UKCSI Customer Satisfaction Index - The state of customer satisfaction in the UK July 2014
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UKCSI July 2014 | The state of customer satisfaction in the UK
UKCSI Customer
Satisfaction Index
The state of customer satisfaction in the UK
July 2014
instituteofcustomerservice.com
Institute of Customer Service A
UKCSI July 2014 | The state of customer satisfaction in the UK
foreword
The July 2014 UKCSI shows a third consecutive We are now in a genuine relationship economy in
fall in customer satisfaction. Almost half the which organisations’ success will increasingly be
organisations included in the index have seen a determined by the quality of their relationships
drop in their customer satisfaction by at least one – with customers, suppliers, partners and inside
point compared to a year ago, including companies organisations. These UKCSI results confirm that
who have consistently been amongst the highest the bar for customer satisfaction has risen and in
rated by customers. At a time when the economy is an era of falling customer satisfaction there will be
beginning to grow, this should be a major concern winners and losers.
for organisations.
So how should organisations respond to this
There are a number of factors which may account changed environment? It will be important to
for the falling trend in customer satisfaction. invest in customer insight and apply it with
Customer expectations are continuing to rise greater speed and agility as customer needs
and their needs are evolving more rapidly, with and preferences evolve. Ease of doing business
convenience, ease of doing business and speed and convenience have a growing resonance
seen as particularly important. For the first time, and need to be embedded in the experiences
this UKCSI report shows the levels of satisfaction organisations offer their customers. Customer
by age group; the fact that younger people are service skills, capabilities and standards need to
on average less satisfied than older age groups be reviewed continuously to ensure that they are
suggests that customer expectations will continue current and relevant in a context of heightened
to rise in future. As demand and confidence customer expectations. Above all, there needs
grow, organisations may be tempted to shift their to be a strategic leadership commitment to
priority away from retaining customers through customer service and a focus on the whole
focusing on customer experiences, towards customer experience, especially in sectors where
more emphatically increasing customer numbers multiple partners and entities are involved in
and market share. However, evidence from the providing service to customers. Now is a time for
UKCSI continues to point to clear and consistent organisations to hold their nerve and maintain
linkages between high levels of customer focus on the customer experience. Those that
satisfaction and trust, loyalty, likelihood to do so will be best positioned to benefit from the
remain a customer, and in the Retail food sector in sustainable and tangible business benefit of
particular, higher sales growth. customer service.
Joanna Causon
CEO
Institute of Customer Service 1UKCSI July 2014 | The state of customer satisfaction in the UK
contents
Key findings 3
Customer satisfaction: the state of the nation 4
Why is customer satisfaction falling? 12
Why customer satisfaction matters: the business impact 20
UKCSI key facts 27
Organisations included in the July 2014 survey 28
About UKCSI 29
Also available 30
Other Institute research 31
Institute of Customer Service 32
2 Institute of Customer ServiceUKCSI July 2014 | The state of customer satisfaction in the UK
key findings
UKCSI July 2014
Customer satisfaction falls - again Most customers want a balance of cost
The July 2014 UKCSI results confirm the downward and service, with at least a minimum
trend in customer satisfaction at the national level. The
threshold level of customer service
index registered its third consecutive decline and at
When faced with the choice, 60% of consumers favour
76.3 (out of 100) is now 1.9 points below the January
a balance of price and service and will not accept
2013 peak of 78.2.
low service levels in exchange for a cheap deal. A
substantial minority of consumers – 24% – seek
Satisfaction drops for most sectors excellent service and are prepared to pay for it.
Customers’ satisfaction levels declined across 12 of
the 13 sectors covered in UKCSI. The exception was
Customer service builds trust
the Utilities sector, which saw a small increase (of 0.4
By delivering an increase of 10 percentage points in its
points) in customer satisfaction between January 2014
customer satisfaction score, an organisation can expect
and July 2014. Nonetheless, Utilities remains the lowest
on average an increase of 12 percentage points in the
scoring sector. Retail (Non-food) continues to be the
trust ratings from its customers.
highest performing sector in UKCSI.
Customer service drives loyalty
Relatively few organisations are raising Organisations with high UKCSI scores have significantly
satisfaction levels larger numbers of customers who are very likely to
Of the 197 named organisations featured in UKCSI, only remain as customers, compared to those organisations
28 increased their score by at least one point compared with lower levels of satisfaction.
to July 2013. But 96 have seen their score fall by more
than one point over the same period.
Customer service drives recommendation
55% of highly satisfied customers stated that they
Consistent high scores at the top of the had recommended the organisation in question.
UKCSI rankings Recommendation rates drop below 15% for satisfaction
John Lewis tops the UKCSI ratings for July 2014 with a ratings below 6 (out of 10).
score of 87.7. It is followed by two other consistent high
scorers, Amazon and First Direct. But 37 of the top 50 Customer service drives sales in the retail
organisations for customer satisfaction have seen a fall
food sector
in their score in the past year. Dwr Cymru (Welsh Water)
For the fifth consecutive period, the average year-on-
is the organisation with the largest increase in its UKCSI
year sales growth delivered by food retailers with a
score (+6.7 points) over the past year.
UKCSI score above the sector average is better than that
of the below average competitors, by a margin of 3%.
Older customers are on average much
more satisfied than younger ones
Customers aged 65 and above have an average
customer satisfaction score of 80.3 compared to 72.5
for those aged 18 – 24. Customers in socio-economic
groups A, B and C1 have lower average satisfaction than
those in C2, D and E.
Institute of Customer Service 3UKCSI July 2014 | The state of customer satisfaction in the UK
customer satisfaction:
the state of the nation
Customer satisfaction in the UK has fallen for the third consecutive six-month period. The July 2014 UK
Customer Satisfaction Index (UKCSI) – the average of all customer responses in the Institute of Customer
Service’s six-monthly customer survey1 - dropped by 0.8 points, to 76.3 (out of 100), from 77.1 in January
2014. We are now seeing a marked downward trend in the satisfaction of UK customers.
The national UKCSI score, 2009 to 2014
79
78
78.2
78.0 77.9
UK Customer Satisfaction Index (UKCSI)
77 77.4
77.3
77.1
76 76.7 76.3
75 75.6
75.2
74
73 74.1
72
72.0
71
70
Jan-09 Jul-09 Jan-10 Jul-10 Jan-11 Jul-11 Jan-12 Jul-12 Jan-13 Jul-13 Jan-14 Jul-14
1. The UKCSI survey is run twice each year, in May and November. The results are published in the July and January editions of the report.
