US Company Customer Service Lacking

Despite the flood of new service-friendly technologies, nearly half of U.S. consumers were driven away from retailers, banks, and other businesses in the past year by lousy customer service, a new survey shows.

Of more than 1,000 respondents to an online poll in May, a full 46% said poor service had turned them off of at least one business this year, according to a survey released earlier this month by Accenture, a New York-based management consulting firm.

About 18% cited retailers as having the worst customer service, followed by Internet service providers, banks, home and cell phone companies, and cable and satellite television companies. Utility companies, life insurance firms, airlines, and hotels were cited the least, the survey found.