up-to-date information (53 per cent) or job vacancies (31 per cent).

And although a 'good' response is received within three hours (regardless of contact method), the telephone proves the most popular mode of contact amongst 59 per cent of consumer respondents, while 37 per cent prefer making email enquiries.

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