{$inpagemarkup}

Search News

Results: 1-10 of 657


Bira welcomes Wales' business rates proposals but calls for key improvements

11 Jun 2025

Bira has welcomed the Welsh Government's consultation on business rate reforms for retail shops, whilst calling for significant improvements to ensure the proposals truly support high street... Read more…

New awards launch to champion Britain's independent high street heroes

9 Jun 2025

Retailers on Britain's high streets are being encouraged to put themselves forward for the first-ever Love Your High Street Awards, designed to celebrate the small businesses that bring... Read more…

"Tectonic shift" in employment law threatens independent retailer viability, warns Bira podcast

6 Jun 2025

Independent retailers are facing a "generational" transformation of employment law that could fundamentally change how small businesses operate, according to the final episode of Bira's first... Read more…

Retailers hope warm weather and bank holidays will boost high street sales

16 May 2025

ACT parent company Bira has said that members are hopeful the warm weather, Easter weekend and upcoming bank holidays will provide a much-needed boost to high street sales.
Read more…

Economic growth surges to 0.7%, but "April reality check" looms for high street retailers

15 May 2025

UK economy delivers strongest quarterly performance in a year despite forecasts of business downturn.
Read more…

Communities come together for Local Bike Shop Day 2025 celebrations

13 May 2025

Local Bike Shop Day 2025 brought a wave of... Read more…

ACT parent company Bira welcomes Bank of England's latest interest rate cut

8 May 2025

ACT parent company Bira has welcomed the Bank of England's decision to reduce interest rates from 4.5% to 4.25%, calling it a "much-needed boost" for the retail sector, including for cycling... Read more…

ACT parent company Bira responds to Beales' "Rachel Reeves Closing Down Sale" as iconic store makes final protest

8 May 2025

ACT parent company Bira has responded to the news that the 144-year-old Beales department store is staging a "Rachel Reeves Closing Down Sale" in its final weeks of trading, with giant yellow... Read more…

Employment Rights Bill - ACT and Bira answer your questions

28 Apr 2025

The Labour Government’s new Employment Rights Bill is set to be in force this year and the new regulations will impact high street retailers up and down the country.
Read more…

ACT parent company Bira welcomes Chancellor's action on unfair trade practices

25 Apr 2025

ACT parent company Bira welcomes the Chancellor's announcement of plans to create a level playing field for British businesses against unfair international trade practices.
Read more…

Back to news menu

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%).

Back to news menu

Useful links

If you have any other queries please contact us.