Dubai: British expatriates think customer service standards in the UAE are worse than in their home country while expatriates from the developing world are more satisfied, according to a new customer service survey.
About 86 per cent of the British survey respondents said customer service in the UAE was worse than in the UK, according to the survey by UK-based Capita, a professional services company that recently opened in Dubai.
However, 64.6 per cent of Indian respondents, 81 per cent of Pakistanis and 47.3 per cent of Filipinos said customer service in the UAE was better than at home, according to the survey which focused on government services, utilities and the financial sector. Nearly 60 per cent of all those surveyed felt that customer service in the UAE was better than in their home country.
The financial service sector has a number of years ahead of it before it can catch up with customer service standards in the developed world, said Harry Hanscomb, general manager of Capita in the region.
Language barrier
Most comments on negative customer service were directed at banks and tele-communications companies and their telephone services. Complaints included lengthy phone waiting times, inadequate staff knowledge training or experience, language barrier issues and different standards of customer service depending on the perceived "status" of the customer.
The survey found that 90 per cent of the respondents would prefer to interact either by email (36 per cent), phone (31 per cent) or online (21 per cent) rather than visit a service centre (10 per cent).
The main complaints about customer service over the phone was resolving issues during the first calls (40 per cent) and the staff's knowledge and attitude (37 per cent).
The survey of 400 people was conducted over the last two months but more responses came from expatriates than Emiratis and therefore does not completely reflect the entire society, said Hanscomb.
