According to the fourth annual NRF Foundation/American Express Customers’ Choice survey, eBay is ranked #14 overall for customer service in 2008 (down 1 from #13 in 2007).
The NRF is the same organization that back in September claimed that selling on the Internet is so addictive, people are getting hooked and satisfying their addiction by entering a life of organized Internet crime; pretty much equating eBay sellers to drug-addicted criminals. Well, apparently these same sellers are providing great customer service while they’re at it.
All joking aside, it’s no secret that eBay and the NRF have disagreed on a number of key issues in the past, including Price Fixing, so it’s great to see that the voice of the consumer counts above all else.
The survey, which polled 8,167 consumers, was conducted by consumer marketing intelligence firm BIGresearch from September 2-9, 2008. The consumer poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.0 percent. Consumers answered the open ended question, “Thinking of all the different retail formats (store, catalog, internet, or home shopping), which retailer delivers the best customer service?”
This top 20 ranking comes on the heels of eBay receiving a #2 overall rank for most trusted companies for privacy. However, given the above criteria for the survey, I feel it is the individual sellers on the eBay marketplace that should be commended for achieving this award. After all, they’re the ones providing the customer service to consumers on a daily basis.
Cheers,
RBH