Seven out of ten Britons hate dealing with chatbots and are cancelling or switching services when they can’t speak to a human – potentially leading to huge losses in revenue. Banks alone are potentially missing out on £9.3bn in lost revenue thanks to this public dislike of automation, new research has found.
An new survey commissioned by Handelsbanken has found widespread frustration with automated customer service, with many people reporting that when they are only offered a chatbot to talk to they will cancel, switch, or decide against purchasing services – right across the board. For financial services the average amount lost to the provider was just under £1,600 per person – scaling up to a potential £9.3bn in losses for banks alone.
For higher earners – those with a household income of over £100,000pa – the figure was even starker: nearly £3,000 in lost revenue per person. The same research found higher earners were two-and-a-half times more likely to be prepared to pay extra for a service where they got to speak to a human being.
Chris Teasdale, Chief Branch Officer for Handelsbanken, said: “It’s probably no surprise that customers don’t like being fobbed off with chatbots, but these figures are quite conclusive. Especially when it comes to their finances, it looks like many people really want to deal with a person, not an algorithm. And increasingly, it seems that if they aren’t given that choice they will even consider taking their business somewhere else.”
According to the report, 70% of people want to speak to a person in any customer service situation, but when it comes to their finances it rises to 75%.
Chris said: “It’s completely understandable that companies want to embrace new technologies – especially when it helps them do more business, be more efficient, or saves them money. But this research suggests it could become a false economy.
“We live in an increasingly digital world, and person-to-person interaction – whether that’s in person, on the phone, or instant messaging – is sometimes seen as a thing of the past. But it looks like when it comes to the big decisions, many people still value the human touch.”
- ENDS -
For more information please contact:
James Douglass, External Affairs Manager
james.douglass@handelsbanken.co.uk
+44 (0)7773 727032