Latest annual Irish Customer Experience Report shows Ireland’s CX score has fallen to a seven year low as Covid casts long shadow
Key findings:
Ireland’s CX score fell by 4.4% in 2021, its biggest decline ever
“Post Covid indecision and fatigue appear to be taking a toll on companies and their approach to CX. As a result, customers are losing out”
Irish Credit Union maintains its hold on number one while Smyths Toys jumps 30 places to take second
Pharmacies and coffee companies make up 7 of the Top 10 companies
Energia, Lifestyle Sports and Lloyds Pharmacy among biggest jumpers in CX Table while Gamestop, the Passport Service and the National Lottery are among the biggest fallers
Eir, facebook and Ryanair make up the bottom three
44% of customers say Eir failed to meet their expectations
In a demanding year the Entertainment, Logistics & Delivery and Telecoms sectors struggled more than most
Tuesday 19th October 2021. While many companies Customer Experience (CX) scores benefitted from something of a Covid bounce last year, this year its more a case of a post-Covid hangover as the country’s overall CX score fell by a record 4.4% according to the latest annual CX survey of Irish brands.
Despite this pharmacies and coffee companies continued to enjoy a strong CX performance through Covid – they make up 7 of the Top 10 companies – as did the Supermarkets and Retail sectors. However, the Entertainment, Logistics & Delivery and Telecoms sectors were among the worst performers in the survey which was carried out by Amarách Research on behalf of The CX Company.
The 4.4% fall is the biggest decline recorded since the survey began and Ireland’s CX score is now at a seven year low having recorded a cumulative decline of 10.8% since 2015.
Winners
Hickeys, McCabes, Lloyds, McAuleys and Boots all make the Top Ten this year which is testament to the key role pharmacies played in keeping customers well – especially vulnerable patients – and in helping to overcome the virus through the vaccination programme.
Smyths Toys moved up 30 places to claim second this year thanks in the main to an innovative customer training programme and a highly efficient pick, pack and ship operation which they created in record time.
Two of the new entrants are coffee companies, Nespresso and Butlers Chocolates, who both devised novel ways of serving customers who still wanted to treat themselves.
Supermarkets continue to perform well – this year they are represented in the top 10 by Aldi, which replaced Lidl – indicating the important role they have played in the past year.
However, Ireland’s undisputed CX Champion remains the Irish Credit Union which has claimed pole position for an amazing seventh year in a row. It is also the only brand to have maintained a constant presence in the Top Ten since the survey began, a testament to the consistency of its CX excellence.
Some of the biggest jumpers in the 2021 league table included Energia, Lifestyle Sports, Free Now and An Post Money.
Report author Cathy Summers said it wasn’t a surprise to see that the companies which scored the highest for exceeding customers’ expectations during Covid included the Credit Union and several other Top Ten companies as well as organisations like Specsavers, Laya Healthcare and An Post, all of whom have strong CX records.
“Providing customers with personal care, reassuring them during a difficult time, exceeding their expectations by going the extra mile, that is what CX excellence is all about. Companies where a proactive CX culture is imbued in the staff will do this day in day out, without even realising they are doing it. That’s what happens in the Credit Union and that’s why it’s not just an Irish CX Champion, but a global leader in CX excellence.”
Fallers
At the other end of the table Eir replaced Ryanair in last position with the airline moving up just two places, above facebook.
Not surprisingly all three along with the Department of Social Welfare, Irish Water, Sky and Virgin Media feature prominently in the list of companies which recorded the highest scores for failing to meet expectations during Covid.
Eir heads this list and according to the survey almost half of the company’s customers (44%) say the company failed to meet their expectations. This is almost double the number (25%) who said Ryanair – second on this list – failed to meet their expectations, while a similar figure was recorded for the Department of Social Welfare (24%), Irish Water (24%) and Sky (23%)
Other companies which performed poorly and recorded big falls include GameStop, the Passport Service, the National Lottery, Adverts.ie and Abrakebabra.
Michael Killeen, the Chairman of the CX Company described Eir’s treatment of its customers as appalling.
