nPower supplants Ryanair as UK’s worst customer service brand
Ryanair has shed its unwanted tag as Britain’s worst customer service brand, after being overtaken by energy provider’s nPower and Scottish Power in a race to the bottom of the annual top 100 brands chart.
Compiled by Which? the table shows that complaints directed at the so-called Big Six energy firms have seen them slump to the foot of the table, raising Ryanair’s tarnished reputation in the process.
This year’s survey showed maligned provider nPower bring up the rear, closely followed by Scottish Power, moves which helped displace Ryanair up a few notches to languish as third worst brand.
The bottom five were rounded out by TalkTalk along with SSE, BT and EE – all of which came in joint fifth.
nPower’s travails stem from a regulatory investigation into the botched transfer of customer data to a new computer system, which left hundreds of thousands if customers in the dark as to what their bills were.
Ryanair by contrast has been busily engaged in a charm offensive in a desperate bid to win back customers after almost revelling in its ‘don’t give a damn’ attitude for years.
Which? executive director Richard Lloyd said: "The 'Big Six' have now hit rock bottom for customer service and, with record high levels of complaints, it is clear just how far they still have to go to put things right for their customers.
"Good companies know the value of customer service, so it's disappointing that some of our biggest firms seem to have a lot to learn about keeping their customers happy."
At the other end of the scale internet bank First Direct sat pretty at the top of the tree after being awarded five stars for resolving complaints and making customers feel valued.