4 Institute of Customer ServiceUKCSI July 2014 | The state of customer satisfaction in the UK
UKCSI performance by sector
The fall in customer satisfaction applies to all sectors except Utilities, which achieved a small increase of
0.4 points between January 2014 and July 2014. However, it remains the lowest-scoring of the thirteen
sectors in the UKCSI, with an average rating of 69.4.
The biggest drops in satisfaction by sector were seen in Leisure (-1.3), Insurance (-1.3) and Services (-1.4).
For the first time since the UKCSI began in 2008, satisfaction with the Insurance sector has fallen behind
satisfaction with Banks & Building Societies.
It should be noted that the Services sector score has been affected by the UKCSI reclassification of Royal
Mail (from Public Services (National) to Services) following the government’s sale of a majority share of the
organisation. The score in Services excluding Royal Mail was 80.1, a drop of just 0.1 compared to January
2014.
UKCSI scores by sector
50 60 70 80 90 100
Retail (Non-food) 82.2
Retail (Food) 80.9
Tourism 79.8
Automotive 79.7
Leisure 79.6
Services 78.8
Banks & Building Societies 77.7
Insurance 77.6
Telecommunications & Media 72.2
Transport 72.1
Public Services (Local) 71.9
Public Services (National) 70.9
Jul-14
Utilities 69.4
Jan-14
Institute of Customer Service 5UKCSI July 2014 | The state of customer satisfaction in the UK
Customer service performance of organisations
Amid the overall drop in satisfaction, there is significant variation in customer satisfaction performance
among the 197 named organisations featured in the UKCSI. Only 28 organisations increased their score
by at least one point compared to July 2013. But 96 have seen their score fall by more than one point
over the period.
Evidence from the UKCSI suggests that there are four broad segments of organisations, in terms of
customer satisfaction:
Segment Business impact
Remain well placed to benefit from customer
Organisations with consistently high customer recommendation, loyalty and trust, but are potentially
satisfaction ratings vulnerable to rising customer expectations and rapidly
changing needs
Well positioned for sustainable business success
Organisations that have seen significant recent
provided they retain a focus on customer service and
improvement in their customer satisfaction
satisfaction
Organisations whose customer satisfaction is around
Likely to be vulnerable to rising customer expectations
or below the average for their sector and is relatively
and rapidly changing needs and preferences
stable
Likely to experience challenges in maintaining customer
Organisations whose customer satisfaction ratings trust, loyalty and recommendation, with potentially
have declined damaging consequences for sustainable business
performance
6 Institute of Customer ServiceUKCSI July 2014 | The state of customer satisfaction in the UK
Top 50 named organisations UKCSI score UKCSI score Change in UKCSI UKCSI Rank UKCSI Rank
July 2014 July 2013 July 2013 - July 2014 July 2013
July 2014
John Lewis 87.7 90.8 -3.1 1 1
Amazon 87.6 89.0 -1.4 2 2
First Direct 86.3 87.2 -0.9 3 4
Tesco Mobile 85.8 82.6 +3.2 4 31
Marks & Spencer (Food) 85.6 86.7 -1.1 5 5
Waitrose 85.0 88.5 -3.5 6 3
Specsavers 84.4 n/a 7
Aldi 84.2 86.2 -2.0 8 8
Next 84.0 82.2 +1.8 9 35
Nationwide 83.5 83.7 -0.2 10= 23
The Co-operative Bank 83.5 86.7 -3.2 10= 5
Pret A Manger 83.4 n/a 12
Center Parcs 83.3 78.9 +4.4 13 89
Argos 83.0 83.7 -0.7 14= 23
LV= 83.0 83.3 -0.3 14= 27
Boots 82.9 81.8 +1.1 16 44
Toby Carvery 82.8 83.7 -0.9 17 23
Skoda 82.7 85.6 -2.9 18= 10
Tesco Bank 82.7 76.4 +6.3 18= 123
Mercedes Benz 82.6 84.4 -1.8 20 18
Greggs/Baker's Oven 82.5 84.8 -2.3 21= 14
Honda 82.5 84.7 -2.2 21= 15
Iceland 82.1 85.8 -3.7 23 9
P&O Cruises 82.0 78.6 +3.4 24= 94
Premier Inn 82.0 82.1 -0.1 24= 37
Hyundai 81.8 81.5 +0.3 26= 48
Morrisons 81.8 80.9 +0.9 26= 58
eBay 81.7 82.8 -1.1 28 29
P&O Ferries 81.6 81.9 -0.3 29 41
Kia 81.5 84.6 -3.1 30= 17
Superdrug 81.5 n/a 30=
Marriott 81.4 85.3 -3.9 32= 12
Institute of Customer Service 7UKCSI July 2014 | The state of customer satisfaction in the UK
Top 50 named organisations UKCSI score UKCSI score Change in UKCSI UKCSI Rank UKCSI Rank
(continued) July 2014 July 2013 July 2013 - July 2014 July 2013
July 2014
Subway 81.4 82.4 -1.0 32= 34
RAC 81.3 81.1 +0.2 34= 55
Sainsbury’s 81.3 82.5 -1.2 34= 33
Hilton 81.2 84.2 -3.0 36 21
Autoglass 81.1 81.9 -0.8 37 41
BMW/Mini 81.0 82.0 -1.0 38= 40
Toyota 81.0 82.8 -1.8 38= 29
Asda 80.9 82.2 -1.3 40= 35
Audi 80.9 84.3 -3.4 40= 20
Costa Coffee 80.9 82.1 -1.2 40= 37
Wilkinson 80.9 83.5 -2.6 40= 26
Yorkshire Bank 80.9 n/a 40=
Northern Ireland Electricity 80.8 77.1 +3.7 45 114
Marks & Spencer (Non-food) 80.7 86.7 -6.0 46 5
Pizza Express 80.6 81.8 -1.2 47 44
AA 80.5 81.0 -0.5 48= 57
Caffe Nero 80.5 82.1 -1.6 48= 37
SAGA Insurance 80.5 83.9 -3.4 48= 22
Volkswagen 80.5 81.4 -0.9 48= 51
John Lewis and Amazon continue to be the highest as helpful, friendly and competent - are particular
ranked organisations for customer satisfaction. John strengths. Amazon meanwhile has emerged as a
Lewis has reclaimed the no.1 position in UKCSI in leader in the areas of “Ease of doing business” and
July 2014, having been placed no.2 in January 2014. “Timeliness”.
