Nearly four in five people (78%) said that they were not happy with the way accountancy firms handled their phone calls and the profession was amongst the lowest scoring industries in the research, with staisfaction levels running at a low 22%, outstripped only by printers (18%) and motor traders (21%) in terms of lower levels of satisfaction, according to a poll of 1,000 consumers by PH Media Group. 

Women were particularly dissatisfied, with only 20% claiming to be happy with how accountants handled their calls, compared to 25% of men.

Older callers also appear to be unhappy with their experience as just 9% of 55 to 64-year-olds claimed to be satisfied with their treatment on the phone.

Mark Williamson, sales and marketing director, PH Media Group, said: ‘The fluctuation in satisfaction levels suggests both women and older customers feel their needs are not being catered to and this should raise questions about the tone of firms' audio branding.

It seems that accountants’ poor performance on the phone is not just down to the embarrassment and suffering callers may fear they face when they try to discuss their tax affairs. Dentists, another profession known for its painful connotations, performed best and were found to be pleasing 52% of callers.

Williamson said: ‘Poor call handling is a constant bugbear for the British consumer but, despite this, it appears accountants have still not risen to the challenge of achieving best practice. If only 22% of customers are pleased with the way their calls are being handled, this means there is an even larger number who have generated a negative perception through bad caller experience.’

Straightforward tips for improving customer contacts include responding to calls quicker or establishing a set practice for answering the phone. Williamson said that firms who want to go further and use a first phone call as a way of building up customer confidence could consider using tools such as on-hold marketing, that is utilising bespoke voice and music messages that are played while customers wait which can help build up a firm’s image.

Williamson said the aim for accountancy firms should be ‘to establish top-class service and a congruent brand across all touchpoints with customers.’

‘There is perhaps a tendency among companies to focus their attention and budgets on visual marketing and internet presence but the telephone remains a crucial aspect of branding, marketing and sales,’ Williamson said.

Firms may take some comfort from the fact that it is not just the profession which has trouble managing calls, as HMRC’s own statistics have consistently shown ongoing problems.

HMRC’s 2014/15 mid-year report to Parliament, covering data to September 2014, showed the department remains some way off its target of handling a consistent level of 80% of calls. In September it managed only 73.6%, down from 75.5% the previous quarter while the number of calls attempts handled within five minutes fell to just 37.9%.