Indian consumers spend 1.5 billion hours waiting for customer service complaints in 2024: Report
New Delhi, March 25 (PTI), while AI agents and chatbots are increasingly becoming part of customer service, they have not significantly reduced customer service waiting time, with reports showing that Indian consumers were waiting for customer service complaints last year.
ServiceNow Customer Experience Report analyzes the gap between the increase in customer expectations and the reality of service delivery. It surveyed 5,000 Indian consumers and 204 Indian customer service agents.
Now, up to 80% of Indian consumers rely on AI chatbots to get basic services such as checking complaint status and product recommendations. However, these consumers share 15 billion hours of shock each year.
“Although some progress has been made – the average Indian spends 3.2 hours less time waiting and less time than the previous year – there is still a big gap between customer expectations and service delivery.
“This gap emphasizes disconnects caused by isolated systems and limited visibility to the customer journey and increases customer disappointment,” the report noted.
The report found that 39% of consumers were put on hold, 36% were repeatedly transferred, and 34% believed that the company intentionally complicated the complaint process.
The patience of customers is thin, and 89% of Indian consumers are willing to switch brands due to inefficiency in service. Additionally, 84% of consumers said they would leave negative comments online or on social media after poor service experience.
Enterprises are at the threshold of a new era, and AI-Human cooperation drives unprecedented efficiency. Agent AI will become a force multiplier, accelerate productivity, cost savings and customer retention.
“With willing to transform to fill the customer service gap and meet the rising demand for speed, personalization and efficiency, there is a key option to accept the risk of AI-driven efficiency or loss of customer loyalty,” said Sumeet Mathur, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, Servicenow India.
