By George Anderson
Attention retailers and other businesses selling to consumers: Your customers are not happy.
The latest results from the University of Michigan's American Customer Satisfaction Index show a continuing decline in consumers' happiness with the goods and services they are receiving.
The new numbers represent the second straight decline in the quarterly report's numbers and, according to The Detroit News, "The index's scores for the six-month period represent its biggest drop since 1997."
Researchers note that there appears to be a direct correlation between consumers' unhappiness with the service they are receiving and the cost of goods and services.
Claes Fornell, business professor and director of the National Quality Research Center at the University of Michigan, told The Chicago Sun-Times, "They feel like they're not getting their money's worth."
Michael Bernacchi, professor of marketing at the University of Detroit Mercy, said the situation is not likely to change in the near term. "There is a general crankiness with the American consumer. We are going to see consumer satisfaction plummeting into the future. Maybe there will be a need for a new kind of economic therapist. Maybe it will help people cope with the reality that this isn't the economy of 10, 25 or 50 years ago. For Americans, that isn't good news."
Moderator's Comment: What are the implications of the results from the latest University of Michigan American Customer Satisfaction Index for domestic retailers? - George Anderson - Moderator