British 'love a good complaint'

British people’s charming reluctance to “make a fuss” may have been consigned to history if the findings of a new survey are to be believed, with Brits topping the European charts when it comes to blasting out at retailers.
According to the study of 11,000 consumers across Europe, 96% of Brits said they would complain if they received poor service in a shop, an estimated 166 million complaints a year.
But a significant proportion choose spread the bad word online. One in five (20%) said they would air their grievances through review websites, while 14% would use social media websites to do so.
Italians were the next most likely to complain, at 95%, followed by Germans at 91%.
Chris Simpson, chief marketing officer at Kelkoo – which carried out the survey – said: “Britain being crowned the biggest nation of complainers is definitely a positive thing for retailers as it enables them to understand consumers’ needs and subsequently make improvements.
“This is particularly important in the age of social media, which is an extremely powerful and informative tool for consumers and retailers. Now more than ever retailers need to listen to consumer feedback and act upon it to protect their brand.”
The most common cause of UK shoppers’ complaints was poor customer service, cited by 82%. Poor quality products (76%), rude staff (60%) and issues with delivery (52%) were also cited. Over three quarters of British shoppers (76%) felt ‘if you don’t complain, companies can’t improve’. As well as complaining online, some 65% would complain face-to-face, 83% would send an email or write to head office, while 4% would go straight to the media.
Of those who don’t complain, 42% say they don’t have time, 37% say it achieves nothing, while 31% are too embarrassed.
Simpson added: “With the adoption of the new EU Consumer Rights Directive at the end of June this year, shoppers, whether in the UK or across Europe, should expect the best customer service, delivery and returns policies from all retailers. As a multi-national business we would encourage consumers to know their rights no matter where they shop so there is no need to feel embarrassed about complaining.”
The report findings seem to support an earlier study by contact centre specialist ContactBabel, which claimed brand owners have witnessed a 34 per cent increase in customer complaints since the beginning of economic downturn, resulting in more than 140 million extra negative phone calls.
Meanwhile, a survey carried out by Equi=Media’s new social media business, Sixth Sense, showed the vast majority of consumers use the likes of Facebook and Twitter to complain about a brand, rather than to recommend it to friends.