Consumers in Singapore consider their personal treatment by frontline customer service staff as more important than having their problems resolved, a study has found.

AchieveGlobal, one of the world's largest providers of corporate soft-skills training, surveyed 514 Singaporeans in November 2012 as part of a global study on customer experience. The findings were announced on Tuesday.

Some 80 per cent of respondents said that "being heard and respected" are more important to them than having their customer service issues resolved.

The study also highlighted the importance of good customer service. Some 92 per cent of respondents said they would defect to a competitor after experiencing bad service three times or fewer while about 20 per cent said they would refuse to do business with a company after just one bad experience. The survey also found that human interaction remains crucial for customers with a majority saying they prefer to communicate either in person or by telephone, compared to e-mail or text messages.