Australian customers are punishing brands for bad customer service.
The findings are part of a report 'The Omnichannel Customer Service Gap' produced by independent research agency Loudhouse.
It revealed 44 per cent of local shoppers will share negative experiences with friends and family and 13 per cent will share them via social media.
An overwhelming majority (79 per cent) also believe brands need to improve the level of service offered across all channels.
The report is based on surveys of 7000 online shoppers between the ages of 18-64 in Australia, USA, Brazil, Germany, France, Japan and the UK.
Over half (54 per cent) of Australians surveyed expect to be able to return goods via a different channel to the one used.
A further 43 per cent expect to be able to contact the same representative regardless of the method they originally used (compared to the global average of 37 per cent).
Australians are most likely to phone (59 per cent) customer service representatives with a problem, followed by email.
Australian customers are also more likely to try other channels outside the ‘core methods,’ with one in three (33 per cent) using self-service portals in the last six months.
This is compared to the global average of 27 per cent, with a further 21 per cent using live chat tools.
Based on the findings of the report, the use of key methods is set to increase over the next twelve months as both expectation and demand grows.
Two thirds (66 per cent) of Australian respondents are likely to contact a brand via email.
A further 57 per cent are likely to address their problems directly in-store.
If the use of email fails to deliver a result, three in four Australian shoppers (75 per cent) will fall back to the ‘failsafe’ phone.
Australia is in line with the rest of globe in its expectations for a quick, simple and logical approach to customer service.
The vast majority of respondents believe that speed of response (88 per cent), resolution (89 per cent) and the use of effective processes (84 per cent) are important to the customer service experience.