American Express Customer Service barometer 2012 edition: French Customers are the more

demanding of the world

French customers have the highest expectations in terms of Customers Services —and they are less

and less satisfied. It is what is shown by the precious Customer Service Barometer realized by

American Express, for the third edition of this precious study aiming to know precisely customers’

habits, opinions and needs in 11 countries over the world.

Uncompromising, grumpy and above all talkative…

French are the grumpiest: indeed, they are the most numerous (55%) to think that companies do not

meet their expectations over Customer Services, far ahead Australians (40%) and Mexicans and

English (39%) and Germans (38%). And it doesn’t get better: half of French customer thinks that

companies didn’t adjust properly their attitude toward Customer Service (50% against 51% in 2011),

which represents the strongest average for all the interrogated markets. If one were to believe this

survey, only Indians, Japanese and Mexicans would make true efforts in this area.

Ultimately, 42% of French customers declare having interrupted commercial transaction because of a

bad Customer Service.

More over: French are keener than most to badmouth a faulty service. On an average, half of

worldwide customers declare speaking systematically of a bad customer experience, they are 60% to

speak about it to 15 persons in France… and only 39% to speak about their positive experience to 8

persons, give or take.

Phone is still the preferred channel

Phone, and more likely face to face interaction, is still mainly favored by French customers: when

they have to contact the Customer Service for a complex demand (sending back an item or

requesting help for a specific matter) they are a majority to prefer having a contact by phone (41%)

and when the demand is really complex (filling a complaint, contesting over something), they are

37% to prefer a real life conversation with customer service.

Another proof showing that French are expecting a personalized and close relation, they declare up

to 90% never having used Social Medias to seek and answer from a customer service (highest rate

among the consulted markets).

Finally, for26% of them, the main reason motivating them to a hypothetical change of brand or

provider is a too long wait for solving a problem and especially the fact of being transferred from

counselor to counselor without obtaining a solution (22%).