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Source: Reader’s Digest
 
Today, Reader’s Digest has released the names of those New Zealand businesses whose outstanding customer service has excelled during a year of unprecedented recovery and rebuilding.

In releasing the Quality Service Award results, Reader’s Digest acknowledges that for the majority of businesses, COVID-19 and the subsequent lockdowns impacted heavily on daily operations. Yet the customer service teams of businesses listed as Quality Service Award winners for 2023 rallied, building success by placing their customers’ needs at the centre of all business responses, says Reader’s Digest editor-in-chief Louise Waterson.

She says that while the pandemic may have shifted the standard markers of business achievements, customer service and corporate social responsibility has remained core among those success markers.

“This year has witnessed a greater focus and determination among customer service teams to ensure their customers’ needs, no matter how complex, are resolved quickly and with trouble-free solutions. For the award-winning businesses this means successfully delivering assistance in an innovative and savvy manner, while at the same time remaining approachable simply by upholding levels of kindness and understanding as central to assisting individual customers properly.”

Adds Sheron White, group advertising & retail sales director for Reader’s Digest APAC: “Gone are the days of leaving customer service to remote call centres, where the person answering the call isn’t across the local annoyances and pressures facing the customer. Today, customer service is the front door of all commercial, retail and service providers. Customers want an experience that resolves their concerns, and leaves the feeling of being valued by the business.”

Reader’s Digest commissioned independent market research company Catalyst Consultancy & Research to survey New Zealanders’ opinions of a range of service providers.

A total of 1620 New Zealanders of a mixed demographic were asked to rate their experience of service provided by businesses / organisations.

Running since 2015, the survey identifies the most satisfied customers across 35 different categories, from funeral insurance to loyalty cards and banks to mobile phone providers. The prestigious Quality Service Award recognises companies that truly understand consumers’ needs.

The full list of New Zealand Quality Service Award winners can be seen here https://qualityserviceawards.

co.nz/results/ or below. They are as follows:
Category  Winner  Silver 
Bank of the Year  The Co-operative Bank 
Car Insurance  AA Insurance  AMI 
Car Rentals  Avis  Hertz 
Coffee Shops & Cafés  Robert Harris  Mojo 
Cruise Operators  Princess Cruises  Holland America Line 
DIY Home Improvement Stores  Mitre 10  Bunnings 
Early Childhood Centres  BestStart  Central Kids 
Flooring Stores (excluding Tiling Stores and DIY Home improvement Stores)  Carpet Court  Flooring Xtra New Zealand 
Funeral Insurance  New Zealand Seniors  Momentum Life 
Garden Centres  Kings Plant Barn  Nichol’s 
Gas & Electricity Providers  Electric Kiwi  Powershop 
Health Insurance  AA Health  Southern Cross Health Society 
Hearing Services  Bay Audiology  Triton Hearing 
Home & Contents Insurance  AA Insurance  Vero 
Home Design & Build Services  Landmark Homes  Jennian Homes 
Internet Service Providers  Skinny  2degrees 
Kiwisaver  ANZ  Fisher Funds 
Life Insurance  AIA NZ  AA Life 
Liquor Outlets  Liquorland  Big Barrel 
Loyalty Cards  New World Clubcard  Countdown One Card 
Manufacturer Certified Used Car Sales  Toyota Signature Used Class  Volkswagen New Zealand 
Meal Plan Delivery Services  Fitfood  Woop 
Mobile Phone Service Providers  Skinny  Warehouse Mobile 
Optometrists  Specsavers  Visique 
Paint & Decorating Store (excluding DIY Home Improvement Stores)  Resene  Guthrie Bowron 
Pet Insurance  Petcover (formerly Petplan)  Southern Cross Pet Insurance 
Pizza Franchises  Sal’s  Domino’s 
Real Estate Agencies  Harcourts  Barfoot & Thompson 
Retirement Villages  Ryman Healthcare  Summerset 
Roadside Assistance  AA Roadservice  AMI 
Supermarkets  New World  Countdown 
Tiling Stores (excluding DIY Home Improvement Stores)  The Tile Depot  Tile Warehouse 
Travel Insurance  Southern Cross Travel Insurance  1 Cover Travel Insurance 
Tyre Retailers Bridgestone Tony’s Tyre Service
Used Vehicle Dealerships Turners Cars 2 Cheap Cars.


Background information:
A representative sample of 1620 New Zealanders participated in the survey which addressed the following criteria:

CRITERIA POINT 1 – PERSONALISATION: How well was the company able to provide the consumer with an individualised customer experience?

CRITERIA POINT 2 – UNDERSTANDING: How effectively was the company able to demonstrate a genuine insight into the customer’s needs?

CRITERIA POINT 3 – SIMPLICITY: How quick and easy was the process of dealing with the company?

CRITERIA POINT 4 – SATISFACTION: To what level did the company meet or exceed the customer’s expectations?

CRITERIA POINT 5 – CONSISTENCY: Did the company deliver ongoing quality service?

MIL OSI