business statistics sample work (estey, myles)
TRANSCRIPT
Better Business Bureau Data Analysis: Capital One
Kyle Anderson Myles Estey
Sophie Holmes Melissa Teel
Diyang (Joseph) Wu
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abstract 3
Problem Statement 3
Introduction and Background 3
Methods of Analysis 5
Results and Analysis 7
Recommendations and Conclusions 8
Specific Category Solutions 9
Works Cited 16
Author Bibliographies 17
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ABSTRACT
This report thoroughly analyzes complaints from Capital One customers extracted from
the database of the Better Business Bureau (BBB). We form quantifiable conclusions based on
100 complaints from a random sample, and offer recommendations that will improve customer
satisfaction for Capital One. We constructed confidence intervals at the 95% confidence level
with a sample size of one hundred complaints to make inferences about the population of
complaints submitted to the BBB. As a result, Billing or Collection Issues, Customer Service
Issues, Contract Issues, Advertising Issues, and Service Issues were the most common complaint
types. Based on our research about the credit card sector of Capital One, we offer specific
category solutions for each of the five complaint types that account for 90% of total complaints
from the random sample.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
Customer satisfaction at Capital One suffers from unclear policies and poor service
conduct. It is recommended that Capital One implements new practices ensuring that both
customers and customer service representatives are informed in a timely manner about changes
made to policies and regulations.
INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
The Better Business Bureau (BBB) works closely with businesses and organizations to
resolve problems customers encounter without litigation. The BBB provides consumers with
unbiased information by collecting reports and comparing companies to the BBB’s own
standards of trust through the examination of ethical standards and performance. Reports about
companies include information about licensing, background and consumer experience.
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Capital One has been BBB Accredited since 1995 and currently has an “A+” rating. This
rating is determined by: comparing the number of complaints to the size of the company, length
of time the business has been operating, clear business practices, government actions, advertising
issues, and commitment to the BBB.
During a threeyear span from 2010 to 2013, 5,666 complaints about Capital One were
filed and reported to the BBB. The BBB does not compare companies based on data collected,
but other organizations, like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), do offer data
comparison. According to a report from the U.S. PIRG Education Fund and Frontier Group,
Capital One is the most complained about credit card company in forty three states accounting
for approximately 21% of complaints reported to CFPB (Unterreiner and Dutzik 4). The
following chart displays the total number of closed complaints in relation to complaint type
collected by the BBB.
Chart #1: 5666 complaints about Capital One closed with the BBB in the last few years
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Despite receiving over five thousand complaints, the BBB gives Capital One the highest
possible rating. With a company as large as Capital One, thousands of complaints are expected.
The following report contains confidence intervals that were constructed to identify the
complaint types most frequently reported by Capital One customers. We tested eleven complaint
types at the 95% confidence level: Advertising Issues, Sales Practice Issues, Delivery Issues,
Repair Issues, Service Issues, Customer Service Issues, Guarantees and Warranty Issues, Product
Issues, Refund or Exchange Issues, Contract Issues, and Billing or Collection Issues.
Our data evaluates problem areas of customer satisfaction encountered by Capital One.
The goal of the report is to analyze all eleven complaint types and present the five most common
complaints. This allows the management team at Capital One to ensure cost efficiency by basing
their resolutions on our five specific category recommendations, which tackle 90% of all
complaints.
METHODS OF ANALYSIS
One hundred customer complaints were randomly selected using standard statistical
measures. For each of the eleven categories, listed in Table 1, the sample proportions were
calculated with incidences out of one hundred, and a 95% confidence interval for the true
population parameter was calculated. The process for each calculation is demonstrated for each
issue category.
We are using a 95% confidence level to acquire an accurate estimate of the proportion of
complaints for each category. The purpose of constructing these intervals is to provide Capital
One with information on their customer satisfaction. By showing what percent of complaints
belong to each category, Capital One will be able to make an informed decision on where and
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how to improve their company’s operations. By understanding which category incurs the most
incidences, Capital One will be able to improve on the worst category, defined as the category
with the most complaints, thereby improving customer satisfaction in a costeffective manner.
