It is one of the great ironies of consumer empowerment that it makes people less satisfied. As with all things in life, the more we have, the more we want. Which is why, despite the best efforts of our institutions (from government to commercial companies), customer satisfaction levels continue to decline.
According to a new study by Accenture and the Marketing Society, the percentage of people who’s “expectations of service quality are frequently or always met” declined from 53% in 2007 to 40% in 2009. The depressing thought for any consumer-oriented business is that expectations will never be met and that satisfaction levels will always trend downwards.