The majority of consumers in the UK believe customer service is getting worse and are unsatisfied with how complaints are handled, according to new research.

A study by BSI British Standards found that 64% of customers thought customer service standards were slipping and 72% had moved to a competitor as a result of poor customer service. Over half (55%) were left unsatisfied by the handling of their complaint.

The research also revealed that 48% of customers had made an official complaint in the past 12 months, with 17% doing so on more than one occasion. But 65% of those making complaints had not been made aware of procedures available for resolving the dispute and only 21% had seen a positive outcome.

"Many people will have experienced poor customer service and this survey shows just how damaging that can be to an organisation," said Mike Low, director of BSI British Standards.

"Customers are not afraid to turn to a competitor if they feel they have been treated poorly," he added. "It's also very important that customers are aware of how their complaint will be handled and how disputes will be resolved."

The research also revealed that 73% of customers surveyed thought that companies using a code of conduct would make them feel more confident about buying products and services online.

To help organisations improve levels of customer services, BSI British Standards has published two new standards, which can be used by companies of all sizes including small businesses.

These are BS ISO 10001 customer satisfaction: guidelines for codes of conduct for organisations and BS ISO 10003 quality management - customer satisfaction - guidelines for dispute resolution external to organisations.

For more information on these visit www.bsi-global.com/britishstandards [1]