Will the coalition destroy the customer service legacy?

As expected the coalition government is having to make some difficult decisions about how to tackle the mountain of national debt it has inherited but how will this impact the customer service market?

We have highlighted two stories this week which speculate about the effects of government policies. First is the story about IT public sector spending being slashed and the possible impact this will have on front-line services. Second is the research by the British Retail Consortium which estimates that increases in VAT and National Insurance will cause consumers to reduce their spending by more than £6 billion over the next four years.

It’s not difficult to link these stories back to the customer service market once you consider a depressingly familiar equation - reduced spending (less funding for public service IT, less consumer spending in the retail market) means businesses in both sectors will have to cut costs. Realistically, what are the first things that any business cuts back on?  Firstly, marketing and advertising. Then, the cull of non-essential staff begins and given their bottom of the food chain ranking by all but the most progressive businesses, service staff are often the first to go.

Hopefully, understanding and application of customer service has improved sufficiently in recent years to ensure that mass job losses and a fall in quality are not inevitable consequences of budget cuts. There are many businesses now which are using a blend of efficient self-help and automated web-based service, combined with motivated, informed and well trained personnel to offer a reasonably priced service which is a business selling point and therefore a financial asset.

Unfortunately , once the cost cutting begins, it will be too late to learn - businesses have either realised the route to cost effective and efficient service, or not. The melee that will follow the tightening of budgets is conducive to panic and allowing bad service habits to creep back.

Such a scenario would be a real shame. There has been great progress, particularly in the public services space, to embrace technology and apply an intelligent approach to customer service. Whether the message has been clearly and widely communicated to prevent the positive movement being pushed backwards remains to be seen.

 

 

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