Press Release
Scores Decline in VocaLabs Satisfaction Study of Retail Banking
MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Vocal Laboratories Inc. (www.vocalabs.com) today announced the results of its latest SectorPulse study on the quality of telephone based customer service among six financial services companies for second half of 2006. This study focused on Washington Mutual (NYSE:WM), Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC), Citibank (NYSE:C), e-Bay subsidiary PayPal (NASDAQ:EBAY), and Wachovia (NYSE:WB).
Washington Mutual, while still the satisfaction leader, dropped from an "A" to a "B" in overall customer satisfaction from the previous study, and from a "B" to "C" in the percent of its customers able to complete their business with a single phone call. Wells Fargo dropped from a "B" to "C" in satisfaction while remaining at a "D" in single call completion. Citibank remained at a "C" in satisfaction and "D" in completion. Bank of America did not change, earning "D" scores in both categories. Feedback indicates that Wachovia would rank near the top, but too few responses were received to issue letter grades.
While not a direct competitor to traditional banks, PayPal processes millions of online financial transactions each year. For the second half of 2006, PayPal's satisfaction score dropped from a "B" to "C" while single call completion remained at the "B" level.
VocaLabs CEO Peter Leppik comments: "As an ever greater percentage of routine financial transactions are handled electronically, telephone contacts are increasingly for more complex transactions and problem resolution. This adds to the difficulty financial institutions have in pleasing callers. Some part of the declining scores are likely to be attributable to holiday season related consumer cash flow issues as well."
To learn more, visit www.vocalabs.com. An Executive Summary and complete SectorPulse-Financial data reports are available by subscription. Contact Rick Rappe' at rrappe@vocalabs.com, 952-941-6580 X205.
About SectorPulse
VocaLabs' SectorPulse reports compare the customer service quality for different companies in the same industry, using survey feedback from the companies' customers.
VocaLabs has recruited over 80,000 individuals to provide feedback on customer service experiences, from which we drew the participants for this study. VocaLabs panelists who are customers of one of the companies included in this study were asked to participate by having their customer service calls tracked and completing surveys before and immediately after the call.
About Vocal Laboratories
Vocal Laboratories delivers statistically reliable feedback on the user friendliness of telephone based customer service whether delivered via traditional call centers or self-service technology. Clients are end user enterprises, market researchers, call center consultants, application providers and equipment vendors. VocaLabs' methodology results in highly accurate data on both technical performance and the impact of service on caller opinions.
Contacts
Vocal Laboratories, Inc., Golden Valley, MN
Rick Rappe', 952-941-6580 X 205
rrappe@vocalabs.com
www.vocalabs.com