Contact centre rage: survey finds Scots, men and the under-30s to be the worst offenders

21st October 2009 - London

Contact centre rage: survey finds Scots, men and the under-30s to be the worst offenders

New survey from Corizon reveals regional, gender and age differences in the way Brits express their frustration with contact centres

Many of us get frustrated when dealing with contact centres – but do you ever find yourself swearing at the agent, or simply hanging up? The answer may depend on where you live.  

New research by Corizon reveals that Scots are the most likely to use ‘inappropriate language’ when talking to a contact centre agent (15%), while the Welsh are the most prone to hanging up in frustration (49%). Corizon is a company that brings together elements of other software applications in ‘enterprise mashups’ to help businesses and contact centres to simplify their technology infrastructure and make the most of existing IT investments.

Conducted during August 2009, the study of 90 contact centre managers and 2,100 consumers was meant to explore whether the technology installed in today’s call centres is a cause of frustration for customers and agents. However, it highlighted some interesting regional, gender and age differences in how we Brits handle our contact centre conversations. Specifically:

• Scots are the most likely to use inappropriate language (15%), followed by Londoners (12%)
• Welsh people are most likely to hang up on an agent (51%), followed by Easterners (49%)
• Midlanders and Southerners are most likely to hang up before speaking to an agent (61% each)
• Men are more likely than women to use inappropriate language (12% compared with 7%)
• Women are more likely than men to hang up before speaking to an agent (60% compared with 57%)
• 18-30 year-olds are the most likely age group to use inappropriate language

The Corizon and YouGov surveys also revealed plenty of frustration with contact centre technology, at both ends of the telephone line. Levels of frustration are directly related to the number of software applications an agent needs to use which causes delays in answering customer queries.

Nearly 75% of contact centre managers said their agents use an average of five different software applications in a typical working day, with one claiming to use as many as 18. Thirty percent said the problem of ‘too many applications’ had worsened recently. For their part, 83% of the consumers surveyed said their biggest frustration was long waiting times.

“We may react differently depending on our age, gender and where we live, but one thing’s for sure – a great many of our interactions with contact centres are frustrating,” said Emma Chablo, marketing director, Corizon. “Consumers might be interested to know that agents find lengthy calls just as annoying, and a lot of the problem is down to the technology they have at their disposal. There’s no doubt about it: fewer software applications equal happier agents and happier – and more polite – customers.”

Survey Specifics

* YouGov consumer survey
All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc.  Total sample size was 2127 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 7th - 10th August 2009.  The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).
* Corizon Call centre manager survey
90 call centre managers were surveyed by telephone between 1st August and 31st August 2009. The survey was carried out by telephone.