This is despite its score being 3.1 points lower than
a year ago. Two organisations appear in the top 10 for the first
time. Specsavers makes its first appearance in
John Lewis receives consistently high scores across UKCSI and Tesco Mobile’s ratings have continued
all customer experience metrics in UKCSI. Its to improve, making it the fourth highest ranked
ratings in the area of “Professionalism” - driven by organisation.
customers’ experiences with staff commonly rated
8 Institute of Customer ServiceUKCSI July 2014 | The state of customer satisfaction in the UK
The most improved organisations
A number of organisations have defied the national trend of declining customer satisfaction. Ten
organisations recorded a UKCSI score improvement of more than 3.5 points between July 2013 and
July 2014.
These top 10 improvers represent a range of sectors and business models. A number of them are from
sectors which are not among the highest performing for customer satisfaction. Their performance
demonstrates that despite the influence of economic conditions and rising customer expectations, it
is possible to improve customer satisfaction by focusing on customer experience and service.
Top 10 most improved organisations UKCSI UKCSI +/- Sector
July 2014 July 2013
Dwr Cymru (Welsh Water) 76.9 70.2 +6.7 Utilities
Tesco Bank 82.7 76.4 +6.3 Banks and Building Societies
HM Passport Office 77.4 72.3 +5.1 Public Services (National)
Homeserve 75.2 70.4 +4.8 Services
Center Parcs 83.3 78.9 +4.4 Tourism
East Midlands Trains 75.9 71.7 +4.2 Transport
First ScotRail 74.0 69.9 +4.1 Transport
Butlins 80.1 76.3 +3.8 Tourism
Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) 80.8 77.1 +3.7 Utilities
Santander 77.4 73.8 +3.6 Banks and Building Societies
Institute of Customer Service 9UKCSI July 2014 | The state of customer satisfaction in the UK
Sustained improvement in customer satisfaction
Short term improvements in customer satisfaction are an encouraging indicator of future performance, but
realising the business benefits of better customer service requires a sustained and consistent focus.
The three organisations with the largest rise in customer satisfaction over the past five years (since July
2009) are:
• N
orthern Ireland Electricity, up 13.8 points
• H
omeserve, up 10.6 points
• N
ationwide (Building Society), up 7.1 points
The chart illustrates the UKCSI score improvement achieved by these three organisations. These are
shown alongside John Lewis, Boots and Premier Inn. These are three of the twelve organisations that have
received scores of more than 80 (out of 100) in every set of UKCSI results since July 2009, an achievement
which indicates sustained high levels of customer satisfaction2.
2. I n total 110 named organisations have received UKCSI scores in all 11 surveys from July 2009 to July 2014. Of these 110, 12 have received a UKCSI score of 80 or above
in every survey during this five-year period. There are two organisations that have received a UKCSI score above 80 in 10 of the 11 UKCSI results since July 2009, and
which did not appear in just one set of results; these are First Direct and Saga Insurance. Amazon have appeared in all five sets of UKCSI results since January 2012
and have scored over 80 on each occasion.
10 Institute of Customer ServiceUKCSI July 2014 | The state of customer satisfaction in the UK
The 12 organisations with UKCSI scores above 80 in every set of results since July 2009
Organisation Sector
The AA Services
Asda Retail (Food)
Boots Retail (Non-food)
Hilton Tourism
John Lewis Retail (Non-food)
Marks & Spencer (food) Retail (Food)
Marks & Spencer (non-food) Retail (Non-food)
Marriott Tourism
Premier Inn Tourism
RAC Services
Toby Carvery Leisure
Waitrose Retail (Food)
UKCSI performance over five years for selected organisations
95
90
85
80
UKCSI Score
75
70
John Lewis Nationwide
65
Boots Northern Ireland Electricity Service (NIES)
Premier Inn Homeserve
60
Jul-09 Jan-10 Jul-10 Jan-11 Jul-11 Jan-12 Jul-12 Jan-13 Jul-13 Jan-14 Jul-14
Institute of Customer Service 11UKCSI July 2014 | The state of customer satisfaction in the UK
why is customer
satisfaction falling?
The January 2014 UKCSI report suggested a number of factors which may help explain why customer
satisfaction has fallen since January 2013, having previously risen continuously from 2008. Feedback from
a number of our members has amplified this analysis:
• C
uts in business and public sector investment • C
ustomer needs and preferences are evolving.
prompted by the prolonged economic downturn Convenience, ease of doing business and speed
may have had a negative impact on the customer are becoming increasingly important
experience at many organisations
• T
he issue of trust has remained firmly in the
• A
s growth returns to the economy, there is a spotlight - organisations in a range of sectors
temptation for strategic focus to shift from have come under intense scrutiny over their
retaining customers through a deliberate focus business practices, their responsiveness to
on customer service to aggressive and rapid customer and public concerns and their ability to
growth in customer numbers and market share manage crisis situations.
• C
ustomers’ expectations of service are rising.
They are better informed and often have greater
choice. They have become less tolerant and
more demanding of the organisations they deal
with and are highly selective about where, and if,
they buy. When customers are dissatisfied they
are increasingly likely to express or escalate it
through social media
12 Institute of Customer ServiceUKCSI July 2014 | The state of customer satisfaction in the UK
Customer needs and expectations
We have examined a number of factors which are shaping the context for customer service in the UK.
These include expectations and satisfaction levels by customer segment; how customers interpret the
relative importance of price and service; and customers’ emotional response to the organisations they
deal with.
