Showing that it pays to meet customer expectations, Amazon.com-which relies heavily on self-service to assist shoppers-is tops among all retailers in customer service, according to a survey released by the NRF Foundation and American Express Co.
Amazon, No. 1 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide to Retail Web Sites, is notorious for its lack of customer service features common on other retail web sites, such as live chat or easy access to a toll-free customer service telephone line. Although it offers a Help link at the top of each page, the Help section is mostly based on self-service links to get answers. Shoppers also have the option to e-mail Amazon for a return e-mail or telephone call.
But since many of Amazon’s customers apparently expect that type of service, it scored highest in the survey, says Phil Rist, vice president of strategic initiatives for BigResearch, which conducted the survey for the NRF Foundation and American Express among 8,000 consumers in September.
The survey asked: Which retailer delivers the best customer service? To assure that results didn’t favor the largest retailers with the most customers, BigResearch based the rankings on a ratio of the number of votes a retailer received divided by its annual sales, Rist says.
In Amazon’s case, the survey results recognized things such as ease of navigation, personalized product suggestions and customer reviews as well as 24/7 shopping availability, Rist says. You don’t go to Amazon expecting a personal shopping assistant as you do at a Nordstrom store, so Amazon meets its shoppers’ expectations, he says.
Maris Daugherty, senior consultant at J.C. Williams Group, says the survey indicates that Amazon produces the right mix of products and service for its customer base–and that retailers in general need to be aware of how happy their customers are. Amazon keeps growing at an amazing rate, and you can’t grow like that just on product assortment. So they must be doing something right,” she says. “This shows a good reason why retailers should track their customers` satisfaction.
Amazon was followed in the rankings by Nordstrom, L.L. Bean, Overstock.com, Lane Bryant, Boscov’s, Kohl’s, REI, Lands’ End and Macy’s.
BigResearch solicits participants for its surveys through ads placed in print and electronic media, then e-mails them survey forms, Rist says.
Although Amazon’s home page doesn’t offer access to a toll-free customer service line, it currently features a headline and a link to a press release about its top ranking in the BigResearch survey.