Quality Service Awards NZ winners announced

If deciding where to turn for excellent quality service has you flummoxed, then rest easy as Reader’s Digest has the answers.

The results of the annual Reader’s Digest Quality Service Award (QSA) are out, offering a great guide for Kiwi consumers keen to know which businesses are nailing customer service.

The survey suggests, for example, that if pizza’s on the menu tonight then Dominos is a great bet, while Liqourland’s the liquor outlet to visit for an accompanying cold one. With school exams underway, the results suggest you turn to educational tutors Kip McGrath for an excellent endorsement…or if you’d rather escape the stress then have a chat to cruise company P&O Cruises. If furniture shopping and gardening are on the weekend’s agenda then Harvey Norman and Palmers (or even Smith City and Oderings Garden Centre) are the respective places to go, while Harcourts is the go-to for house shopping. SpecSavers will sort your eyes, Bay Audiology your ears, and Spark your internet woes.
The QSA survey offers 40 gold (plus 40 silver) recommendations with categories as varied as insurances, retirement villages, loyalty cards, campervan rentals, department stores and internet providers.

It’s the sixth consecutive year for these awards which, Reader’s Digest editor in chief Louise Waterson says, recognise how exemplary customer service can be delivered and how people should be treated. This is something Reader’s Digest is happy to celebrate on an annual basis, she says.

The awards move with the times, with new categories added each year. Meal Plan Delivery is a new category, for example, with My Food Bag and Bargain Box (two brands under the one “My Food Bag” umbrella) taking out the gold and silver awards. Also introduced this year are Manufactured Certified Used Car Sales category (won by Toyota Signature Class); Used Vehicle Dealerships category (won by Turners Cars); and Home Design & Build Service category (won by G.J.Gardner).

While there are businesses and organisations who have enjoyed QSA medal success in previous years, there are new-comers to the podium too. First-time winners celebrating this year are The Tile Depot (winner in the Tiling Stores category) and Smith City (winner in the Furniture Stores category).

The 2020 results celebrate many examples of businesses delivering consistently excellent customer success. Those who received gold or silver accolades last year and are back for more again are: AA Insurance, Mitre 10, Carpet Court, Bay Audiology, AMI, BestStart, Resene, Specsavers, Harcourts, Ryman Healthcare, Countdown, Southern Cross Travel Insurance, and Bridgestone. In fact, Bridgestone is an example of a company that doesn’t appear to drop the excellent customer service ball, having been either a silver or gold medal winner every year since the awards began.

Catalyst Market Research was commissioned to conduct the survey, which involved 1,500 New Zealanders of a mixed demographic, who were asked to rate their opinions of a range of service-providers. Those surveyed were first asked which companies they previously had experience with, so that a brand list - reflective of today’s market - could be established. Data was then captured to establish which companies provide the highest levels of customer service.

The results are as follows:

Category Gold Winner Silver Winner.

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