New Consumer Ombudsman Launched
With an overhaul in consumer rights due this October, along with a proposed Consumer Rights Bill, it’s time you brushed up on your customer service standards. The new Consumer Ombudsman will allow customers to raise a complaint about businesses in any sector, bringing focus to areas which may have been previously overlooked.
The new consumer ombudsman will be positive for both business and consumers alike and will seek to clarify core consumer rights:
The New Consumer Ombudsman Website
The core consumer rights as defined by the bill will be:
- Right to get what you pay for;
- Right that goods and digital content are fit for purpose and services are provided with reasonable care and skill;
- Right to have faults in what you buy put right free of charge, or to be provided with a refund or replacement.
According to the latest figures released by the Ombudsman services, 66 million complaints were made about products and services last year – equating to a complaint every 1.2 seconds.
Find out what this will mean for you as a consumer by visiting Which or the new Consumer Ombudsman websites.
How will the new Consumer Ombudsman help to shape a better customer service experience?
Experts in dispute resolution the ombudsman will be available to sort out complaints about the companies which have joined the organisation. They will provide an independent, impartial and cost effective means of resolving disputes outside the courts.
The Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) will mean that the new ombudsman will be available across all consumer sectors. Ensuring your service standards are in order will avoid consumer complaints down the line.
Using mystery shopping as an effective measure of customer service experience:
The financial services and energy sector have both been proactive in the use of mystery shopping as a pre-emptive tool against poor service for many years; gaining insight into their call centres, face to face interactions and online service delivery.
Mystery Shopping is an effective means of driving up your core standards and will make sure your customer journey is clear and understood by all.
Looking to improve your own customer service standards?
Tern can support you with telephone calls to assess your contact centre, video mystery shopping for detailed evidence gathering and standard written mystery shop reports which are all delivered through our easy to use online platform. This will provide you with all of the evidence you need to form a detailed audit; see the rmystery shop report examples page to see what this looks like in practice.