Customer satisfaction index for water falls as rating for all sectors hits five-year low

Service satisfaction among water customers has fallen in the past year during which the average customer satisfaction with services across all sectors fell to its lowest since 2015 according to the Institute of Customer Service.

In its latest annual survey of customer satisfaction the institute found that its index for the water sector in January 2020 was down 0.7 points from January 2019 at 73.8 (out of 100). The energy sector fell 2.2 points over the same period to 71.2.

The poll for January 2020 placed Dwr Cymru (Welsh Water) at joint 45th – the first time a water company has appeared in the top 50. Severn Trent was third in the list of most improved companies over the past decade with United Utilities in fifth place.

The 2020 figure was the fifth consecutive annual decrease in the index for all 259 organisations listed – the longest ever sequence of declining falls the institute said.

Retailer John Lewis was the highest rated organisation in the January 2020 survey followed by bank First Direct and retailer, Next.