However, the use of Catalan in customer-relations is lower: 47.2 % of companies often or always use Catalan when writing to customers, and 44.2 % often or always use Catalan in the design and text of their brochures and catalogues. As regards policies (the principal document of the insurance sector), 40.9 % of UCEAC companies use Catalan.

Figure 1. How much does your company use Catalan in...?

The use of Catalan within companies tends to be rather lower. Nearly four out of ten companies often or always use Catalan in their internal written communication, although payslips and employment contracts are only drawn up in Catalan in 13.9 % of companies.

Despite the diversity of situations, on the whole, companies prefer to use Catalan in more spontaneous oral use. Nevertheless, Spanish is used more frequently in institutional and formal writing.

Figure 2. Average use of Catalan (1 = never, 5 = always)

2.2. Personal customer service

The language most often used in UCEAC companies for customer service, both in person and over the telephone, is Catalan; almost half of these companies (47.2 %) always use Catalan when answering the telephone or attending to customers in person, and 38.9 % do so frequently.

Table 1. How often does this company use Catalan when addressing the public in person and over the telephone?

AVERAGE (1= never, 5= always)