Great Quality and Service at a Low Price

February 1st, 2010 by Ru Lin

Putting these words together is an oxymoron. One will always suffer. Quality always comes at a price. It might mean spending more time training the staff better or using the best quality for materials. Clients searching for low prices are usually not loyal clients and normally are the ones that complain the most. These clients do not see the value of high service and quality.

According to Accenture’s fourth annual study on customer satisfaction, customer service ranks above price as a global driver for customer retention. More than 4,100 consumers in eight countries who participated in the study determined that the number of consumers who leave a business because of poor customer experience is significantly higher than the number of those who leave because they found a lower price elsewhere. In the United States, the number is even higher. In fact, 73 percent of survey respondents said they have switched providers due to poor service, compared with 47 percent who switched providers because of lower prices. Consumers have become less forgiving of companies that fail to satisfy their expectations and will leave a company because of a poor experience.