National Consumer Agency Market Research Findings: Consumer Empowerment and Complaints October 2010 Research Conducted by

2 Making Complaints  Key Findings  Section 1: Consumer Empowerment  Section 2: Making Complaints  Section 3: Customer Service  Research Background & Methodology Table of Contents

3 Making Complaints Key Findings 4 in 5 (80%) Irish consumers claim that they would be prepared to complain if a problem had occurred or if they were dissatisfied with a product or service that they had purchased. Within the last 12 months, of those who had reason to complain – 4 in 5 actually made a complaint. The majority of complaints tended to be in relation to faulty products or services (51%). Over 3 in 5 (63%) who complained found the complaints process somewhat easy – a decrease (-6%) from the previous wave. Unhelpful staff continues to be the number one difficulty experienced. 71% have had their complaint completely resolved – a slight decrease (-3%) on the previous wave. Over half (53%) claim that they will continue to buy from the business that they had cause or reason to complain about – an increase of 9% from the previous wave.

4 Making Complaints Section 1: Consumer Empowerment

5 Making Complaints Confidence About Rights as a Consumer (Base: All aged – 1,000) % Very confident (5) Fairly confident (4) Neither/Nor (3) Not very confident (2) Not at all confident (1) Level of Confidence % 18% 70% % 75% 12% % 14% 74% % 15% 74% 18% 73%

6 Making Complaints Knowledge About Consumer Rights (Base: All aged – 1,000) Very knowledgeable (5) Fairly knowledgeable (4) Neither/Nor (3) Not very knowledgeable (2) Not at all knowledgeable (1) Level of Knowledge % 24% 62% % 69% 15% % 20% 67% % 20% 68% 20% 67%

7 Making Complaints Protected Regarding Consumer Rights (Base: All aged – 1,000) Very protected (5) Fairly protected (4) Neither/Nor (3) Not very protected (2) Not at all protected (1) Level of Protection % 18% 60% % 70% 10% % 14% 65% % 16% 65% 15% 64%

8 Making Complaints Empowerment Levels x Profile of Sample (Base: All aged – 1,000) Overall Confident 73% Not Confident 18% Knowledgeable 67% Not Knowledgeable 20% Protected 64% Not Protected 15% Male70%20%63%25%63%16% Female74%15%69%18%66%13% %25%55%34%57%19% %13%70%16%69%12% %17%70%19%63%15% %15%70%15%71%11% 55+71%17%65%20%62%17% ABC177%13%71%16%67%13% C2DE70%20%64%25%64%15% Responsible for main shop 75%16%71%18%66%14% Not responsible for main shop 69%19%61%24%63%15% = Significantly lower than total sample = Significantly higher than total sample

9 Making Complaints  Most likely: –Those who feel protected (76%), knowledgeable (72%) and confident (71%) in their rights as a consumer. –Those aged 55+ (69%). Respecting your Rights as a Consumer (Base: All aged – 1,000) Strongly agree (5) % Agree (4) Neither/nor (3) Disagree (2) Strongly disagree (1) Mean:3.6 “In general, sellers/providers in this country respect your rights as a consumer”. 64%

10 Making Complaints Section 2: Making Complaints

11 Making Complaints Most likely to be:  Women 82%  year olds 83%  ABC1’s 84%  Main Grocery Shoppers 84%  Knowledgeable about consumer rights 87% Complaining Nation? No Yes As a consumer would you be prepared to complain if a problem had occurred or you are dissatisfied with a good or service you have purchased? (Base: All aged – 1,000) (22%) (78%) () = Wave 4 ‘09

12 Making Complaints Goods & Services Bought with Reason to Complain or Return an Item – Primary & Secondary (Base: Those who have purchased an item or service in the outlet) Supermarkets and newsagents Shops selling clothing or footwear Restaurants take-away’s or hotels Communications services including home phone % With Reason to Complain or Return Ever Reason to Complain/Return from: TV Service Providers e.g. Sky, NTL Building and related services e.g. plumbers Shops selling furniture or household appliances Insurance products and services Banking products and services, including a current A/C Pubs Airlines Car dealers Energy suppliers e.g. ESB, Bord Gais PRIMARY SECONDARY (+4%) Wave Wave Wave (+4%)

13 Making Complaints Goods & Services Bought with Reason to Complain or Return an Item – Tertiary (Base: All aged – 1,000) Public transport – buses and trains Pharmacies, doctors, hospitals and other medicals Travel agents Education providers e.g. schools and colleges Personal care e.g. hairdressers, cosmetics Waste services Entertainment at home e.g. DVDs, CDs, games Petrol stations Entertainment outside home e.g. cinema Reason to Complain/Return from: % With Reason to Complain or Return Ever Tertiary Wave Wave Wave

14 Making Complaints Most likely to be:  Male 85%  year olds 86%  year olds 86%  C2DE’s 83% Whether Complaint Made When had Reason to Do So No Yes Whether Made Complaint Wave % Yes Wave % Yes Wave % Yes NoYes Reason to Complain (64%)(36%) (25%) (75%) () = Wave 4 ‘09 (Base: All aged – 1,000) (Base: All those who had cause or reason to complain in past 12 months - 375)

15 Making Complaints Reasons for Complaint (Base: All those who had cause or reason to complain - 375) Faulty product/service Product/service didn’t do what it said it would do Wrong size/colour/specification Product/service did not confer benefits described to me by salesperson Changed mind/wanted to return the item Unwanted gift Other* * All others 1% or less Reasons for Complaint: Wave Wave Wave Wave Wave (Other includes – lack of quality food, food item out of date, too expensive, poor service, overcharged, meal not up to standard).

