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NZ companies rated above Australian counterparts for service
NZ companies rated above Australian counterparts
for customer service
NZ Insurers seen as
best for customer service
Tuesday, November 11, 2014: New Zealand companies rated highest for customer service tend to lead their Australian equivalents, with new research showing that NZ consumers rate local insurance companies particularly well for dealing with customers.
The research of more than 6500 service reviews by 500 customers was undertaken by professional body International Customer Services Professionals (ICSP), and asked New Zealanders about their views on current levels of customer service in NZ. It also asked consumers to rate particular companies and sectors. Data was collected and analysed by leading research agency AMR in conjunction with customer service experts Feedback ASAP.
As a result of the research and additional measures undertaken by Feedback ASAP, the ICSP has provided a range of companies with ‘2014 People’s Choice Awards’, recognising outstanding customer service in a variety of sectors. A full list of award winners is at the end of this release.
Category winners included AA Insurance, Southern Cross Health Society, House of Travel, Farmers, Mitre 10, BNZ Genesis Energy, and 2Degrees. All were rated very highly for their levels of overall customer service.
Within the category winners, AA Insurance and Southern Cross Health Society rated the highest in the NZ market overall.
ICSP Chairman Phil Prosser said the research showed that New Zealanders felt that customer service was growing in importance.
“Our research shows that customer service in NZ is strong where there are personalised solutions, knowledgeable staff who are polite, empathetic and are willing to go the extra mile. Consumers also indicated that customer service is growing in importance,” he explained.
Prosser said research was also undertaken in Australia, where companies and sectors were also rated.
“Leading providers of customer service by industry category in NZ had higher ratings than leading Australian companies”, he said. “This shows that NZ customers feel their local organisations are working hard and achieving good results in dealing with service issues.
“In addition, in Australia insurance companies did not rate as highly for their customer service levels, which shows NZ companies in this sector are ahead of the game.
“That could suggest that overall consumers are becoming far less tolerant of poor customer service, with most Australian respondents saying they have refused to use a company or service based on bad past experiences,” continued Prosser.
AMR and Feedback ASAP are part of STW, Australasia’s leading marketing content and communications services group.
Ends.
Note to editors: The exceptional customer service study for ICSP was undertaken in August, 2014. 500 NZ customers were surveyed nationally online, with 6430 customer reviews across companies and across channels
People’s
Choice Award winners – by category:
| Category | Company winner |
| TELECOMMS | 2 DEGREES |
| GENERAL INSURANCE | AA INSURANCE |
| BANKING | BNZ |
| GENERAL RETAIL | FARMERS |
| ENERGY | GENESIS |
| TRAVEL | HOUSE OF TRAVEL |
| HEALTH INSURANCE | SOUTHERN CROSS HEALTH SOCIETY |
| HOME IMPROVEMENT | MITRE 10 |
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