Electronics retailer, The Good Guys, has retained its place at the top of Canstar Blue’s customer satisfaction ratings for electronics retailers for the sixth consecutive year.
Megan Doyle, head of Canstar Blue, said in the last year, they have seen Dick Smith stores close and JB Hi-Fi acquiring The Good Guys, but even with all the changes, Australians who shop at The Good Guys continue to report five-star service and value for money.
“This has been a consistent theme from customers over the years,” Doyle said.
“The Good Guys has clearly struck a winning balance in its stores. Consumers like the layout of The Good Guys stores, they think they have a great range of products to choose from, and they are convinced they’re getting a good deal on price. Most importantly of all though, the customer service is top-notch.”
According to Doyle, Good point of sale service remains the greatest driver of customer satisfaction, the survey of 1996 shoppers found.
“Everyone wants to find the best price they can, but there’s one big reason why consumers continue to shop in physical stores rather than online, and that’s the customer service they can receive.
“Having an expert on hand to help you make the right purchase decision is a crucial part of visiting an electronics store, so the retailers absolutely must get it right. Consumers are likely to remember the service they received for a lot longer than they remember how much they paid for an item.
“That being said, consumers are becoming even more savvy about paying the cheapest prices. As we all carry our phones around, it’s easy to compare prices and challenge the retailers to match the deals we find online. The retailers need to embrace this and make sure they’re competing to offer the best price, as well as the best service, or their customers will go elsewhere.”
This year’s survey also revealed the in-store frustrations that bug shoppers. A lack of sales staff topped the list for 30 per cent of respondents, followed by: not having the items wanted, 23 per cent; a lack of knowledge from sales staff, 17 per cent; the store being overcrowded, 13 per cent, long queues and checkouts, 11 per cent, and other frustrations, six per cent.
The results varied slightly between the major retailers, with customers at JB Hi-Fi most likely to complain about stores being overcrowded (22 per cent) and long queues at the checkout (12 per cent), while shoppers at Harvey Norman are most likely to complain about a lack of sales staff (33 per cent), the survey found.
Bing Lee customers are most likely to complain about a lack of knowledge of sales staff (21 per cent) and not having the items wanted (34 per cent).
“No one store will ever be perfect, but it’s important the retailers get as many of these factors right as often as they possibly can,”said Doyle.
“Most people will be able to accept that stores can get very busy and they may need to wait a while to be served, but it’s when these issues become the norm rather than the exception that they will take their money elsewhere.”
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