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Indians Are The Most Abusive Customers in the World

Indians are the most abusive customers in the world, while the French are the most dissatisfied consumers

Published: Jun 2, 2012 06:06:36 AM IST
Updated: May 29, 2012 04:08:36 PM IST
Indians Are The Most Abusive Customers in the World
Image: Sameer Pawar

Consumers across the world are getting impatient with the quality of customer service that’s provided to them. And, thanks to social media, they are making sure everyone knows when matters are not solved to their satisfaction. Here are some of the findings of the 2012 Global Customer Service Barometer prepared for American Express.

France
21%
of the French feel that companies don’t care about them and an equal number feel that companies take them for granted. This explains why the French customer is the most dissatisfied in the survey.

Australia
24%
of Australians refuse to do
business with companies that don’t provide satisfactory service. Six percent of them engage only with companies that provide them excellent service.

UK
44%
of consumers from the United Kingdom tell others when they have a good experience with companies but 62 percent make sure they tell others when they have a bad experience.

JAPAN
37%
of consumers have not made a purchase with companies because of bad customer service in Japan. 27 percent of Japanese have stormed out of a store when
services don’t meet expectations.

US
46%
of Americans demand a personal interaction when they are dealing with complex matters and 21 percent are willing to wait for up to 15 minutes to get their queries answered.

INDIA
64%
of Indians lose their temper with customer service, compared to the global average of 48 percent. Indians are also among the most abusive customers in the world with 12 percent resorting to profanities on the phone.

Indians Are The Most Abusive Customers in the World

Source: 2012 Global Customer Service Barometer. A research report for American Express.

(This story appears in the 08 June, 2012 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)

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  • Rahul Kulkarni

    Is there any law in India wherein manufacturer or the service provider can refuse the service to any highly impractical and very abusive customer? Would appreciate if you share some details on it. Thanks a lot

    on Dec 20, 2012
  • Abhishek Raghunath

    @Intekhan and Aabha. I agree that call centre customers may not be able to answer the questions put to them all the time. Even if someone is doing a bad job, it does not give us the right to abuse them. We cannot insult the dignity of a person. If an executive is incompetent action will be taken against him/her during his appraisals. There's no need for us to abuse him/her.

    on Jun 7, 2012
  • Intekhab

    But what about the analysis as to WHY are the Indian Customers so irritated (hence abusive)??? It\'s due to incompetent workforce at these call centers and false promises. They have little or no knowledge about the product they are selling/servicing. Be it Vodafone or a PayBack, the recruits are Indians too

    on Jun 7, 2012
  • Ashok Pai

    Service in India will never get its due, because of the feudal mindset.

    on Jun 4, 2012
  • Ravi Kiran

    In future, a paid model of customer service pay evolve. I actually don\'t mind paying for customer service [I know, it sounds bizarre], as long as the company uses reasonably intelligent, empathetic, and hopefully non-call center type people who can solve a real problem. Many of today\'s customer service executives, not only deserve that title, they don\'t deserve a job, any job, that has a single customer to face.

    on Jun 3, 2012
  • Shiamak

    The headline could be \"Indian companies are the worst in customer service\"

    on Jun 2, 2012
  • Aabha Padgaonkar

    Well, an Indian as I am, I am surely abusive at times with the customer care service. But does anyone care to ask why so happens? Well I have a few reasons. Firstly, the customer care executives (CCE) have absolutely no knowledge about what they are dealing with. Secondly, they don\'t have the slightest courtesy to listen to the caller\'s plea. They just simply disconnect the call as per their will and wish. Last but not the least, they\'re never a help. How is a customer get his problem sorted if these are the kind of service he gets?

    on Jun 2, 2012
  • Harsh

    Hardly surprising, the customer service, even for high-end brands, is dwindling alarmingly in India. There\'s no other way for a customer than to slug it out to get the thing done. You have to \'escalate\' matters to get things done in our ecosystem. Beyond systems and processes, brands need to audit their customer service department time to time. Few brands that stand out are Amex, LV, Oberois, Audi (India)

    on Jun 2, 2012