Customer satisfaction varies by customer segment
Customer satisfaction is significantly higher, on average, among older people. Indeed, levels of customer
satisfaction rise progressively with each age cohort. One possible explanation is that younger people’s
expectations are driven at least in part by the ease of doing business and wealth of information they are
accustomed to in the online world. They may therefore be more demanding and less tolerant with the
service they experience across a wide range of sectors.
There are also notable differences in the UKCSI scores of different socio-economic groups, though they are
less pronounced than those for different age groups. Individuals in the “A” socio-economic group, which
includes senior professionals and managers, are on average less satisfied than those in the C2, D and E
groupings. In some cases the age and socio-economic profiles collide; the lower age profile of the C1 group
(typically administrative and clerical workers) may contribute to the average satisfaction score for this
group being lower than that for the B group (typically managers, administrators and professional people at
intermediate levels).
Institute of Customer Service 13UKCSI July 2014 | The state of customer satisfaction in the UK
UKCSI score by age group UKCSI score by socio-economic group
80.3
77.4 79.5
75.9 76.0 78.5 78.6
74.4 77.9 77.6
72.5 76.1
18 - 24 25 - 34 35 - 44 45 - 54 55 - 64 65+ A B C1 C2 D E
There are a number of implications for organisations in the customer satisfaction differences between
customer segments:
• O
rganisations need to develop a deep • O
rganisations that serve a wide range of
understanding of the needs and preferences, customers, of different ages, and from different
across the whole customer experience, of the socio-economic groups, will find it difficult
customer segments they serve to raise their overall satisfaction unless they
understand and respond to the different
• T
he relatively lower levels of satisfaction in preferences and expectations of all customer
younger age groups suggest that, now and in segments, including the most demanding.
the future, organisations will continue to be
challenged by rising customer expectations
14 Institute of Customer ServiceUKCSI July 2014 | The state of customer satisfaction in the UK
Customers’ attitudes towards the
relative importance of price and customer service
Price is an important facet of customer satisfaction for most customers, but there are distinct differences in
the way customers weight the relative importance of price and service. UKCSI asks customers to rate how
they balance price and service by providing a score from 1 to 10, where 1 = “no frills service and low price”
and 10 = “excellent service and high price”.
19%
17% 17%
% of all customers
13%
7% 6%
6%
5% 5%
4%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
No frills service and low price Excellent service and high price
Price vs service score % of Characteristics of this segment
(1 = “no frills service and low price”, customers
10 = “excellent service and high price”) surveyed3
• T hese customers are driven to secure the cheapest deals
• T hey are likely to shop around and switch between sup-
1 to 3 15% pliers
• T hey may be prepared to compromise service levels to get
the cheapest deal
These customers favour a reasonable balance of price and
4 to 7 60%
service, but require at least a minimum level of service
These customers seek excellent service and are prepared to
8 to 10 24%
pay a higher price to get it
The majority of customers will not accept a low level of service in return for a better deal. Faced with the
choice, they opt for a balance of service and value, seeking at least a minimum threshold level of customer
service. There is a notable minority of customers – just under one quarter – who are seeking excellent
service and will pay a premium price for it, as well as a segment (15% of customers) who are primarily
motivated by low pricing.
3. Due to the rounding of percentages, figures do not add up to 100%.
Institute of Customer Service 15UKCSI July 2014 | The state of customer satisfaction in the UK
There are marked differences in price / service preferences in different sectors. In the Utilities and
Telecommunications sectors, there are significantly larger proportions of customers who prioritise lower
pricing and fewer who say they will pay more for excellent service. By contrast in the Automotive, Leisure,
Retail, Services and Tourism sectors, there are higher than average numbers of customers who place a
high value on service and say they would be prepared to pay more for it.
Price vs service score (1 = no frills service and low price; 10 = excellent service and high price)
Sector 1 to 3 4 to 7 8 to 10
Automotive 10% 62% 27%
Banks and building societies 17% 61% 21%
Insurance 15% 63% 22%
Leisure 13% 59% 27%
Retail (Food) 16% 58% 26%
Retail (Non-food) 14% 59% 27%
Services 11% 60% 28%
Telecommunications and Media 15% 65% 20%
Tourism 10% 59% 31%
Transport 17% 62% 20%
Utilities 24% 58% 18%
16 Institute of Customer ServiceUKCSI July 2014 | The state of customer satisfaction in the UK
What customers think and feel about organisations
Customers were asked to provide three adjectives to describe their experience with the organisation
they had dealt with. The most common adjectives are “easy”, “friendly” and “helpful”. This serves as a
reminder that, even in a context of declining overall satisfaction, most customers are satisfied, most of the
time, with the service they receive.
There are qualitative differences in the service experience between sectors. In Retail (Non-food), there is
a strong emphasis on ease of doing business and speed - “easy”, “quick” and “helpful”. In Retail (Food),
“friendly” is the most frequently cited adjective, but “easy” is becoming prevalent, reflecting the growing
use of convenience formats and online-enabled home delivery.
Customers use a number of positive adjectives, including “friendly” and “helpful”, to describe their
experiences with Local and National Public Services. However, in both sectors the relatively low frequency
of “easy” suggests these sectors may need to focus more on keeping up with customers’ expectations
around ease of doing business.
In the Utilities and Transport sectors, the word “expensive” is cited much more frequently than in other
sectors, reflecting the relative significance of price as a driver of satisfaction in these sectors.
