Energy and telecommunications companies, perhaps unsurprisingly, have ranked poorly in the annual survey of customer service standards by Which?
The magazine's poll was conducted among 3,501 members of the public, who were asked for their views on the customer service of the UK's 100 biggest brands, comprising the "biggest firms from six different sectors according to market share".
Amid a stream of stories of mass complaints and billing woes, it was arguably inevitable that Scottish Power and Npower, both of whom have been forced to give away free power to disgruntled customers in the past year, came bottom and second-bottom of the table respectively.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Also featuring in the bottom six were BT and Talk Talk, both of whom, again, have been subject to negative headlines over poor service and complaints.
In fact, the most recognisable brands across these two sectors all ranked poorly, Sky News notes, with SSE, British Gas and EDF all ranking in the low 70s out of 100 for satisfaction, well below the near-90 scored by those at the top.
Among telecoms companies, EE, which admitted its poor record on customer service this week, came top with a lowly score of 68.
At the top of the table was natural cosmetics company Lush with 89, while both John Lewis and its sister supermarket brand Waitrose made the top six. Also featuring high in second place overall was First Direct, the online banking arm of HSBC.
The top and bottom six were as follows:
Top
1. Lush (89%)
2. First Direct (86%)
3. Lakeland (84%)
=4. The Body Shop (83%)
=4. John Lewis (83%)
=4. Waitrose (83%)
Bottom
100. Scottish Power (59%)
99. npower (61%)
98. BT (63%)
97. TalkTalk (64%)
=95. Vodafone (66%)
=95. Ryanair (66%)
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
-
Is it all change at John Lewis?feature Proposed changes to company’s business model have been causing concern in Middle England
-
BT: a game of fantasy M&A?
Under the Radar There’s talk of a bid for BT from Reliance Industries. Is it a serious offer?
-
Will John Lewis close some stores permanently?
In Depth Sources suggest not all of the chain’s department stores will reopen after coronavirus lockdown is lifted
-
Retail sector suffers worst year in quarter of a century
Speed Read British Retail Consortium says last year marked first annual sales decline since 1995
-
John Lewis to buy back used clothing
Speed Read Retailer will pay customers for unwanted items, including socks and underwear
-
Pink shirts, egg cups and blow-up flamingos: what Brits are buying in 2017
In Depth Department store John Lewis releases annual report into what’s hot and what’s not
-
BT to scrap half of phone boxes after 90% drop in usage
Speed Read The rise in mobile phones has cut the number of calls from a peak of 92,000 to just 20,000
-
BT to axe 4,000 jobs and cuts boss's bonus
Speed Read Chief executive Gavin Patterson's total package falls 74 per cent following "tumultuous" year
