Quality Services Awards NZ Winners Announced

Quality Services Awards NZ Winners Announced

The results of the annual Reader’s Digest Quality Services Awards are out, revealing which New Zealand businesses most satisfy their clients.

The businesses offering the most pleasing service include AA Insurance, New World, Bridgestone/Firestone, Specsavers, Ryman Healthcare, Harcourts, TrustPower, Briscoes, Avis, and Subway to name but 10 of them.

A total of 41 categories were surveyed with 1,500 New Zealanders asked to rate their experience of service provided by businesses / organisations in sectors as varied as educational tutors, cruise companies, furniture stores, hearing services, liquor stores and tyre retailers.

Reader’s Digest commissions these awards annually, this year calling upon Catalyst Market Research to survey New Zealanders’ opinions of a range of service providers.

Rating was out of a score of 10, for personalisation (was an individual customer experience provided?), satisfaction (were the customer’s expectations met or even exceeded?), simplicity (was dealing with the company quick and easy) and understanding (was a genuine insight into the customer’s needs demonstrated?)

The respondents were also asked open-ended questions to reveal positive and/or negative experiences. Feedback revealed customers are extremely likely to recommend a company if it offers easy and efficient service, excellent value, and knowledgeable and professional staff.

Reader’s Digest introduced the Quality Services Awards in 2015, offering NZ consumers the opportunity to share their views about companies that consistently deliver the best customer service.

The awards also provide the public with a list of companies they can turn to, knowing they can expect an excellent level of services.

New Zealand Reader’s Digest editor Louise Waterson says being a QSA winner sets companies apart.

“Companies that understand their success depends on maintaining customer expectations will always enjoy the edge over their competitors.

“Category winners can be especially pleased with the results, as the survey has also revealed that New Zealanders are quick to reward exemplary service with repeat custom and information sharing,” she says.

For some it’s a case of another taste of success one year on. This year’s winners that also scored top place last year are: AA Insurance, Mitre 10, Southern Cross Health Society, Liquorland, AA Smartfuel, Specsavers, Resene, Ryman Healthcare, AA Roadservice, New World, Bridgestone/Firestone.

New categories this year are educational tutors (won by Kip McGrath), furniture stores (won by Harvey Norman), garden centres (won by Palmers), hearing services (won by Bay Audiology), house and furniture movers (won by Conroy Removals), and movie cinemas (won by Hoyts Cinemas).

Need to know which companies to use in 2018? The categories, the full list of winners, and second place getters for the 2018 QSA awards are as follows:

Category Winner Second
Bed and bedding stores Bed Bath & Beyond Briscoes
Car Insurance AA Insurance ASB
Car Rentals Avis Budget
Coffee Shops & Cafes McCafe Starbucks
Couriers CourierPost NZ Couriers
Cruise Company P&O Cruises Royal Caribbean
Department Stores Briscoes Farmers
DIY Home Improvement Stores Mitre 10 Bunnings
Educational Tutors Kip McGrath NumberWorks’nWords
Electrical Appliance Stores Noel Leeming Harvey Norman
Fast Food Franchise (excl Pizza) Subway BurgerFuel
Flooring Stores Carpet Court Tile Warehouse
Furniture Stores Harvey Norman Big Save Furniture
Garden Centres Palmers Kings Plant Barn
Gas & Electricity Provider Trustpower Mercury Energy
Health Insurance Southern Cross Health Society NIB
Hearing Services Bay Audiology Triton Hearing
Home & Contents Insurance AA Insurance AMI
Home Loan Suppliers ANZ Westpac
House & Furniture Movers Conroy Removals Crown
Landline @ Internet Service Provider Spark NZ 2degrees
Life Insurance Sovereign AMP
Liquor Outlets Liquorland Super Liquor
Loyalty Cards AA Smartfuel Countdown One Card
Mobile Phone Service Provider 2degrees Vodafone
Movie Cinemas Hoyts Cinemas Event Cinemas
Optometrists Specsavers OPSM
Paint & Decorating Stores (Excl DIY/home improvement) Resene Guthrie Bowron
Personal Banking ASB Kiwibank
Pet Insurance Southern Cross Pet Insurance Pet-n-Sur
Pizza Franchise Domino's Hell Pizza
Real Estate Sales Harcourts Barfoot & Thompson
Retirement Villages Ryman Healthcare Bupa
Roadside Assistance AA Roadservice State
Shoe Stores Number One Shoes Hannahs
Stationery, Books & Gifts Warehouse Stationery Paper Plus
Supermarkets New World Countdown
Travel Agents Flight Centre House of Travel
Travel Insurance Southern Cross Travel Insurance AA Travel Insurance
Tyre Retailers Bridgestone / Firestone Beaurepaires
Womens Clothing Stores Postie + Ballantynes

ENDS

Background: Methodology behind the 2018 QSA Awards

Those surveyed were asked when they had last used each of the brands listed.

All the organisations used were then rated – on a score of one to 10 – for personalisation, satisfaction, simplicity and understanding.

Those being surveyed were then asked open-ended questions that were drivers of positive/negative experiences.

All survey participants were aged eighteen or over, with a mix of gender, region and age. (The data was then weighted back to census population statistics to ensure representativeness.)

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