It’s a common notion among call centers in the Philippines that blasting customers with special offers is a surefire way of making them stay loyal to a brand. A survey, however, states otherwise.

Actionable intelligence solutions company Verint Systems asked 7,000 consumers over six countries about their attitude towards phone-based customer service. The company wanted to know if service is the new marketing, and the results imply a unanimous “yes.”

One of its key findings, however, may refute the offerings-equals-loyalty formula. Respondents declared that they value service over fancy offerings. This means one thing: yes, customer service sells a brand, but no, it is not your exclusive offers that make customers stay as supporters; it is your high-quality service that keeps people coming back.

Overall, only 49% claimed to be satisfied with their customer experience, and these people pointed out the retail industry when asked where they get the most satisfaction.

Here’s a percentage breakdown of how the industries fare in giving customer satisfaction:

• Retail - 67%
• Telco, cable, and Internet providers - 53%
• Electricity, gas, and water services - 49%
• Financial services - 47%
• Public services - 28%

In terms of patience, retail scored best again by only making callers wait for 2.5 minutes on average, while public services still ended at the bottom by stealing an average of five minutes from customers before a representative gets to them.

Service over price

Consumers living within the survey’s geographic scope (Germany, France, Russia, US, UK, Poland) are one in saying that service tops price. Only 22% consider price over the type of experience they get when transacting with a customer service representative. Service quality also proved to more effective than selling tactics, as only 28% responded to marketing messages.

The Philippine connection

The five industries listed above are common sectors that outsource voice services to the Philippines, and the same six countries are some of the biggest markets the country serves. So it can be inferred that call centers in the Philippines contribute to either the satisfaction or the frustration of the common customer across the globe.

Which one do Philippine call centers really give? The Verint survey suggest that if the contact center listens to and acts on what the customers have to say, then it likely delivers service according to how the customers define it.

In the end, the survey did not actually refute the effectiveness of offering special items in boosting loyalty. It instead revealed that special offers become part of good service if they are given as a surprise, in the form of rewards, or as token of appreciation, which are things that most Philippine call centers already do.

Open Access BPO grew from a telemarketing startup to an all-around outsourcing firm that provides its clients voice and non-voice solutions including web development and rich media development.