Confidence Intervals for Population Proportion
Below is an example calculation of a confidence interval based on our random sample:
Advertising Issues: n = 100 α = .05
At the 95% confidence level, z(α/2) = 1.96
is the sample proportion, equal to # of incidences/100
p=̂6/100=.06
.06 +/ (1.96)(√(.06(1.06))/100))
.06 +/ (1.96)(.0237)
.06 +/ (.0465)
(.0135, .1065)
Table 1. Confidence Intervals for Population Proportions of Issue Categories
Issue Category Confidence Interval Issue Category Confidence Interval
1. Advertising Issues (.0135, .1065) 7. Guarantees and Warranty Issues (.0094, .0294)
2. Sales Practice Issues (.0094, .0294) 8. Product Issues (.0035, .0635)
3. Delivery Issues (.0094, .0294) 9. Refund and Exchange Issues (.0035, .0635)
4. Repair Issues (.0094, .0294) 10.Contract Issues (.0269, .1331)
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5. Service Issues (.08, .22) 11. Billing or Collection Issues (.2565, .4435)
6. Customer Service Issues (.174, .346)
RESULTS AND ANALYSIS
After constructing the aforementioned confidence intervals, we determined which issues
were the most common. Some categories of issues were notably less frequent than others. Six of
the 11 categories resulted in a p ̂of .03 or less, and they accounted for 10% of the sample. These
less frequent complaint categories were Sales Practice Issues, Delivery Issues, Repair Issues,
Guarantees and Warranty Issues, Product Issues, and Refund and Exchange Issues. The other
five categories appeared much more frequently in the sample, and comprised the other 90%.
Advertising Issues, Contract Issues, and Service Issues comprised 29% of the complaints, while
Customer Service Issues and Billing or Collection Issues accounted for 26% and 35% of the
complaints, respectively.
Chart #2: Sample proportions of complaint categories
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Because of potential sampling error, these percentages cannot be assumed to be the exact
parameters of the population of all of Capital One’s complaints received. Rather, they can be
used to determine the confidence intervals. The calculated confidence intervals give us greater
certainty in our results. We can infer that the actual population value lies within the interval, and
use this information to analyze the data.
RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS
Through the use of the confidence intervals we are able to discern where Capital One has
the least and most reported issues. With the data given we found that more complaints were
given about Billing or Collection Issues, Customer Service Issues, and Service Issues. This may
indicate that the company should focus on these areas more so than others. Perhaps they have
less knowledgeable staff in these departments or the policies need to changed in order to better
handle the issues that typically arise for customers.
Billing or Collection has the highest rate of complaint which may in part be due to the
fact that it deals more so with the actual payment of money, which people will be more inclined
to fight for or against. This could also indicate that the company has technology issues within its
system if people are complaining about improper Billing or Collection amounts. Customer
Service had the second most frequent complaints, which may indicate that they need to better
train the staff to interact with the customers. They might also better educate the staff on their
policies and steps the company takes to handle various customer complaints. The percentage
could be higher because this is the direct interaction they have with the company itself, so if they
feel Capital One is not helping them to the best of the company’s ability, they are more likely to
leave a complaint to ensure better help in the future. Service was the other category with a
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substantial percentage of complaints, showing that service needs to be addressed to ensure better
customer service quality and retain current credit card customers. The categories that had the
largest percentage of complaints deal with the customers on the basis of providing service
through personal interactions and monetary exchange, whereas the other categories deal more
with gaining customers and improving the product itself. This shows that the company needs to
work on its personal interactions more than just gaining new customers. Otherwise, current
customers will leave complaints that are detrimental to Capital One’s reputation. Other
categories received less complaints, meaning that they don’t need to significantly change training
or policy procedures, although all areas can be improved despite the quantity of complaints
reported.
SPECIFIC CATEGORY SOLUTIONS
We recommend Capital One consider the five largest categories, which account for 90%
of complaints from the random sample, in order to increase customer satisfaction. The primary
issues within each category and proposed solutions are included in each analysis below.
Billing or Collection Issues
In the largest category, Billing or Collection Issues, twenty of the thirtyfive complaints
implied that the customer believed Capital One demonstrated ineffective communication, if at
all. Many complaints mentioned late or miscellaneous fees being charged to the customer’s
account without their knowledge. In addition, Capital One has conducted unauthorized
transactions from customers’ accounts and has failed to close accounts in a timely manner. Many
customers who submitted complaints in this issue category also were charged fees for accounts
they believed were closed or for cards they thought were no longer in use. The vast majority of
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the complaints in the category can be resolved or prevented with a better communications
system. We recommend that each customer receive weekly or monthly updates on the status of
all of their accounts, cards, loans, and mortgages, as well as any fees that may be incurred in the
near future. Customers should be notified the moment a late fee will be charged so that the fees
do not accumulate until the day they find out they have staggering fees to pay that they were
entirely unaware of. The conditions on which late or miscellaneous fees will be charged should
be made extremely clear to the customers and this information should be easily accessible online.
This will allow customers to avoid these fees entirely.
