Generation Gap Leads to Changes in Customer Service
William Withers, Patrick Langan
Wartburg College, November 2006
Available
online (executive summary)
As holiday shoppers cram into retail stores in the coming weeks, they may find that customer service just isn't what it used to be. And according to researchers at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa, it's only going to get worse – a lot worse.
Dr. Bill Withers, a communications professor, and Dr. Patrick Langan, a professor of business administration, have spent the last few years studying customer service. The researchers say that a dramatic demographic shift in the U.S. and changing societal values will cause a veritable customer service train wreck by 2010.
They predict a "critical point" demographically where baby-boomers will make up roughly 47 percent of the total U.S. population and hold about 65 percent of the disposable income. In other words, while boomers will be doing much of the nation's shopping, Gen-Y workers will make up a substantial proportion of the service sector. The problem with this, the researchers find, is that boomers' concept of how a customer should be treated is entirely different from that of Gen-Y workers.
Compounding the problem is the fact that many businesses simply don't have the time or the resources to offer as much customer service training as they would like. A study completed by Withers and Langan completed in 2005 revealed that though 78 percent of companies surveyed said they provide "some" customer service training, 68 percent said they would like to provide more if they had the means.
Withers advocates that awareness and training are the keys to heading off the customer service crisis. He also recommends looking to retirees as a possible service workforce, thereby bridging the gap.