Automotive: Banks & Building Societies:
fairness experienced money
adequate feedback knowledgeable adequate modern
annoying accessible
affordable effective frustrating
empathic
expensive pleasant understanding
freindly pleasant
competent good trustworthy
timely fantastic average staff
good know informative acceptable
fast helpful
quality polite
honest
quick fun reliable exceptional
courtesy value difficult
costly service
helpful secure bank
efficient efficient
poor
effective don’t unhelpful
courteous satisfying clear fine knowledgable
easy
service confident frustrating
honest local
convenient
friendly
happy comfort simple angry
annoying
satisfied competent
know
great
car cost
fair happy
reliable
polite average
caring
cool boring satisfied excellent
easy helpful friendly
confusing fair clean brilliant
simple competant accurate
brilliant speedy ease disappointing
nice safe
exciting cool
slow difficult
fast don’t convenient well rewarding
excellence nice
fine enjoyable
satisfactory
expensive informative
useful
quick
satisfactory
satisfying slow
professional
great efficent
excellent cheap quality
flexible
competant trustworthy useful busy
straightforward caring
confusing
professional
comfortable
disappointing
speedy complicated
competitive
Institute of Customer Service 17UKCSI July 2014 | The state of customer satisfaction in the UK
Insurance: Public Services (National):
caring cheaper acceptable great quality honest
unreliable knowledgeable
affordable competitive brilliant clean speedy service average
competent reliable honest
annoying kind
caring competent
fast helpful
consuming
excellent cheap good competantuseful
don’t
simple
flexible annoying
friendly
trustworthy
easy
free prompt
bad effective bureaucratic
quick
confident happy unhelpful
reasonable quality confusing
easy
value
satisfactory polite satisfying clear convenient
cheapest
good bad
efficient
slow frustrating informative delayed long staff costly
convenient simple complicated
boring
courteous
safe rude
complicated
straightforward
fast happy polite
straightforward
ease
satisfactory
efficient value friendly
average cost long
adequate
fair great ease competant fine local
know informative
don’t speedy incompetent busy poor
cool
nice service loyal excellent
helpful quick
british
expensive
angry price difficult disappointing
clear comprehensive reliable fair nice
insurance experienced
pleasant
prompt expensive fine satisfied supportive frustrating
slow pleasant
time difficult
money car professional customer professional effective
courteous knowledgeable time
disappointing confusing trustworthy
consistent understanding
Leisure: Retail (Food):
competitive entertaining straightforward
frustrating warm cheerful forward exceptional
welcoming satisfied satisfactory
filling
cost
helpful staff amazing fun
satisfying
affordable different
dirty
reliable value offers simple
effective
quality fun
cool exciting
competitive helpful great
tasty slow
bargains
coffee
fast staff
freindly busy clean
efficient good
comfortable
relaxing
boring
expensive efficient reasonable
happy
cheap
don’t
quality local
brilliant speedy
choice
delicious
quick stock cost
polite
money
friendly easy quick
polite fantastic know big
slow
reasonable
simple
cold
pleasant
local
nice
good clean best
professional economical
reliable
easy fast
know
satisfied affordable pleasant fair choice fine
friendly
excellent fresh busy price
service
enjoyable cheap
disappointing
hot
average enjoyable
ease basic
money
expensive fine happy satisfactory
convenient value crowded
effective
fantastic
food convenient great food excellent
don’t
service
nice familiar
satisfying competent successful cheerful fresh
consistent competent range poor
professional average variety
trustworthy prices smooth
frustrating products
Public Services (Local): Retail (Non-food):
approachable availability
trustworthy reassuring bargains reasonable
speedy accessible fantastic nice
expensive poor bad inexpensive comprehensive
warm slow
informative rude difficult fantastic informative range great trustworthy
caring goodaverage
extensive
ease annoying
excellent
bad disappointing
brilliant choice excellent basic
fast
delivery
consuming convenient boring
good enjoyable customer
easy helpful
effective
complicated competitive staff busy cheerful
friendly efficient exciting
confusing staff
happy satisfactory
easy
long
friendly
frustrated kind
angry
useful
clean
comfortable
value amazing
pleasant
ease clean
calm know simple cost
great cool bargain variety
competent
efficient
knowledgeable effective speedy
expensive
reliable
cheap helpful
poor money
simple
quality professional quality fun cool
local
affordable
competent
unhelpful
polite
fair
fast fine wait
big
quickconvenient useful
know
quick local boring busy brilliant
frustrating nice time straightforward
satisfying
prompt reliable satisfied
happy
slow don’t
pleasant don’t
professional price frustrating
satisfactory service annoyed freindly
expert exceptional service disappointing
adequate efficent arrogant
waiting appointment straightforward interesting
18 Institute of Customer ServiceUKCSI July 2014 | The state of customer satisfaction in the UK
Services: Transport:
unreliable enjoyable free
comfortable fantastic punctual
frustrating expert satisfactory know difficult crowded efficent
prompt annoying slow
approachable caring local happy relaxing clear fine polite quickaffordable
great pleasant
efficent fun
expensive busy adequate clean
cheap fast convenient
pleasant safe reasonable
unhelpful courteous
good quality competent
friendly
average caring available
efficient
excellent
reliable
speedy timely late cheerful
easy
difficult bad acceptable
cheap cool
friendly
useful polite punctual excellent long
delivery
hard
enjoyable helpful good satisfactory
ontime
poor
prompt
frustrating bad
adequate
pricey unhelpful value simple ease
efficient
cool time busy competent
nice
easy fast helpful fair
simple
timely
useful service nice
exciting
expensive bus average
quality costly
reliable competant
clean chatty
professional
boring basic dirty cost
poor
convenient quick value informative
competitive
great don’t happy informative
freindly trustworthy annoying disappointing comfortable cramped
staff time fair local frills
satisfied
unreliable professional competitive
reasonable service slow experienced trustworthy effective
thorough satisfied effective courteous
knowledgable understanding straightforward confusing
price delayed disappointing
Telecommunications & Media: Utilities:
knowledgeable competant
distant average straightforward nothing arrogant hard
unreliable acceptable
disappointing professional lengthy disappointing satisfied pleasant
consuming
satisfactory excellent competent speedy simple competent customer
irritating time informative okay
frustrating
confusing fair
friendly efficient
call poor competitive
rubbish simple best courteous
friendly expensive
know necessary
stressful quick bad
fair long fine
greedy
easy
long
fast
informative
easy quick
polite satisfying
price clear
reliable difficult reliable polite convenient
annoying professional
great service
efficient
satisfied fine clear
consuming bad service
good funuseful
amazing
helpful
knowledgable satisfactory fast unhelpful
convenient angry don’t
cool
happy time effective
helpful cheap
effective
slow costly value pleasant great slow none lengthy
adequate
customer don’t average
good
hard know
value nice frustrating
quality
speedy expensive unhelpful happy
frustrated straightforward
prompt
honest quality
poor difficult
trustworthy
confusing complicated costly cheap annoying incompetent efficent
uncaring understanding boring excellent
brilliant
knowledgeable trustworthy
overpriced
Tourism:
poor
modern exceptional
dont bad fantastic clear
customer useful relaxing cost accessible
freindly price
annoying enjoyable
welcoming
cheerful quality
entertaining great convenient effective
amazing
standard
reliable comfortable boring
friendly cheap
warm satisfied
comfy
easy
brilliant
comfort
expensive basic consistent
pleasant fun affordable
professional helpful prices
reasonable use fast
efficient value
fine polite
service
happy excellent
ease
difficult
inexpensive
exciting
competent
clean good
choice
adequate
know
fair
different
satisfying quick family nice
interesting
straightforward informative average budget
dirty simple flexible trustworthy
competitive satisfactory
confusing caring disappointing
Institute of Customer Service 19UKCSI July 2014 | The state of customer satisfaction in the UK
why customer
satisfaction matters:
the business impact
The declining trend in customer satisfaction has important implications for business performance in two
key respects:
For individual organisations For the UK economy
The link between customer satisfaction and There is a risk that falling levels of customer
future business performance means that those satisfaction in the UK may impact negatively on
organisations with high and / or improving the country’s reputation as an attractive place to
satisfaction will be much better placed to take invest and do business. Moreover, the ability of UK
advantage of increasing customer demand than companies – in all sectors - to benefit from growing
those with weaker levels of satisfaction demand in global markets is underpinned by the
customer experience they offer.
