UK Customer Satisfaction Index Results July 2011

Posted in blog posts on 5 July 2011 by Leon Paternoster
11 comments on this article

Today we publish the latest UK Customer Satisfaction Index (UKCSI) results.

We publish the index every six months. It's based on a survey of a representative sample of 26,000 UK adults, and asks them questions about their experiences of UK organisations. The survey questions are based on our research into customer priorities.

Buy complete, sector by sector results from our shop.

Summary

The UKCSI Overall score for July 2011 is 77.3, up from 76.7 in January 2011.

The top five performers in each sector were:

Retail (food) (overall sector index 80.9)

  1. Marks & Spencer (food) 87.3
  2. Waitrose — 86.5
  3. Aldi — 84.4
  4. ASDA — 82.4
  5. Morrisons — 81.8

Services (overall sector index 80.9)

  1. RAC — 82.8
  2. Autoglass — 82.7
  3. DHL — 80.4
  4. AA — 80.4
  5. Green Flag — 79.8

Tourism (overall sector index 80.7)

  1. Marriott — 85.5
  2. Virgin Holidays — 84.3
  3. Hilton — 83.9
  4. SAGA Holidays — 83.0
  5. P&O Cruises — 82.5

Retail (non-food) (overall sector index 80.3)

  1. John Lewis — 87.5
  2. Marks & Spencer — 84.2
  3. Boots — 84.0
  4. Argos — 81.6
  5. Matalan — 81.5

Automotive (overall sector index 79.5)

  1. Toyota — 82.8
  2. Volvo — 82.5
  3. Mercedes Benz — 82.4
  4. Mazda — 82.2
  5. Nissan — 81.7

Leisure (overall sector index 79.0)

  1. Toby Carvery — 83.4
  2. Subway — 82.9
  3. Pizza Express — 82.6
  4. Starbuck —s 81.4
  5. Harvester — 81.3

Finance (insurance) (overall sector index 78.2)

  1. BUPA — 82.1
  2. Churchill — 81.0
  3. AA — 81.0
  4. SAGA — 80.3
  5. AXA — 80.3

Finance (banks) (overall sector index 77.0)

  1. First Direct — 85.3
  2. Bank of Scotland — 83.1
  3. Nationwide — 80.5
  4. HSBC — 79.3
  5. Natwest — 77.8

Public services (local) (overall sector index 75.5)

  1. your local Ambulance Service — 84.4
  2. your local Fire Service — 83.8
  3. GP surgery / health centre — 78.3
  4. your local Police Service — 71.5
  5. your local council — 61.3

Telecoms (overall sector index 74.8)

  1. O2 — 81.8
  2. Orange — 79.1
  3. T-Mobile — 78.7
  4. Sky — 76.1
  5. 3 — 75.7

Transport (overall sector index 74.0)

  1. Virgin Atlantic — 86.3
  2. Virgin Trains — 79.4
  3. Eurotunnel — 78.6
  4. National Express — 78.6
  5. P&O Ferries — 78.3

Utilities (overall sector index 72.5)

  1. Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) — 76.7
  2. EDF Energy — 76.3
  3. British Gas — 73.0
  4. E.ON (energy) — 72.4
  5. Dwr Cymru (Welsh Water) — 72.0

Public services (national) (overall sector index 72.3)

  1. DVLA — 77.5
  2. The Identity & Passport Service — 77.2
  3. NHS / hospital service — 76.1
  4. Post office — 75.9
  5. Royal Mail / Parcelforce — 72.8

Further information

Comments

  • “

    Some really interesting results here and they make an interesting comparison with the recent Eptica Multichannel Customer Service Study, which surveyed online and email customer service. Do take a look at the differences – and similarities – at http://eptica.wordpress.com/2011/07/08/how-satisfied-are-your-customers/

    ”
    Eptica on 8 July 2011
  • “

    Sorry to be a bit of a bore, but these average scores look unnaturally high to me: in my experience there's no way some of these sectors will be scoring this highly.

    My guess is that people may be 'satisfied' but not 'delighted'. I have always asserted that 'satisfied customers are not enough': you need customers to be 'loyal advocates'.

