Polish consumers are more satisfied than Americans, with the customer satisfaction level being close to 80 percent

For six years the customer satisfaction index in Poland has grown by over 17 percentage points to nearly 78 percent, and it currently exceeds the customer satisfaction levels recorded in the USA and the United Kingdom. Service quality and its growing significance among businesses have had a tremendous impact on customer satisfaction. For the eleventh time the Customer Service Quality Star titles have been awarded to entrepreneurs recording the best results in this field.

Customer satisfaction is an extremely important element of building a brand image and gaining a competitive edge on the market. Every year, awareness among Polish consumers increases. Although prices are still the most significant criterion when choosing a store or service provider, more and more importance is attached to quality. This concerns both the product or service quality, and the quality of customer service.

“Currently assessed at 77.9%, customer satisfaction in Poland is growing year by year. This figure appears rather impressive, considering that the same index among Americans has reached 76% (as has the British one), which suggests that Poland does outperform the USA in this respect,” said Mirosław Bartoń, President of the Polish Customer Service Quality Programme, in an interview with the Newseria Biznes news agency.

Consumers are continuously assessing companies whose services they use, especially that the Internet gives them ample opportunity to do so. Enterprises should benefit from the willingness of Polish consumers to make such assessments by constantly monitoring their customer satisfaction levels. To this end, they can use consumer surveys, including such indices as the Net Promoter Score and the Customer Satisfaction Index, as well as mystery shopping surveys and ongoing analyses of customers' opinions shared through social networking sites or contact centres.

“We conduct extensive customer satisfaction surveys, based on which we develop ideas as to what should be changed in our processes and tools in order to meet customer expectations and fully accommodate their needs. By analysing survey information, we work on ideas that are then converted into specific process improvements,” said Zuzanna Chodyra-Piast, Manager of the Customer Experience Management Department at Play ‒ a company awarded with the Customer Service Quality Star.

A good strategy is to promptly respond to any crisis situations and display positive opinions regarding the company. As part of the Polish Customer Service Quality Programme, the jakoscobslugi.pl portal was launched, forming a platform through which customers can share their opinions on service providers and allowing the exchange of information between enterprises and consumers. Enterprises engaged in the programme can additionally learn about the opinions expressed by their customers, and practically use their suggestions and recommendations.

“Companies can familiarise themselves with numerous opinions expressed by consumers who provide advice on what should be done to improve service quality and to make consumers more satisfied. Businesses awarded with the 'Stars' enjoy the greatest recognition among consumers, and can use this exceptional mark in all their actions and materials,” Mirosław Bartoń said.

As good customer service is hardly possible without employee satisfaction, emphasis is put on recruiting and maintaining adequate workforce.

“Both last and this year we substantially upped the wages. We are shaping the entire incentive system so that it rewards not only sales performance but also customer service quality,” said Adam Pawłowicz, Deputy President of the Management Board for Trade at LOTOS Paliwa ‒ a company awarded with the Customer Service Quality Star.

In addition to good wages, there’s another important element – the training system.

“We attach great importance to employee training and to the continuous monitoring of how well our customers are served. We have introduced a permanent recurrent training model, along with e-learning and e-tutoring systems. So, we are now using a variety of training tools, both traditional and Internet-based, and we are doing our best to continually increase the abilities displayed by our staff,” Adam Pawłowicz said.

LOTOS seeks to put customers at the centre and built its service quality through such elements as sales assistants' approach to customers, customer service speed (which is of key importance in petrol stations), petrol station appearance, the adequate display of products to make them easily identifiable by customers, logo visibility at the entrance, and appropriate customer service on the driveway.

On the occasion of the International Consumer Day, held on 15 March, those businesses that are the most favourably assessed through the portal receive the Customer Service Quality Star. These year's awardees included 5.10.15, Allegro.pl, Allianz, Avon, Bank Millennium, Bank Zachodni WBK, BGŻ BNP Paribas, Ceneo.pl, Circle K, CityFit, Costa Coffee, Deichmann, DHL Parcel, Drogerie Natura, Enel-Med, ERGO Hestia, Gothaer, Hebe, ING Bank Śląski, Inmedio, Intersport. Jula, Kaufland, Kazar, Lidl, Link4, Lotos, Lux Med, mBank, Media Expert, NEONET, Net Credit, NJU Mobile, OBI, Oriflame, Pepco, Piekarnie Hert, PKN Orlen, PLAY, RTV EURO AGD, Samsung, Santander Consumer Bank, Selgros, Serwis Fabryczny Sprzętu Gospodarstwa Domowego Bosch Siemens Gaggenau Zelmer, Shell, Smyk, SPAR, T-Mobile, UPC, Vivus.pl, Warta, Wonga.pl.

“The Customer Service Quality Star is an exceptional award as it is granted by consumers. It is independent of any jury decisions and reflects consumers' opinions, giving us a proof that our everyday work is appreciated and positively assessed by customers,” Zuzanna Chodyra-Piast said.

“The Customer Service Quality Star gives evidence that our efforts to provide customers with top-quality service actually pay off. We continually monitor the satisfaction levels of our customers and the quality of customer service, attaching much importance to these issues,” Adam Pawłowicz assured.