16 Making Complaints Assessment of the Complaints Process (Base: All who made a complaint – 300) % Very easy (5) Somewhat easy (4) Neither/Nor (3) Somewhat difficult (2) Very difficult (1) 63% ( ) = Wave % Unhelpful staff Refusal of retailer to refund my money The retailer/provider never got back to me Difficulty contacting trader Had to put complaint in writing I was unsure of my consumer rights Offered a repair when wanted a replacement Unsure of the complaints process including to who to complain to* Only give me a credit note Refusal to repair returned item # All others 4% or less % Level of Difficulty Experienced Difficulty Experienced (Base: All who experienced difficulty – 78) Mean3.6 Wave Wave (31) (38) (7) (16) (7) –

17 Making Complaints Reasons for Not Complaining (Base: All those who had reason to make a complaint but didn’t in past 12 months - 75) I did not want the hassle of having to make a complaint I didn’t see the point of complaining I didn’t have time to make a complaint I did not want to get anyone in trouble by making a complaint I was afraid to make a complaint I was unsure of my consumer rights Difficulty contacting trader Did not have receipt/proof of purchase Unsure of the complaints process Other Had to put the complaint in writing Reasons for Not Complaining: Wave Wave Wave ** Wave – Wave ** – – – %%%

18 Making Complaints Resolution Status of Problem (Base: All those who made a complaint in past 12 months - 300) % Whether Complaint Resolved Benchmark 2007 Question not asked in Benchmark survey Wave % completely resolved Wave % completely resolved Wave % completely resolved Completely resolved Partly resolved Not resolved at all Refused/ Not Stated () = Wave (2%) (74%) (13%) (11%)

19 Making Complaints Satisfaction with the Way Complaint was Handled (Base: All who’s complaint was completely resolved – 211) % Completely satisfied (7) 70% 8% Do nothing, just accept what has happened Tell people you know of your positive experience with them Do more business with them yourself Tell people you know not to do business with them Stop doing business with them altogether Do less business with them yourself % Level of Satisfaction Very satisfied (6) Fairly satisfied (5) Neither/nor/ Don’t know (4) Fairly dissatisfied (3) Very dissatisfied (2) Mean 2 people 1 person (1 person) Likely to do as a result 148 People 7 People 5.8 (6.1) Completely dissatisfied (1) (46) (27) (18) (4) (3) (1) () = Wave Wave Wave

20 Making Complaints Likelihood of Buying Again from Business that had Reason to Complain About No Yes I don’t have a choice Likelihood to Buy Again (Base: All those who had cause or reason to complain - 375) Benchmark % Yes 27% No 16% I don’t have a choice Wave % Yes 29% No 12% I don’t have a choice Wave % Yes 29% No 7% I don’t have a choice Wave % Yes 45% No 22% Don’t know 5% I don't have a choice (44%) (21%) (9%) (26%) ( ) = Wave Don’t know

21 Making Complaints Section 3: Customer Service

22 Making Complaints Level of Customer Service – Experienced – I (Base: All who have bought goods/services in past 12 months) Shops selling clothing or footwear (95%) Personal care e.g. hairdressers, cosmetics (85%) Pharmacies, doctors, hospitals or other medicals (79%) Supermarkets & newsagents (97%) Education providers (38%) Restaurants, take-aways, or hotels (89%) Pubs (76%) (4) Very good (5) 90% 89% 88% 87% 85% (2) Very poor (1) () = Total that purchased – –

23 Making Complaints Level of Customer Service – Experienced – II (Base: All who have bought goods/services in past 12 months) Entertainment outside the home (60%) Entertainment at home (62%) Shops selling furniture or households appliances (40%) Communications services including home phone mobile, internet (69%) Building and related services (33%) Energy suppliers (61%) Travel agent (29%) (4) Very good (5) 84% 83% 82% 80% (2) Very poor (1) () = Total that purchased – – – –

24 Making Complaints Level of Customer Service – Experienced – III (Base: All who have bought goods/services in past 12 months) Car dealers (24%) Insurance products and services (65%) TV service providers (50%) Waste services (49%) Airlines (44%) Banking products & Services (68%) Public transport (43%) Petrol Stations (74%) (4) Very good (5) 79% 78% 77% 76% (2) Very poor (1) () = Total that purchased

25 Making Complaints Research Background and Methodology

26 Making Complaints Amárach Research conducted the research by means of face-to-face interviewing with 1,000 people between the ages of In all, 6 comparable “Waves” of Market Research have been completed since November / December To ensure that the data is nationally representative, quotas were applied on the basis of age, gender and social class. Interviewing was conducted over a four week period in June Research Background and Methodology Nov/Dec 2007Aug 2008Nov/Dec 2008 May/June 2009Nov/Dec 2009June 2010 Benchmark Wave 3Wave 4 Wave 1Wave 2 Wave 5 Current Wave

27 Making Complaints Profile of Sample (Base: All aged – 1,000) Male Female % % % % Married Living as Married Single Wid/Div/ Sep ABC1 C2DE F50+/ F50- MAIN GROCERY SHOPPER YesNo Not stated