Taking a product back for a refund or exchange after a digital Christmas is not necessarily a question of grumpily de-icing the car and driving to the nearest shop.

In the multi-channel world, other options are available.  But, you will only really be happy if it is easy to find out how to get a refund or to arrange for an exchange with
the retailer, and then for the transaction to be completed painlessly and quickly.

This, as a new Serco and VoiceSage white paper emphasises, is the true determinant of customer satisfaction in both the public and private sectors. 

The ‘Now' Generation & the Customer Communications Gap white paper demonstrates that the speed with which an organisation answers the phone is no longer – and arguably, never was – a barometer for customer satisfaction.

These days, it is more the ease and speed with which a customer service enquiry or issue is resolved that matters.

This can be a challenge in a multi- and cross-channel environment, where the burgeoning use of smart mobile devices is dramatically increasing the volume of structured and unstructured interactions.

The relentless and understandable pressure for service improvement is driven by increasingly-empowered customers who have become accustomed to progressive
and personalised interactions with leading retailers – both online and in-store.

It is even more of a challenge for local authorities who are keen to set high standards in areas where service complexity is largely unavoidable and when there is little sign of any loosening of the purse strings.

It might be tempting to divert all available resources to providing impressive content, apps and services that give mobile users personalised, immediate and in-context solutions.

But, no local authority can ignore those customers who are more comfortable texting, calling or interacting in person, or those who may choose to use different channels at different times and for different tasks.

That means the only way to truly meet customer expectations in all areas and at all times is to harness technologies and capabilities in a way that optimises customer experience and ‘journeys' as cost-effectively as possible.

Many commentators now suggest that the solution does not need to be all bells and whistles or necessarily provide a ‘remarkable' customer experience.