The recent news of Ashley Madison hack is a classic example demonstrating the need for customers to feel confident that their financial and sensitive details are safe when sharing them over the phone and online. Any sane person would get alarmed by such news. This particular hack saw customer data stolen from its 37 million users, left patrons details exposed, and the businesses reputation of the company in tatters.
Take a look at this scenario: You call a bank to make a fund transfer request and the banker asks your credentials. You give it. Some technical glitch arises at his end and he assures you a return call as soon as the issue is fixed. He does not call back. You again call. This time someone else picks up the call and asks your credentials. You have no choice but play normal and give it. She says your previous transaction was abruptly aborted so she can’t proceed with the same transaction until that gets rectified by the person who initiated it. Now you need to get that person on phone and you have forgotten to write down his name! And this sort of thing is not the first time you have experienced with this bank. Next month you find unknown transactions on your bank statement.
You can think of a web hosting company or a data security center having similar issues and staff. They assure you one thing but when things go wrong, they pass the responsibility and blame to you.
The question is not how to deal with them- it is whether to deal with them at all. The bottom line is, if customers don’t trust a brand they are not going to recommend it, and worse, they are likely to ensure others also don’t recommend it.
“Consumers also have significant insecurities about how financial information is handled, despite technology existing to guard against criminals online. Forty per cent stated they are not confident their payment details are secure from being hacked by cyber criminals, and 30 per cent are scared operatives can secretly record their information elsewhere. Which is just another reason for customer’s to not want to hand over sensitive financial information.’
“Research has found that 75 per cent of consumers prefer talking to a customer service representative over the phone rather than online. This makes perfect sense; for customers a quick phone call eliminates waiting time and solves the problem there and then. However, with this comes the need for increased customer support and, with more agents involved in the payment process, the worry of non-compliance.” Source How to retain customers trust: The importance of compliance | ITProPortal.com
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