Measure Business impact The evidence
Trust • C
entral to an organisation’s ability An increase of 10 percentage points
to retain and acquire customers in an organisation’s UKCSI score, cor-
relates to an average increase of 12
• A
ffects an organisation’s ability to
percentage points in the trust rating
collaborate effectively with from its customers
partners and suppliers
• I nfluences reputation with the
media and analysts, with potential
implications for shareholder value
and ability to raise investment
funds
Loyalty • E nables retention and increased • O
rganisations achieving relatively
spend from existing customers high UKCSI scores (more than 82.5
points out of 100) benefit from
high levels of customer loyalty.
88% of their customers score
9 or 10 out of 10 when asked to
rate their liklihood of remaining a
customer
• A
n organisation with a UKCSI
score below 77.5 can expect less
than one third of its customers to
show these high levels of loyalty
20 Institute of Customer ServiceUKCSI July 2014 | The state of customer satisfaction in the UK
Measure Business impact The evidence
Recommendation A leading indicator of future growth • T he majority of customers (55%)
who gave an organisation an
overall satisfaction rating of 9
or 10 points (out of 10) in UKCSI
stated that they had subsequently
recommended the organisation
• J ust 29% of customers who gave
an organisation a rating of 7-7.9
had given a recommendation
• A verage recommendation rates
drop below 15% for satisfaction
ratings below 6
Sales growth in the Retail food sector Drives the organisation’s growth and During 2013 and 2014 there has
market share in a competitive market been a consistent link between
where customer spend is tight customer satisfaction and sales
growth
• T he sales growth delivered by the
food retailers with a UKCSI score
above the sector average has been
better than that of the below
average competitors by a margin
of at least 3%
• T he combined market share of
companies with a higher than
average UKCSI has grown, while
the combined share of the below
average UKCSI organisations has
decreased
Year on year sales performance in
the 12 weeks to 25 May 2014
• F ood retailers with a July 2014
UKCSI score above the sector
average (80.9 points) achieved
average growth of 8%
• A ll companies with a UKCSI score
above the sector average
increased sales, except Morrisons
which registered a fall in sales of
4%
• Food retailers with UKCSI scores
below the sector average delivered
average growth of 5%. However,
the performance of Lidl, whose
sales growth was 23%, was a
significant influence on this figure.
Without Lidl, the below-average
organisations registered an
average sales decrease of 0.5%
Institute of Customer Service 21UKCSI July 2014 | The state of customer satisfaction in the UK
Customer satisfaction and trust
10
9
Trust rating for the organisation (out of 10)
8
7
6
5
4
50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90
UKCSI rating for the organisation (out of 100)
22 Institute of Customer ServiceUKCSI July 2014 | The state of customer satisfaction in the UK
The 17 organisations scoring 8.2 (out of 10) or more for customer trust all have UKCSI scores that are
considerably higher than the national average.
Most trusted organisations Trust score UKCSI Rank UKCSI Score
John Lewis 8.9 1 87.7
Marks & Spencer (Food) 8.8 5 85.6
Aldi 8.5 8 84.2
Amazon 8.5 2 87.6
First Direct 8.5 3 86.3
Waitrose 8.5 6 85.0
Boots 8.4 16 82.9
Next 8.4 9 84.0
Skoda 8.4 18 82.7
Tesco Mobile 8.4 4 85.8
Greggs/Bakers Oven 8.3 21 82.5
Honda 8.2 21 82.5
Hyundai 8.2 26 81.8
Iceland 8.2 23 82.1
Marks & Spencer (Non-food) 8.2 46 80.7
Pret A Manger 8.2 12 83.4
Wilkinson 8.2 40 80.9
Note: Where organisations have the same published trust rating, they are listed in alphabetical order.
