Europeans prefer phone to internet

Most European customers prefer to use the phone for business enquiries rather than the internet, because they don't trust it.

Just six per cent of Europeans (four per cent in the UK) currently use the internet to obtain information about companies and their services, compared to 84 per cent choosing telephone call centres or a branch network as their means of contact for simple enquiries.

The findings are highlighted in a survey, Understanding Your Customer's Customer, released today by Deloitte Consulting.

It tracked the views of over 1,000 customers across the UK, Germany, France and Italy to discover how they use remote channels such as call centres and the internet for business dealings.

The low number of internet enquiries is expected to rise, especially for well known brands. Fourty-four per cent of respondents (52 per cent in the UK) expect to use the internet for information services within the next five years.

However, the transition will be much easier for companies with a well known brand name, which promotes trust.

Four out of 10 European consumers said they'd lose trust if remote technology was the only facility available. They believe it could be an opportunity to be ripped off with no comeback available.

Koen Vandaele, of Deloitte Consulting, said: "This clearly shows that the best internet companies will have to create multiple points of contact with their customers to ensure strong and lasting relationships."

He added: "Fear of the faceless company is real, especially in France and Italy, where face-to-face contact is still of considerable importance in developing a relationship with a business, whatever its size and nature."

The survey discovered cross-cultural differences between the four countries. The UK has a call centre culture, with nine out of 10 customers preferring to deal with businesses via call centres for low level interaction.

Post and telephone are the preferred method for high level queries, but in five years' time 22 per cent expect the internet to match the telephone for providing confidential information such as bank account details.

Likewise the French (60 per cent) prefer the phone for simple transactions, while nearly nine out of ten Italians want face-to-face contact at their local branch.

The Germans are the most pro-internet, with 14 per cent using internet technology for obtaining information today.