One specific complaint mentioned that Capital One require credit statement errors be
disputed through handwritten mail, but when the customer sent letters to the proper address with
the proper paperwork, they reported Capital One ignored the request. Capital One’s policy, that
statement errors be disputed through mail and not with a service representative or online, is very
misleading. It is Capital One’s policy that even once they receive a request, the company can
chose to ignore it (www.capitalone.com). This policy is unclear to the vast majority of customers
and allows the company to create unethical charges against a customer’s account that cannot be
dropped or avoided, which many of the customers indicated they believed to be morally wrong
and not likely to “hold up in a court of law.” In order to avoid customer frustration, notices for
all fees should be sent in advance, before the customer actually incurs the fee.
In addition to fees, customers were also dissatisfied with Capital One’s consistency in
credit reporting. Many complaints mentioned that, in relation to or as a direct result of the
unknown fees, Capital One was reporting derogatory remarks to credit bureaus thereby reducing
the customer’s credit score. Many customers tried to settle these problems over the phone with
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customer service representatives, but complained that the representative didn’t follow through
with the promised solution. Additionally, customers reported representatives making promises
that they could not keep or pledging that a problem was or would be taken care of when it, in
fact, was not. We recommend training these service representatives to expand their knowledge of
their role and capacity to solve problems as well as restricting their ability to defame a
customer’s credit score.
Advertising Issues
Complaints filed with the BBB about advertising issues regarded misunderstanding
advertised claims of Capital One. There were only six advertising complaints in the sample, and
none of them were quite the same as the others. Therefore, it was difficult to judge whether these
were actual problems of unclear wording or just misunderstanding on the part of the customer.
One customer was upset that they could not receive an advertised mortgage. They noted that the
specific documents needed to receive approval for a mortgage were not clearly specified.
Another person complained that they were led to believe that there were employment
opportunities with Capital One when in fact there were not. Another customer was had trouble
getting a promised cash reward, despite calling the company many times.
Because advertising complaints only comprised 6% of the sample, we recommend that
Capital One address the issues raised only after they have dealt with more common problems,
such as those concerning Billing or Collection Issues and Customer Service Issues. The best way
to minimize customer dissatisfaction in advertising is to be as clear as possible in all
advertisements of the company. This means no false claims or cleverlyworded advertisements
promoting features that are not as good as they sound.
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The changes recommended here could be good or bad for Capital One, depending on
whether the company was intentionally being vague. The latter could be occurring because of a
lessthanappealing policy. However, Capital One has an obligation to its customers and
potential customers to be honest and not intentionally deceive them. Therefore, we recommend
that they investigate and correct any unclear wording in their advertisements ensuring that all
required documents for the application process are provided.
Customer Service Issues
The Customer Service complaints show three main issues that can be addressed by
Capital One: unavailability of representatives, unhelpful information given by representatives,
and not having representatives follow through with proposed solutions. By addressing these
problems it will not only help Customer Service but many other sections of the company.
One of the main issues in the complaints was that of not being able to get into contact
with customer service or other company representatives. Customers will try repeatedly to call the
company to resolve an issue and are unable to get into contact with anyone to fix the problem. If
they do get through they may be transferred multiple times due to the service representatives not
being knowledgeable and handing them off to someone else, even if the next person is unable to
help either. Customers also complained about not being able to get into contact with specific
people they were instructed to contact and were therefore not able to fix the issues or were left
wondering whether the issue was fixed.
If customers are able to contact a representative they encounter the next major issue: not
getting answers. Many of the customers felt that their time was wasted and the conversation
yielded no results. Many customers did not receive adequate solutions for their problems.
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The last major common issue was representatives not following through on their word or
giving out false information about policies. Multiple complaints dealt with customers having to
repeat certain processes because representatives wouldn’t complete the necessary steps the first
time through and therefore the customer was never helped. Customer Service representatives
would neglect to make notes on customer’s accounts, which halted the resolution process.
Additionally, customers were misinformed about current policies, which disrupted the
customer’s financial planning.
In order to improve customer service, we suggest a few changes to ensure better quality
for customers. Similar to the Billing or Collection Issue category, representatives need to be
better trained and educated on the policies to ensure that they understand and can help the
customers comprehend them as well. This will allow them to stop the distribution of false
information. Representatives also need to be better educated on what departments can handle
which problems so that customers are transferred efficiently. In regards to not being able to
contact customer service representatives to solve issues, we believe the company should improve
its call history system. This can ensure that customers don't have to repeatedly called without
being helped and problems can be addressed in a respectable time period.
