Is customer service worse today than it was ten years ago?

Yes:

 81%

Probably not, but my expectations have risen:

 13%

No:

 6%

Would you rather deal with an automated operator with all the answers or a friendly human with none?

Hello, automated operator:

 29%

Hello, human being:

 71%

For which of the following reasons do you most frequently call customer service?

To check my account balance:

 7%

To order a product or a service:

 16%

To get repair or operating information about a product:

 52%

To complain about a product or service:

 20%

To speak to a friendly voice:

 2%

I never call customer service:

 3%

In general, how would you describe the results of the telephone calls you make for customer service?

I always get the information I want:

 2%

I usually get the information I want:

 60%

I hardly ever get the information I want:

 14%

My head explodes:

 24%

In your experience, who has the BEST customer service?

My telephone company:

 14%

My electric utility:

 4%

My local government:

 20%

My gas utility:

 4%

My cable company:

 2%

My pizza delivery company:

 49%

My satellite TV company:

 7%

In your experience, who has the WORST customer service?

My telephone company:

 19%

My electric utility:

 10%

My local government:

 14%

My gas utility:

 5%

My cable company:

 43%

My pizza delivery company:

 1%

My satellite TV company:

 7%

What is your most effective technique for getting good customer service on the telephone?

Screaming at the customer service rep:

 1%

Sweet talking the customer service rep:

 37%

Asking to speak to a supervisor:

 47%

Hanging up and calling back to talk to somebody else:

 15%

Have you ever called the City of St. Louis's Citizens Service Bureau to complain, compliment, or request a service?

Yes:

 33%

No:

 67%

Have you ever received something free from a company for complaining about a product or service?

Yes:

 52%

No:

 43%

Not yet, but I keep trying:

 4%

Which of the following telephone experiences would you find most infuriating?

Getting a busy signal every time you call for two hours:

 11%

Getting put on hold for two hours:

 11%

Getting put on hold for one hour, but with music:

 4%

Having to navigate through twenty levels of computerized responses:

 42%

Having to repeat something a dozen times because the customer service representative did not speak a language that I also spoke:

 33%

Which of the following musical styles would you find to be the most annoying "holding" music?

Rap:

 45%

90's pop:

 1%

All-Sanjaya, all the time:

 16%

Chipmunk voices:

 18%

70's disco:

 1%

Irish folk:

 2%

Elevator:

 8%

Traditional country:

 6%

Classical:

 4%

What is the largest number of phone buttons, including your own account number, you would push to get important information?

No more than one or two:

 14%

More than a couple, but no more than a dozen:

 33%

More than a dozen, but fewer than twenty:

 17%

I'd push as many buttons as it took to get my information:

 35%

Which voice type do you most frequently encounter when you call an automated customer service system??

A male-sounding voice:

 10%

A female-sounding voice:

 74%

A space alien-sounding voice:

 11%

I hang up whenever I get an automated voice answer:

 5%