Institute of Customer Service 23UKCSI July 2014 | The state of customer satisfaction in the UK
Customer satisfaction drives loyalty
100%
90% 88%
% of customers that are very loyal
(i.e. those scoring 9 - 10 for
80% likelihood of remaining a customer
70%
60%
47%
50%
38%
40%
32%
30% 26%
18%
20%
10%
10%
0%
Below 70.0 70.0 to 72.4 72.5 to 74.9 75.0 to 77.4 77.5 to 79.9 80.0 to 82.4 82.5 & above
UKCSI score of the organisation
Customer satisfaction drives recommendation
60%
55%
% of customers that have
recommended the organisation
50%
41%
40%
29%
30%
20%
20%
14%
11%
10%
5%
4%
1%
0%
1 - 1.9 2 - 2.9 3 - 3.9 4 - 4.9 5 - 5.9 6 - 6.9 7 - 7.9 8 - 8.9 9 - 10.0
Customer’s satisfaction rating (1-10 scale)
24 Institute of Customer ServiceUKCSI July 2014 | The state of customer satisfaction in the UK
Customer satisfaction and sales growth: the retail food sector
40%
Aldi
35%
Annual sales growth for the 12 weeks to 25th May 2014
30%
25%
Source: Kantar Worldpanel
Lidl
20%
15%
10%
Waitrose
5%
Asda
Iceland
Co-op (Food) Sainsbury’s
0%
Tesco Morrisons
-5%
-10%
72 74 76 78 80 82 84 86
UKCSI score
Retail food year on year sales growth
0% 1% 2% 3% 4% 5% 6% 7% 8% 9%
8%
5%
Organisations with above sector average UKCSI
Organisations with below sector average UKCSI
Institute of Customer Service 25UKCSI July 2014 | The state of customer satisfaction in the UK
Retail food year on year market share change
1.5%
Annual market share change for the 12 weeks to 25th May 2014
Aldi
1.0%
Lidl
0.5%
Source: Kantar Worldpanel
Waitrose
Asda
0.0%
Iceland
Co-op (Food)
Sainsbury’s
-0.5%
Morrisons
-1.0%
-1.5%
Tesco
-2.0%
72 74 76 78 80 82 84 86
UKCSI score
Retail food year on year market share change
-0.3% -0.2% -0.1% 0.0% 0.1% 0.2%
0.10%
-0.25% Organisations with above sector average UKCSI
Organisations with below sector average UKCSI
26 Institute of Customer ServiceUKCSI July 2014 | The state of customer satisfaction in the UK
UKCSI key facts
6 Number of years UKCSI has run, beginning in January 2008
13
Number of sectors UKCSI covers, 11 in the private sector as well
as local and national public sector. Sector reports with a detailed
breakdown of scores by sector and organisation are published for
each sector.
40,842
Number of unique responses included in July 2014 UKCSI
from 9,522 customers. Customers are geographically and
demographically representative of the UK population and
participate in the survey through an online panel. Customers are
asked to provide a score for organisations based on their most
recent interaction.
213
Number of individual organisations and organisation types
which received a UKCSI rating. 197 named organisations which
have exceeded a minimum sample size are scored in the 13
sector reports. In addition, scores are given for 16 generic
providers including “your local Council”, “your local restaurant”
etc.
2
Number of times per year UKCSI is published, normally January
and July. To view the latest UKCSI results, please visit
www.instituteofcustomerservice.com/ukcsi
Institute of Customer Service 27UKCSI July 2014 | The state of customer satisfaction in the UK
organisations included
in UKCSI July 2014
Automotive: Esure Public Services (National): DHL Transport:
Audi Hastings DVLA Enterprise Rent-A-Car Arriva - Bus group
BMW/Mini Legal & General HM Passport Office Green Flag British Airways
Citroen LV= HMRC (Inland Revenue) Hertz East Coast
Fiat M&S Jobcentre Plus Homeserve East Midlands Trains
Ford More Th>n NHS / hospital service RAC easyJet
Honda Nationwide Post office Royal Mail / Parcelforce Eurotunnel
Hyundai Prudential Timpson First Capital Connect
Jaguar SAGA Insurance Retail (Food): Your local builder First Great Western
Kia Sainsbury’s Aldi Your local dry cleaner First Group - bus companies
Land Rover Sheila’s Wheels Asda Your local electrician First ScotRail
Mazda Tesco The Co-operative (food) Your local estate agent First TransPennine Express
Mercedes Benz The Co-operative Insurance Iceland Your local hairdresser Flybe
Nissan Virgin Money Lidl Your local painter & decorator London Midland
Peugeot Zurich Marks & Spencer (food) Your local plumber London Underground
Renault Morrisons Your local solicitor Monarch Airlines
Seat Leisure: Sainsbury’s National Express
Skoda Burger King Tesco Telecommunications & Media: Northern Rail
Toyota Caffe Nero Waitrose 3 P&O Ferries
Vauxhall Cineworld BT Ryanair
Volvo Costa Coffee Retail (Non-food): EE (Everything Everywhere) South West Trains
VW Domino’s Pizza Amazon Giffgaff Southeastern Trains
Greggs/Baker’s Oven Argos O2 Stagecoach
Banks & Building Societies: Harvester B&Q Sky The Trainline.com
Bank of Scotland JD Wetherspoon Boots Talk Talk Virgin Atlantic
Barclays KFC Currys/Dixons/PC World Tesco mobile Virgin Trains
First Direct LOVEfilm Debenhams T-Mobile
Halifax McDonalds eBay Virgin Media Utilities:
HSBC Odeon H&M Vodafone Anglian Water
Lloyds Pizza Express Homebase British Gas
Nationwide Pizza Hut Ikea Tourism: Dwr Cymru (Welsh Water)
NatWest Pret A Manger John Lewis Butlins E.ON
RBS Starbucks Marks & Spencer Center Parcs EDF Energy
Santander Subway Matalan Expedia first utility
Tesco Bank Toby Carvery New Look Haven Holidays Northern Ireland Electricity
The Co-operative Bank Vue Cinema Next Hilton (NIE)
TSB Your local fish & chip shop Poundland Holiday Inn Northumbrian Water
Yorkshire Bank Your local restaurant Primark Lastminute.com npower
Specsavers Marriott Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE)
Insurance: Public Services (Local): Sports Direct P&O Cruises Scottish Power
AA GP surgery / health centre Superdrug Pontins Scottish Water
Admiral Your housing association WH Smith Premier Inn Severn Trent Water
Aviva / Norwich Union Your local Ambulance Service Wilkinson SAGA Holidays South West Water
AXA Your local council Thomas Cook Southern Water
BUPA Your local Fire Service Services: Thomson Thames Water
Churchill Your local Police Service AA Travelodge United Utilities
Direct Line Autoglass Virgin Holidays Wessex Water
Endsleigh City Link Yorkshire Water
28 Institute of Customer ServiceUKCSI July 2014 | The state of customer satisfaction in the UK
about UKCSI
UKCSI (UK Customer Satisfaction Index) is the UKCSI survey focuses on customers’ actual
Institute of Customer Service’s national measure experiences of organisations. Respondents
of customer satisfaction. It provides insights into are asked to rate their experience of individual
the state and direction of customer satisfaction organisations they have dealt with in the previous
at a national level, across 13 key sectors and for three months. To do this they score a series of
individual organisations. metrics on a scale from 1 to 10. These metrics
relate to professionalism, quality and efficiency,
UKCSI was launched by the Institute of Customer ease of doing business, timeliness, problem
Service in 2008. It provides a unique way of solving and complaint handling. The metrics reflect
measuring the current customer satisfaction of UK the priorities that consumers rate as the most
customers, as well as trends over time. important elements of the customer experience,
according to Institute of Customer Service
Methodology research.