“The telecom sector has been one of the poorest performers in our survey over the last seven years. While Eir is the standout offender and seems more focused on making money for its owners rather than doing what’s right for their customers, its competitors Sky and Virgin would also recognise more work needs to done to deliver greater customer experiences. Go Mo provides a good example. The award-winning mobile phone company is the highest new entrant and the highest telecom company in this year’s table. Who owns it? Eir! That shows what is possible!”
“Entertainment and Travel obviously faced huge challenges this year and this goes a long way to explaining their poor performance. Logistics & Delivery is a new sector this year and one where companies are struggling to keep up with increased demand. The other key issue for companies such as Fastway, UPS, Parcel Motel, DHL and An Post is managing the resolution of issues when they arise. The Financial sector hasn’t had a great covid and its response to the current high levels of attempted fraud has been underwhelming to say the least. The Public Sector is another which could do better – the Department of Social Welfare and even the HSE failing to meet customer expectations”
Ireland’s low score a concern
Cathy Summers says our low score is a concern and that while companies have been battling the effects of Covid they now need to refocus their efforts on enhancing the customer journey and overall experience.
“Post Covid indecision and fatigue appear to be taking a toll on companies and their approach to CX. As a result, customers are losing out. Whereas these very customers were quite forgiving during Covid as organisations struggled to adapt to new processes and procedures, that goodwill is fading fast and customers have a lot less tolerance now. Especially if there are long delays answering or communicating with the organisation.”
“During Covid many companies invested in digital solutions to interact with customers as a necessity due to lockdowns. While these can work well and yield savings, sometimes, they can be more focused on the short terms needs of the company rather than the needs of the customer. In our report we are seeing a real hunger from customers to get back to personal one on one interactions. They want empathy and reassurance; sometimes they just want to talk to a fellow human being.”
“Last year we highlighted the leading role played by companies’ front-line staff. Now challenges with retaining employees or hiring suitably qualified replacements is disrupting the delivery of CX excellence. It’s so important for companies to understand the mood, needs and pain points of their employees. If employees are not happy, it’s highly unlikely your customers will be.”
“Ensuring the health and wellbeing of your workforce is critical as we move into different long-term working models. So also, is recognising that we can’t go back to how things were pre- Covid. That’s a good starting point for the next stage of the CX journey” she concluded.
Ends.
Note to Editor
Selected Movers & Shakers
Five Biggest Jumpers
Energia – Up 62 places (from 131 to 69)
Lifestyle Sports Up 47 places (from 100 to 53)
Lloyds Pharmacy – Up 41 places (From 46 to 5)
Free Now – Up 41 places (from 120 to 79)
An Post Money – Up 40 places (from 60 to 20)
Five Biggest Fallers
Gamestop – Down 77 places (from 43 to 120)
Passport Service – Down 71 places (from 16 to 87)
National Lottery – Down 59 places (from 74 to 133)
Adverts.ie – Down 59 places (from 57 to 116)
Abrakebabra – Down 56 places (from 71 to 127)
Biggest Jumper & Faller in last 3 years
Energia – Up 81 places (from 150 to 69)
Passport Service – Down 73 places (from 14 to 87)
CXi and the CX Company
The CXi Report is published annually by The CX Company which is based in Dublin. It is based on an annual survey which is carried out on behalf of the company, by Amarách Research. Between June and July this year a representative cross-section of Irish consumers was asked to give feedback on their experiences with 150+ companies across 11 sectors. Over 28,000 experiences were evaluated using The CX Framework, as well as value, channel usage, how important employees are to the customer experience and NPS.
The CX Company offers a subscription-based service for Irish companies who want to grow and improve their business by learning from the experiences of their customers and by studying international best practice. This is the seventh year the CXi Report has been published. The authors of the report are Cathy Summers, Michael Killeen, Siobhan Mallen, Jeff Sheehan, and Laura Killeen; it was designed by Tara Doherty and Paul Gibson – all from the CX Company. For more information go to www.thecxcompany.com