The Irish Credit Union has topped the Customer Experience rankings for the eighth year in a row but also managed to improve its customer score score in the process, the latest Irish Customer Experience Report shows.
It is also the only brand to have maintained a constant presence in the Top Ten since the survey began, which the survey authors said is unheard of in any other market in the world.
The survey of almost 140 brands was carried out by Amarách Research on behalf of The CX Company.
Pharmacies continue to lead for customer experience in the retail sector as they make up four of the top ten companies.
McAuley Health and Beauty (2), Hickeys and Life Pharmacy (7) and Boots (10) all make the top ten this year as they continue to build on the strong relationships they had established with customers during Covid.
Meanwhile, Marks & Spencers retail moved up 31 places to claim fourth this year mainly due to an improvement in the way staff relate to customers and deal with issues.
Dunnes Stores also jumped 19 places to secure a top ten position for the first time ever, replacing Aldi as the supermarket leader in the process.
Its success was mainly due to improvements to their app and online offering while their helpful staff continued to garner positive reviews.
Some of the biggest jumpers in the 2022 CX league table include Currys PC World, Woodies, Abrakebabra, Donedeal.ie and DHL.
The common denominator for these companies was helpful reliable staff, an empathetic response to resolving issues, great offers and ease of use when online, the CX Company said.
But in contrast, companies and organisations such as Eir, Facebook and the HSE were among the worst performers in the latest survey.
Despite the extra workload resulting from the departures of Ulster Bank and KBC Bank Ireland - as well as some glitches - Bank of Ireland, Permanent TSB and EBS all managed to improve their customer experience scores and standings in the league tables.
But KBC and Ulster Bank both fell, with customers expressing anger and frustration at the closures while offering severe criticism of the banks' failure to communicate meaningfully with them.
39% of Ulster Bank customers said their experience had gotten worse in the last year while the brand fell 22 places to 136th in the league table - fourth last.
This year demand for travel services shot up post Covid but many companies within the sector were taken by surprise.
Dublin Airport operator daa came in at a lowly 130th in today's survey with customers highly critical of the chaotic scenes, high prices for parking, long queues and even longer wait times they had to endure at the airport in early summer.
While other companies in the sector still have relatively lowly positions, their scores are starting to trend in the right direction. Bus Eireann, Luas, Aer Lingus and even Ryanair have all seen their customer experience scores rise, even if from a low base.
Meanwhile, customers of Bord Gais Energy, Electric Ireland, Energia and Flogas were naturally unhappy with price increases, but they are also angry with the lack of customer support.
The report's author and CEO of The CX Company, Cathy Summers, said the values and ethos of credit unions are not just words framed on the wall or a slogan from an ad campaign, but actions put into practice daily by friendly, people focused staff.
"The CX culture is so ingrained in credit unions it just comes naturally to staff. Rather than resting on their laurels they are continuing to develop their online offering," Ms Summer said.
"Unlike other financial institutions they are not replacing people with digital but using them in a different way to offer other products and services and to deal with member issues quickly and effectively. They understand better than anyone the importance of balancing the digital experience with the human touch," she added.
Ms Summers also said that one of the key trends identified in this year's survey was that investing in customer experience, especially in turbulent times, pays dividends.
"Customers who have seen tangible improvements in their experiences with organisations are willing to pay up to 36% more for a better experience," she said.
"Listening to customer feedback, acting upon issues, and putting a process of continuous CX improvement in place is an effective way of reducing customer churn and this in turn enables companies to manage their pricing strategy, including increases, much more effectively," she added.
