NCA's market research: 77% of consumers are confident about their consumer rights, supermarkets and shops selling clothing/footwear have highest satisfaction levels for customer service, airlines have lowest.

1. National Consumer Agency
Market Research Findings:
Consumer Empowerment and Customer Service
March 2012
Research Conducted by

2. Table of Contents
2
 Key Findings
 Section 1: Consumer Empowerment
Making Complaints
 Section 2: Customer Service
 Research Background and Methodology
 Profile of Sample
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3. 3
Key Findings
Making Complaints
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4. Key Findings
4
Consumer Rights
• 77% state they are confident of their rights (↓1% point)
• 72% assert they are knowledgeable of their rights (↑1% point)
• 76% feel protected in respect of their rights (↑5% points)
Customer Service Making Complaints
• Supermarkets and shops selling clothing or footwear had the highest level
of satisfaction with customer service, both at 91%.
• The lowest level of satisfaction, at 64%, applied to those contacting airlines’
customer service, airlines also had the highest proportion claiming
dissatisfaction at 30%.
• Nearly 3 in 5 (57%) consumers state that as a result of receiving bad
customer service they would stop doing business with a provider.
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5. 5
Section 1: Consumer Empowerment
Making Complaints
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6. Confidence about Rights as a Consumer
(Base: All aged 15-74 – 1,000)
6
100
90
80 78
75 75 77
74 74 73
70 70
60
50
40 Making Complaints
30
20 18 18
15 14 13
10 12 10 11
0
Aug-08 Nov/Dec- Jun-09 Nov/Dec- Jun-10 Nov/Dec- May/June - Nov-11
08 09 10 11
% Confident % Not Confident
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7. Knowledge about Consumer Rights
(Base: All aged 15-74 – 1,000)
7
100
90
80
70 71 72
69 68 67 67 68
60 62
Making Complaints
50
40
30
24
20 20 20 20 19
15 17
14
10
0
Aug-08 Nov/Dec- Jun-09 Nov/Dec- Jun-10 Nov/Dec- May/June - Nov-11
08 09 10 11
% Knowledgeable % Not Knowledgeable
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8. Protected Regarding Consumer Rights
(Base: All aged 15-74 – 1,000)
8
100
90
80
76
70 70 69 71
65 65 64
60 60
50
40
Making Complaints
30
20 18 16 14 15
10 10 10 8 8
0
Aug-08 Nov/Dec- Jun-09 Nov/Dec- Jun-10 Nov/Dec- May/June - Nov-11
08 09 10 11
% Protected % Not Protected
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9. Empowerment Levels x Profile of Sample
(Base: All aged 15-74 – 1,000)
9
Confident Not Confident Knowledgeable Not Protected Not
Knowledgeable Protected
Overall 77% 11% 72% 14% 76% 8%
Male 75% 12% 70% 15% 74% 8%
Female 80% 10% 75% 12% 78% 8%
15-24 72% 16% 63% 16% 72% 8%
25-34 81% 8% 78% 12% 78% 7%
35-44 81%
Making Complaints
10% 77% 13% 77% 9%
45-54 81% 7% 77% 13% 76% 7%
55+ 74% 14% 67% 15% 75% 10%
ABC1/F50+ 85% 8% 81% 10% 82% 5%
C2DE/F50- 70% 14% 64% 17% 70% 10%
Responsible
81% 10% 76% 13% 78% 10%
for main shop
Not
responsible for 73% 12% 68% 14% 73% 6%
main shop
= Significantly lower than total sample = Significantly higher than total sample
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10. 10
Section 2: Customer Service
Making Complaints
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11. Experience with Customer Service – I
(Base: All that have purchased goods services from
each sector within the past 12 months)
11
Contact with Customer Service Method of Contact
Shops Selling In
Clothing or Footwear 19% Other Email Phone Web Post
Person
(Base: 941) 3% 2% 2% 2% 1%
90%
Supermarkets In
20% Phone Other Email Web
(Base: 932) Person
4% 4% 1% 1%
87%
Communication
Services e.g. Home
phone, mobile, 17% Making Complaints
Phone
In
Person
Email Web Post Other
broadband 49% 12% 9% 6% 6%
29%
(Base: 807)
In
Banking Products and 15%
Phone Post Other Email Web
Person
Services 19% 9% 9% 7% 7%
(Base: 758)
57%
Insurance Products & In
17%
Phone Post Email Web Other
Services Person
52% 13% 11% 6% 6%
(Base: 692) 29%
In
Energy Suppliers 10% Phone Post Email Web Other
Person
(Base: 695) 56% 11% 8% 8% 2%
22%
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12. Experience with Customer Service – II
(Base: All that have purchased goods services from
each sector within the past 12 months)
12
Contact with Customer Service Method of Contact
In
TV Service Provider Phone Web Post Email Other
16% Person
(Base: 628) 79% 8% 5% 5% 5%
7%
Waste Services In
8*% Phone Post Email Other
(Base: 592) Person
