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21 Aug 2023

A report in Cycling Industry News says that 60% of Fix Your Bike vouchers that were issued during the peak Covid lockdown period were redeemed at smaller bike shops and...

10 Aug 2023

One in five UK consumers (20%) prefer using mobile payment services such as Apple Pay over cash (17%) or chip & PIN card payments (10%) for in-store purchases, a new survey has reported.

9 Aug 2023

Fully funded training for school and college leavers is available for the Cycle Maintenance Apprenticeship for those under 19 years of age at the start of the apprenticeship.

9 Aug 2023

ACT Gold Member Luchos, which has pioneered a new energy block for cyclists and endurance athletes that acts as a natural alternative to energy drinks and gels ladened...

9 Aug 2023

VOLT e-bikes has announced the launch of a unique Cancel Anytime Subscription model in
conjunction with e-bike rental provider Blike.

8 Aug 2023

The CE mark, which is used in the EU to certify that a product meets certain safety standards is to be retained indefinitely, after the government announced an extension of CE mark recognition...

8 Aug 2023

ACT member and Cytech-accredited Bridgtown Cycles in Cannock has been named Premium Bike Shop of the Year in the Midlands Enterprise Awards. Now in its sixth year, the awards showcase the...

26 Jul 2023

“Red tape and barriers to trade” currently affecting businesses because of Brexit have been blamed by cycle distributor FLi Distribution after it ceased trading with immediate...

25 Jul 2023

Norwich has triumphed ahead of Newcastle and Belfast to be named the most cycle-friendly city in the UK, scoring  high marks for categories like cycle routes, bike sharing schemes and...

25 Jul 2023

ACT member BikeTown in Rutherglen is to hold a cycling festival in the lead-up to the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships.

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Study names UK’s best and worst cities for retail customer service

Posted on in Business News , Cycles News

A new study, by careers experts, StandOut CV, claims to have identified the best and worst cities in the UK for customer service by highlighting the frequency of positive and negative comments left by customers in each city. The study analysed 784,444 customer reviews from Google Maps.

The analysis reviewed a variety of industries which included B&Bs, barbers, bars, cafés, gyms, hairdressers, restaurants, shops and supermarkets to reveal how many times positive and negative phrases were used.

Looking at retail businesses, the data revealed the best-reviewed city for retail customer service to be Wells in Somerset, with 9.3% of reviews posting positive comments about their customer service. York was rated the second best, with 8.4% of the city’s reviews containing positive customer feedback.

 Top 10 cities for positive customer feedback in retail:
1.    Wells (9.3%)
2.    York (8.4%)
3.    Truro (8.2%)
4.    Ripon (8.2%)
5.    Ely (7.3%)
6.    Chichester (7.2%)
7.    Winchester (6.9%)
8.    Salisbury (6.7%)
9.    Manchester (6.5%)
10.    Chester (6.5%)

Cities that performed less well in their retail customer service were led by Leicester, with 3.25% of its retail business reviews containing various negative customer comments.

Top 10 cities for negative customer feedback in retail:
1.    Leicester (3.25%)
2.    Westminster (2.91%)
3.    Southampton (2.90%)
4.    Bradford (2.86%)
5.    Birmingham (2.85%)
6.    Manchester (2.53%)
7.    Oxford (2.53%)
8.    Bristol (2.34%)
9.    Nottingham (2.30%)
10.    Cambridge (2.27%)

Cities providing the best customer service in the UK

When looking at the overall data, which considers retail businesses as well as many others, the study found Wells in Somerset had the highest percentage of positive customer comments, relative to the city’s overall total, with 26.9% of reviews mentioning any of the positive customer service phrases analysed in the study. Ripon in North Yorkshire came next (20.7%), followed by Chichester (19.9%).

Customer Services best cities

The city of Westminster had the highest overall proportion of customer service reviews where 2.42% of business reviews contained negative comments from customers, followed by London (2.41%), and Birmingham (2.3%).

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