    Research from Coca Cola suggests that around 80% of 'satisfied' customers switch supplier over the medium term.

    Perhaps the survey ought to be 'customer loyalty' rather than 'customer satisfaction'.

    If anyone has any views on this, I'd be pleased to hear from them.

    Best wishes, GUY

    (p.s. I run a blog at my website www.greatorpoor.com on exactly these issues)

    ”
    Guy Arnold on 14 July 2011
  • “

    @Eptica thanks for the link. Some interesting cross references there!

    ”
    Leon (web editor) on 14 July 2011
  • “

    @Guy,

    Not boring at all. These are the scores that our survey returned; they may seem high, but they reflect what people feel.

    How you interpret them is an interesting question.

    There are, of course, many ways to gather and use feedback. A customer satisfaction survey can be very useful -- after all, satisfaction is related to loyalty.

    Take a look at http://www.instituteofcustomerservice.com/1711-7705/Differences-between-NPS-and-CSAT-Who-cares-Its-all-about-events-and-relationships.html for a more detailed discussion.

    Thanks,

    Leon

    ”
    Leon (web editor) on 14 July 2011
  • “

    Interpreting numbers is a critcal skill in managing customer experience. Seeing the CSI index just published - what is the statistical significance of each result? The total sample is 26,000 but what is it per company and what does that mean in practice?

    Has service in the UK "got better" if it moves by a fraction of a % on this measurement scale?

    If each sector result is a very small spread, is it telling us anything about service or is it more to do with product or brand? I'd expect Aldi and M&S to be differentiated but they aren't

    Is the public sector actually noticeably worse if it is at 72 rather than a best sector at 80/100? Given in NPS 8/10 is the new zero what are the results really telling us?

    ”
    Peter Massey on 27 July 2011
  • “

    Great comments by Peter Massey: I would concur 100% with the questions you raise.

    To me, this report raises many more questions than answers ...

    ”
    Guy Arnold on 27 July 2011
  • “

    @Peter,

    Thanks for your comments.

    We use a minimum sample size in the UKCSI so as to keep the results statistically relevant. Obviously this limits the number of organisations, but it does mean we can confidently say that the data we've gathered represents the UK public.

    When dealing with mean scores a spread from 72 to 80 is pretty wide, and definitely statistically 'significant'. To give you an idea of the full range, our research partner's league table of satisfaction indexes ranges from around 64 to around 95. That forms the boundaries, if you like.

    Differences between sectors are real and significant. Differences between companies exist but are less pronounced (as you'd expect).

    I'm not entirely sure what you mean by 'differentiating' Aldi and M&S. Underneath the overall scores you'll find different individual scores. This shows that people have different needs that are met by different propositions. Aldi appear to be doing well at the moment, which is perhaps unsurprising bearing in mind the economic situation.

    Some people may say that '8 is the new zero' but that doesn't mean it's true :-)

    ”
    Leon Paternoster (web editor, Institute of Customer Service) on 28 July 2011
  • “

    It's not really possible to evaluate research like this without knowing the details of the methodology - where can I find the details of how the survey was conducted please?

    ”
    Paul Grafton on 10 August 2011
  • “

    Hi Paul,

    You can find more info at http://www.instituteofcustomerservice.com/7809/About-the-UK-Customer-Satisfaction-Index-UKCSI.html (added this link to the blog post)

    Thanks,

    Leon

    ”
    Leon Paternoster (web editor, Institute of Customer Service) on 10 August 2011
  • “

    Hi: surely the only 'results' that any business want are: increasing repeat sales, increasing cross sales, increasing up sales and increasing referrals. This is the only point of having high 'customer satisfaction'. Surely this would be a better measure ... perhaps all Companies should concentrate on measuring this, rather than relying on (perhaps subjective) figures on what people might or might not think of them?

    Best wishes, GUY

    ”
    Guy Arnold on 10 August 2011
  • “

    Hello Guy,

    Customer satisfaction surveys can provide clues as to how to increase repeat sales etc. (or why referrals etc. are low). They're not a replacement.

    Thanks,

    Leon

    ”
    Leon Paternoster (web editor, Institute of Customer Service) on 11 August 2011

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