To create UKCSI, the Institute of Customer Service
runs a large online survey of consumers twice a The UKCSI score for each organisation is the
year: average of all of its customers’ satisfaction scores.
Overall scores for each sector – and for the UK as a
• T
he July 2014 UKCSI results included in whole – are mean averages of all responses.
this report are based on 40,842 survey
responses. Each response is a completed Each published set of UKCSI results incorporates
online questionnaire relating to the customer the data from the previous two surveys, which
experience with a specific organisation creates a rolling measure of the state of
satisfaction. In the July 2014 results, therefore,
• T hese responses are provided by 9,522 individual the responses included are those from the UKCSI
customers. The respondents are representative of surveys completed in November 2013 and May
the UK adult population, according to region, age 2014.
and gender.
Institute of Customer Service 29UKCSI July 2014 | The state of customer satisfaction in the UK
also available
UKCSI sector reports ServiceMark
Sector reports are available for all 13 sectors ServiceMark is a national standard which
covered in UKCSI at demonstrates an organisation’s commitment to
www.instituteofcustomerservice.com/ukcsi customer service.
ServiceMark provides an independent validation
Use the sector reports to: of an organisation’s achievement in customer
• Benchmark
your organisation against others in service, identifies opportunities for improvement
the sector, using the detailed data on customer and learning and helps motivate and engage your
satisfaction, complaints and each of the employees.
customer priorities
ServiceMark consists of three elements:
• Identify
the organisations rated highest
for customer satisfaction in the sector and Assesses how your customers
Business
understand their service strengths, as viewed by rate your organisation against
Benchmarking
their customers more than 25 priority measures
UKCSI
of satisfaction
• Compare
the sector to others in the UK economy A unique assessment tool
which provides insights into your
ServCheck
• Identify
which channels customers in this sector employees’ engagement with
your customer service strategy
use and how satisfaction varies by sector
Independent assessment
including a report with
Assessment
Business Benchmarking recommendations for action
planning
UKCSI
Members of the Institute of Customer Service are Find out more at:
able to benchmark themselves against the results www.instituteofcustomerservice/servicemark
of the UKCSI survey, using the Institute’s Business
Benchmarking service. This provides detailed
insights into an organisation’s service performance
and comparisons against the highest scoring
organisations in their sector.
Members of the Institute also have the option
to benchmark themselves against business-to-
business sector averages, where this is relevant to
their business model and target market.
30 Institute of Customer ServiceUKCSI July 2014 | The state of customer satisfaction in the UK
other institute
research
The power of service Are you being engaged?
How Utilities can improve customer focus and 2014
business performance.
Shows how Utilities can address the challenges Employee engagement and its influence on
and opportunities of a changing market by placing customer satisfaction and buying behaviour.
a renewed focus on the customer. Includes This research demonstrates the importance of
frameworks and recommendations for improving employee engagement as a driver of positive
customer satisfaction and enhancing trust and customer experiences and improved business
reputation. performance. It updates research the Institute
published in 2012 on this topic.
Customers and citizens
Further Building the Case for Customer Service in
the Public Sector.
This research examines the key challenges in Visit: www.instituteofcustomerservice/research
delivering excellent customer service in the for more information and to access Institute
public sector. It provides organisations, including research.
government, with recommendations for developing
customer focus and delivering better outcomes for
citizens.
Structures for success
How models of business ownership can influence
customer service.
Examines whether some business models are
better at delivering customer service than others.
Highlights ways in which organisations can learn
from other business model types in order to
improve service, be they mutuals, PLCs, private
companies, partnerships or franchises.
Institute of Customer Service 31UKCSI July 2014 | The state of customer satisfaction in the UK
Institute of
Customer Service
The Institute of Customer Service is the UK’s Key activities undertaken by the Institute include:
independent, professional body for customer • R
esearch and reports on the latest customer
service, with over 400 organisational members service trends and thinking
and over 5,000 individual members. Our purpose
is to enable organisations to achieve tangible • P
ublication of the UK Customer Satisfaction
business benefits through excellent customer Index (UKCSI) twice a year
service aligned to their business goals; helping
individuals to maximise their career potential • B
enchmarking and diagnostic tools to identify
and employability by developing their customer areas for improvement by surveying customers
service skills. and employees
We provide a framework for our members to • T
raining and accreditation programmes for
share and learn from each others’ service delivery customer service professionals
experiences and offer wide-ranging support for
• P
rofessional qualifications for individuals at all
continuous customer service improvement. As the
stages of their career
professional body we are independent – setting
standards so that our customers can improve • P
ublic policy development.
their customers’ experiences and their business
performance. For further information please visit
www.instituteofcustomerservice.com
32 Institute of Customer ServiceUKCSI Sector Reports
Get the latest insights on the state of customer satisfaction
based on the experiences of customers in your sector
Use the UKCSI sector reports to:
• Benchmark
the customer satisfaction •S
ee the link between customer service and
performance of leading organisations on business priorities including loyalty and trust
a range of key metrics
• I dentify which channels customers use and
• I dentify the highest rated and most improved how satisfaction varies by channel
organisations for customer satisfaction
• Compare
the customer satisfaction
performance of 13 sectors
UKCSI sector reports are available for:
• Automotive
• Banks
& Building Socities
• Insurance
• Leisure
• Public
Services (Local)
• Public Services (National)
• Retail
(Food)
• Retail
(Non-food)
• Services
• Telecommunications
& Media
• Tourism
• Transport
• Utilities
Carnival House T: 0207 260 2620
5 Gainsford Street E: enquiries@icsmail.co.uk
London instituteofcustomerservice.com
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