Contract Issues
Contract issues account for 8% of one hundred complaints from the random sample. We
believe the solution to these types of problems involves clearly representing agreements
regarding interest rates and billing cycle terms. In addition, an overarching complaint among
sampled BBB reports is that both customers and customer service representatives are uninformed
about Capital One’s most recent promotions and policies. There needs to be a system in which
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customers and customer service representatives are always clearly informed about each policy
and any changes made to the policy.
Service Issues
In the one hundred complaints from the sample, 15% of the complaints relate to Service
Issues. The bulk of the complaints are results from Capital One’s self contradiction. For
example, Capital One agreed to defer fees, cancel cards, or remove the negative records for the
customers, but never actually did so. This inconsistency irreversibly harms customer’s trust for
Capital One, and needs to be solved immediately. The best way to solve it, we recommend, is to
create a specific record for the permissions that Capital One granted to customers. Staff members
should be diligent about accurately keeping track of the record and making sure customers get
what they want.
Complaints are also generated from false reports. Many customers indicated that they
kept making payments and keeping track on their records, but still received credit reports that
contained errors that may affect their credits. Capital One should take responsibility since the
negative reports can lead to an enormous inconvenience to customers. Thus, we recommend that
Capital One check and restate the report if necessary on a monthly basis, to ensure the accuracy
about the report.
The third major problem in the service issue is that Capital One sometimes displays an
unwillingness to help customers. In two of the random samples, customers’ problems lasted for
six months, and Capital One representatives failed to provide satisfactory solutions. Furthermore,
one manager openly refused to fix a normal problem of rushing delivery for a new card, when
that customer had a very urgent need of that card. When the customer mentioned he wanted to
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file a complaint to the BBB, Capital One immediately changed its attitude and started to work on
the problem. It seems that without the pressure of being reported, the employees do not actively
want to solve the problems. Better training programs centering in improving employer’s
professionalism should be established. Moreover, a rating system for customer service should be
implemented to prevent employees from performing poorly.
Another question arises due to inefficient communications. A customer may have to call
several times to solve the same problem, and every time they call in, they have to explain
everything to that representative. This is very timeconsuming. Besides, not every representative
can develop a thorough understanding of the customer's problem when they call in. Thus, we
recommend that one customer’s problem is better matched with only one representative. This
representative has to be responsible for this customer, and keeps track of the issue until it’s
solved. If this problem requires two or more people to solve, the rating system should be altered
to decide the seriousness of this problem, and whom from the higher class should be further
responsible for that customer.
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WORKS CITED
"Billing Rights Summary." Capital One. 17 Apr. 2015. Web. 21 Apr. 2015. <http://www.capitalone.com/legal/billingrights/>.
Morran, Chris. "Capital One Is The Most ComplainedAbout Credit Card Company." Consumerist. Consumerist.com, 15 Jan. 2014. Web. 15 Apr. 2015. <http://consumerist.com/2014/01/15/capitaloneisthemostcomplainedaboutcreditcardcompany/>.
Unterreiner, Miles, and Tony Dutzik. Credit Cards, Consumer Complaints. Rep. Ed. Ed Mierzwinski and Laura Murray. N.p.: U.S. PIRG Education Fund, 2014. Print.
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AUTHOR BIOGRAPHIES
Anderson, Kyle Anderson is a freshman at the University of Richmond in Richmond, VA. He was born on July 30th, 1996 in Seattle, Washington, and moved to Lake Forest, IL at the age of 4. He graduated from Adlai E. Stevenson High School in 2014. Continuing his studies, he is majoring in Business Economics with a minor in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance.
Estey, Myles Estey is currently a sophomore at the University of Richmond majoring in Business Administration and Healthcare Studies with a concentration in Management. He was born and raised in Laconia, New Hampshire. He graduated from Tilton School in 2013.
Holmes, Sophie Holmes is currently a sophomore at the University of Richmond. She is majoring in Psychology with a minor in Business Administration. At UR she plays on the women’s ultimate frisbee team and is a part of the Peer Mentors and Advisors program. She was born in Charlottesville, VA, and lived there until she moved to Richmond. She attended Charlottesville High School.
Teel, Melissa Teel is currently a sophomore at the University of Richmond. She was born in Milton, Georgia. Teel is also on the women’s lacrosse team here at school. Teel is a double major in Business Administration and Leadership. She graduated from Milton High School in 2013.
Wu, Diyang (Joseph) Wu is currently a freshman at the University of Richmond. He was born in Chengdu, China, and lived there until he went to University of Richmond. Wu was a member of the mock trial team for the 2014 Fall semester. He graduated from Chengdu No.7 High School in 2014.