Simplr Study: Customer Service Increases Loyalty and Repurchase Rates for Restaurants, Even After Other Poor Experiences

“The State of Digital CX in Quick Service Restaurants in 2022” finds that great customer support increases customer loyalty, even when other elements of the digital customer experience fall short

A new study from Simplr sheds light on how challenging it is for restaurants to meet the expectations of the NOW Customer who demands consistent personalization and responsiveness in every single digital experience. An in-depth consumer survey of more than 100 major quick service restaurants, “The State of Digital CX in Quick Service Restaurants in 2022” reveals that only 24% of companies offer exceptional end to end customer experiences.  

However, the study also identifies the antidote when it comes to growing repurchase rates and customer loyalty in the era of the NOW Customer: customer service and support. 90% of consumers who had a poor ordering experience still increased their likelihood of repurchasing from the company after a good customer service interaction. 

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“This study proves that customer support can ‘save the day’ and still deliver improvements on loyalty and repurchase rates, even when everything else within the customer experience fails to meet expectations,” said Daniel Rodriguez, Simplr CMO. “The data reinforces just how critical customer support is to the NOW Customer’s lasting relationship with the brand. Companies that therefore invest in consistently incredible customer service and support interactions stand to gain and maintain more customers than ever before.” 

“The State of Digital CX in Quick Service Restaurants in 2022” uncovered specific tactics CX leaders should employ among their service and support teams to help overcome other CX shortcomings: 

·       80% of customers felt “better” about their overall experience when the company issued instant refund or restaurant credit 

·       72% of companies showed empathy towards an order issue, but only when the empathy was paired with a resolution was the experience made “better.”  

·       Among the top performing brands in terms of customer satisfaction, 98% had a customer support channel that was “very easy” to find in their app. 

However, most restaurants are not facilitating exceptional customer support and service interaction: 

·       42% of companies in this study did not offer anything when a customer complained of an order error  

·       Only 11% of restaurants had a live chat option in their app.  

·       37% of customer service inquiries took longer than 48 hours to resolve 

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“In the era of the NOW Customer, delivering empathetic, timely responses that actually resolve the customer’s issue has become table stakes,” said Rodriguez. “‘Unfortunately, too many restaurant brands are failing at achieving this base level of customer service, and are therefore missing incredible opportunities to turn potential customer detractors into loyal customer advocates.” 

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