Retailers warned about the ‘Grey Grumblers’

Businesses were warned about a new breed of consumer to beware of this Christmas due to their lack of patience and speed in complaining the over 55s.

SunGard Availability Services and YouGov released research that revealed that the over 55s would not tolerate it if they were unable to purchase the products they want, or use services they need.

The "grey grumblers" would not consider the reasons behind the problem, with one in two simply putting it down to having poor customer service.

The research also revealed that one in three (29 per cent) of over 55 year olds would choose something different if their original choice was unavailable, rather than travelling somewhere else or paying more for the same product next door.

This was a big contrast to 18-24 year olds, only one in 10 would settle for a replacement product and would travel further to get what they needed.

"Older customers are an unseen threat to companies that don't put real effort into being constantly available," said Keith Tilley, UK managing director of SunGard AS.

"In today's always on' culture you might think that young consumers are generally more demanding, however it's clear that they are far more understanding and tolerant when things don't work or products are unavailable than their elders.