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Canada ranks second in world for customer satisfaction

Canada ranks second in world for customer satisfaction

Did your transit driver wait as you sprinted to your stop this morning? Did your barista pass along a free drink coupon for making you wait in line too long? If nobody took the extra effort to help you out recently, you may be the exception in Canada.

According to a new survey, Canada ranks second best out of 125 countries around the world when it comes to customer satisfaction, surpassed only by the friendly Kiwis from New Zealand.

A new report from customer service software tracking firm Zendesk, says customer satisfaction is on the rise around the world, after more than a year in decline.

For the second quarter of 2013, the average worldwide customer satisfaction rating reached 81 per cent – a jump of 3 percentage points from the prior quarter — its highest level since the first quarter of 2012.

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Canada’s second-place ranking was for reaching 91 per cent in customer satisfaction, up 4 percentage points from the previous quarter. That’s just behind New Zealand at 92 per cent

“Canada is not only delivering quality customer service but also continuing to improve compared to other nations,” said Sam Boonin, Zendesk research lead and vice president of products.

“Companies in Canada are clearly adopting to the demands of modern consumers, who expect quick and personalized customer service from anywhere and at any time.”

Our neighbours to the south didn't fare as well. The survey says the United States didn't even crack the top 10 with its 82 per cent customer satisfaction rating. That's behind 9th place Russia and Mexico in 10th spot.

The last happy customers in the survey were Turkey with a 68 per cent satisfaction score, South Africa at 60 per cent and the United Arab Emirates at 58 per cent.

The worst industries were entertainment and gaming (76 per cent), media and telecommunications (73 per cent) and social media (64 per cent).

Education ranked as the most customer friendly industry, followed by IT and real estate.

Boonin said the most surprising results from the study were the large improvements in traditionally low-scoring industries, such as financial and insurance services, which regularly rank in the bottom three.

“[These industries] rose almost 6 percentages points this quarter, showing that they are placing greater importance in customer service,” Boonin said.

The Zendesk Benchmark is based on real interactions between customers and more than 16,000 companies across the globe, which Boonin says provides an accurate snapshot of customer service.

Apart from being a good promotional tool for Benchmark, the results can also inspire businesses to do better.

“For consumers, the report gives them insight into the quality of customer service they should expect and lets them compare how well different countries and industries are listening to them,” said Boonin. “The information helps them make better decisions about how they seek support and with whom they do business.”

Next time you receive poor customers service, remember, someone actually is paying attention.

Here are the top 10 countries for customer satisfaction:

1. New Zealand
2. Canada
3. Australia
4. Norway
5. Denmark
6. United Kingdom
7. Czech Republic
8. Finland
9. Russia
10. Mexico