Proof Not Promises Rebuild Trust After the Sale

Customers wait days while systems say minutes. Speed without closure does not build trust.

Kiwis spent an estimated 24 million hours on hold in 2024 and waited about four days for issues to be fixed, while many customer service teams believe they resolve complaints in around 30 minutes. That perception gap is killing trust and accelerating relationship decay.

A national consumer survey shows 41% of New Zealanders experienced a problem with a product or service in the previous two years, yet only 54% said their most recent issue was resolved. Telecommunications tracking shows satisfaction moves with perceived reliability and value, and about 70% of customers say their bill is easy to understand when providers communicate clearly. When disputes do escalate formally, resolution is achievable at very high rates, with 96.4% of TDR cases resolved after customers accessed the scheme. Trust in institutions has also slipped into the distrust range since 2022, which means every interaction carries more weight.

Why trust and relationships decay after the deal

• Silence after signature. Long gaps between purchase and meaningful contact are read as indifference and widen expectation gaps.

• Support friction. Repetition, hand-offs and slow closure convert irritation into churn.

• One-size loyalty. Kiwi customers reward authenticity, reliability and value for money more than generic points.

• Over-automation. AI speeds triage, but customers still expect an easy path to a person when it matters. Speed without felt resolution does not build trust.

Practical ways to stop trust and relationship decay

1. Publish two SLAs customers understand
   State response and resolution targets in plain English. Track time to resolution and customer-verified closure, not just first response. Review both in leadership meetings and customer value huddles. Make reliability and clarity visible.

2. Human-in-the-loop by default
   Use AI for routing, summaries and next-best actions, with a visible route to a person at every step. This closes the gap between internal “we fixed it” and the customer’s “I feel it is fixed.”

3. Day-zero onboarding that proves value
   Set expectations for the first 30 to 90 days. Highlight the two features that deliver time-to-value fast. Book a human check-in to confirm progress and remove early friction. Expectation and information gaps are common drivers of complaints.

4. Mirror TDR discipline inside your operation
   TDR’s very high resolution rate shows what is possible with a structured pathway. Build the same triage, authority and closure steps so issues are settled well before escalation.

5. Value over perks
   Invest in recognition, relevance and access, not just discounts. Kiwis reward brands that show up reliably and make life easier.

The 90-day trust rebuild

• Weeks 1 to 2: Publish SLAs, add customer-verified closure to every case, and instrument time to resolution.

• Weeks 3 to 6: Ship the day-zero welcome and first-value nudges. Set up a resolution desk empowered to fix top-tier issues inside 48 hours.

• Weeks 7 to 10: Replace the quarterly QBR with a 20 minute monthly value huddle focused on outcomes, risks and next actions. Start a weekly near-churn review.

• Weeks 11 to 13: Launch three expansion plays tied to realised value events and show the scorecard movement in customer-facing reviews.

Bottom line: If customers are waiting days while your dashboards say minutes, trust will keep leaking. Close the gap and loyalty will follow.

Sources

• ServiceNow research on NZ customer effort and resolution time perceptions, 2024 to 2025.

• New Zealand Consumer Survey 2024 key metrics on problem incidence and resolution.

• Commerce Commission market monitoring 2024 on telco satisfaction and perceived value.

• Telecommunications Dispute Resolution Annual Report 2023 to 2024 on case outcomes.

• Edelman Trust Barometer 2025 New Zealand sample on trust trends.