Amazon tops customer satisfaction ratings for fifth year in a row

Amazon was closely followed by First Direct and Yorkshire Bank in the biannual poll of more than 10,000 shoppers for the UK Customer Satisfaction Index

Amazon topped a ranking of more than 250 organisations for customer service in the UK

(Reuters)

Amazon has held its position as the best-performing retailer in the UK for customer satisfaction as streaming service Spotify, restaurant chain Prezzo and British Gas made the ranking for the first time.

Amazon, who took the top placing for the fifth consecutive time, was closely followed by First Direct and Yorkshire Bank in the biannual poll of more than 10,000 shoppers for the UK Customer Satisfaction Index (UKCSI) by the Institute of Customer Service.

Yorkshire Bank's 10-point increase made it the most improved organisation in the ranking of more than 250 organisations based on factors such as staff professionalism, quality and efficiency and complaint handling.

BT was also among the improvers with its best performance since July 2013, but remains below average in its sector.

Superdrug came fourth in the ranking, followed by John Lewis and Wilko in fifth equal place.

The top 10 was rounded out by M&S Bank and Nationwide in sixth equal position and Jet2Holidays, Tesco Mobile and Waitrose in joint ninth place.

The transport sector is now the lowest rated sector among consumers with a score of 73.7.

The report shows that customer satisfaction in the UK is broadly stable, with the current score of 78.1 out of 100 up 0.3 points compared with a year ago.

However, there are signs that the improving trend has stalled as the number of organisations whose customer satisfaction has dropped by two points or more compared with last year overtook the number who have improved by at least two points.

Jo Causon, chief executive of The Institute of Customer Service, said: "For organisations to maintain momentum and benefit from long-term returns, they must continue to invest in customer service and place it at the heart of their business strategy.

"The temptation may be to hold back in economically uncertain times, but with improvements in customer service worth £81.5bn to the UK's GDP through repeat custom and recommendation, consistency is key to success."

PA