First Direct and John Lewis lead the UK business for quality customer service: How is your favorite brand performing?
- The UKCSI has released its latest UK customer service ranking list
- Retailer Next jumped from 63rd place to the top 10 this year
First Direct has been crowned the best company for customer service in the UK, recently released rankings have revealed.
Latest figures from the UK Customer Service Institute reveal that the St John Lewis stalwart has come in second place, having climbed from seventh place last year.
UK Power Networks, Tesco Mobile and Marks & Spencer Food were also in the top five, while Amazon, victim of a recent strike in the UK, moved up to 10th place.
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Rankings: John Lewis has been propelled to the post by First Direct in the list of top customer service providers
The vote of confidence for the tech giant comes despite the cost of an Amazon Prime membership having risen from £79 to £95 in recent months.
Starling Bank, Next, Suzuki and M&S are also in the top 10, with Next moving up from 63rd place a year ago.
Automotive group Suzuki came eighth with Marks & Spencer in the 13 sectors measured from 281 organizations, up from 17th place last year.
Despite the cost-of-living crisis, nearly three times as many customers as a year ago said they were willing to pay more for great service rather than be encumbered with mediocre-but-good service bargain and no frills.
While the UKCSI’s latest findings, based on the opinions of 10,000 consumers, highlight companies with good customer service rankings, many consumers have faced delivery delays, long waits for calls and downright shoddy service over the past few years.
Tellingly, the UKCSI said: “More organizations have seen a decline in customer satisfaction than an improvement, as the gap between top and bottom performers widens.”
Failing to do it right the first time and deal with customer issues effectively costs UK businesses an estimated £11.4billion a month in working hours, with employees spending an average of 4.8 days a month to deal with customer issues, UKCSI said.
He added: “The number of organizations whose customer satisfaction decreased by at least two points almost doubled those who improved by the same amount.”
Jo Causon, chief executive of the Institute of Customer Service, said: ‘The past few years have been difficult for UK businesses, but today’s results are a timely reminder that we cannot continue to adopt a short-term business approach and firefighting.
“The impact on the productivity of staff who spend almost a day a week dealing with issues cannot be overstated.
“As consumer finances become increasingly tight, taking the time to lay the foundation for an efficient, long-term service experience will be critical in pulling the country out of the recession.”
Separate findings released by regulator Ofgem today revealed the most criticized providers for broadband, TV and phone services.
The regulator found that Shell Energy recorded the most complaints for broadband and fixed services between July and September 2022.