70% 12% 4% 2%
18%
Bus & Train
Making Complaints
In
Transport 9*% Phone Other Web Email Post
Person
(Base: 471) 18% 10% 9% 9% 5%
53%
In
Airlines Web Email Phone Other Post
17% Person
(Base: 450) 43% 18% 14% 7% 1%
15%
Shops Selling Furniture In
16% Phone Web Email Other
& Household Appliances Person
(Base: 405) 19% 5% 5% 1%
71%
* Caution small base size
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13. Satisfaction with Customer Service – I
(Base: All that had contact with customer service)
13
Very Very
dissatisfied satisfied Neither/ Mean
(1) (2) (4) (5) Nor (3) Score
Supermarkets 15 34 57 91% 3 4.4
Shops selling clothing or footwear 44 36 55 91% 1 4.3
Making Complaints
Shops selling furniture or household
9 36 47 83% 8 4.2
appliances
Insurance products & Services 65 49 34 83% 6 4.0
Banking products & Services 5 15 44 26 70% 10 3.7
Energy suppliers 5 10 51 25 76% 9 3.8
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14. Satisfaction with Customer Service – II
(Base: All that had contact with customer service)
14
Very Very
dissatisfied satisfied Neither/ Mean
(1) (2) (4) (5) Nor (3) Score
Communication Services 7 15 45 30 75% 3 3.8
Waste Services* 45 39 36 75% 16 4.0
Making Complaints
TV service providers 2 15 44 27 71% 12 3.8
Bus & Train Transport* 7 17 29 41 70% 6 3.8
Airlines 30% 6 24 31 33 64% 6 3.6
* Caution small base size
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15. Likely Action as a Result of Good &
Bad Customer Service
(Base: All aged 15-74 – 1,000)
15
Good customer service Bad customer service
% %
Continue to do business
with the provider Making Complaints with
58 Stop doing business
the provider
57
Tell people you know of 56 Tell people you know of 46
your experience your experience
Do more business with the 24 24
provider Do less business with the
provider
Continue to do business 5
with the provider
Other 1
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16. 16
Research Background
Making Complaints
and Methodology
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17. Research Background and Methodology
17
Nov/Dec Nov/Dec May/June
Aug 2008
2007 2008 2009
Benchmark Wave 1 Wave 2 Wave 3
Nov/December
Nov/Dec 2009 June 2010 May/June 2011
2010
Wave 4 Making Complaints
Wave 5 Wave 6 Wave 7
Nov 2011 Current Wave
Wave 8
 The research was conducted by means of face-to-face interviewing with 1,000
people between the ages of 15-74.
 To ensure that the data is nationally representative, quotas were applied on
the basis of age, gender and social class.
 Interviewing was conducted over a four week period in November 2011.
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18. Profile of Sample - I
(Base: All aged 15-74 – 1,000)
18
SEX AGE REGION SOCIAL CLASS MAIN GROCERY
% % % % SHOPPER
15-24 17
Dublin 28
Male 49 ABC1 48 47%
25-34 22 F50+ Yes 53% No
Making Complaints
Rest of
26
Leinster
35-44 19
45-54 16 Munster 28
Female 51 C2DE 52
F50-
55+ 26
Conn/ 18
Ulster
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19. Profile of Sample – II – Main Grocery Shoppers
(Base: All Mainly Responsible for Grocery Shopping in Home – 526)
19 53%
SEX AGE REGION SOCIAL CLASS
% % % %
15-24 5
Male (17)
(49) 25 18 Dublin 25
25-34 (28)
(22) ABC1 48
F50+
(48)
23 Rest of
Making Complaints
35-44
(19)
28 Leinster
(26)
45-54 22
Female
(51) 75 (16)
Munster
(28) 30
C2DE
F50- 52
(52)
55+ 32 Conn/
(26) Ulster 17
(18)
( ) = Total Sample
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20. Profile of Sample – III – Internet Use
(Base: All aged 15-74 – 1,000)
20
USE INTERNET EVER PURCHASED BANKING
ONLINE ONLINE
(Base: All Internet Users - 762) (Base: All Internet Users - 762)
24% 22%
No (25%) Yes No (30%) Yes No
45% Yes
78% 55%
76% (51%) (49%)
(70%)
(75%)
Making Complaints
% Yes % Yes % Yes
Male 76 Male 80 Male 54
Female 76 Female 77 Female 57
15-24 95 15-24 72 15-24 40
25-34 92 25-34 85 25-34 70
35-44 88 35-44 84 35-44 66
45-54 73 45-54 76 45-54 54
55+ 44 55+ 69 55+ 38
() = June 2011
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21. Profile of Sample – IV – Social Media
(Base: All aged 15-74 – 1,000)
Nov 2011
21
June 2011
Higher Type of phone
Amongst %
Regular users of .......
%
50 15-24 86%
Facebook ABC1F50 59% 29
47 %(21)
Dublin 55%
Twitter
10
10
Making Complaints
15-24 21% Have a ‘Smart phone’
Higher amongst:
6
Bebo
6 15-24’s 45
25-34’s 46
2
Linkedin
1 ABC1/F50+ 39
Working full time 44
48 55+ 86%
None of These C2DEF50- 56%
51 Students 42
Munster 53%
Dublin 44
() = June 2011
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