UK utilities rank second in Europe for customer service: ICS

The utilities sector in the UK has ranked second in Europe for customer satisfaction, according to new figures from the Institute of Customer Service (ICS).

The ICS European Customer Satisfaction Index (EUCSI) gave the UK utilities industry a score of 72.8 out of a 100, just marginally behind top-scoring Germany (73.4).

This is the first time the Institute has compiled research into how customer satisfaction levels vary across Europe, and builds on the its UK Customer Satisfaction Index, which has been running since 2008.

ICS chief executive Jo Causon said: “It’s encouraging to see that the UK’s utilities sector is achieving higher levels of customer satisfaction, along with Germany, when compared to the rest of Europe.”

INFOGRAPHIC: a picture of customer satisfaction across Europe

Source: Institute of Customer Service

The data also showed that across all sectors the UK ranks highest for customer satisfaction but highlights that building customer trust is an area for improvement.

In the UK, customers ranked ‘ease of doing business’ and the ‘helpfulness of staff (in person)’ as more important than the European average, compared with Germany which valued product reliability, on-time delivery and the condition of delivered goods being above average.

Causon said: “On the whole, the data illustrates that customer service has come of age and is now clearly linked to a country’s economic performance. If we take those countries with the lowest customer satisfaction scores, we can see that each has had its own economic and social challenges in recent times and this is clearly reflected in the customer satisfaction data.

“As a result, good customer service should not be seen as a ‘nice to have’ for organisations, but as a key competence and asset which can bring wider economic benefits – particularly when it comes to enhancing productivity, competitiveness, job creation and prosperity within organisations and across countries as a whole.

“I hope the EUCSI will act as a benchmark for customer satisfaction across Europe. It should give organisations that operate internationally the insight they need to tailor their approach to the needs of different consumers, and support all businesses in delivering better customer satisfaction and the wider economic benefits that accompany this.”