Airlines soar in customer satisfaction in the UAE – report

Airlines, including Emirates, boast among the highest customer satisfaction levels of any industry in the UAE, according to new data.

Independent consumer customer satisfaction index Service Hero has released its half-year results. The results analyse customer satisfaction levels across various sectors of the UAE economy.

Airlines were near the absolute top in terms of levels of customer satisfaction. They had a customer satisfaction rate of more than 80 per cent on average, indicative of “good service that the customer desires.”

Among individual companies in the results, Emirates and BMW ranked among the absolute highest in terms of satisfaction from consumers.

Specific praise for Emirates included polite and helpful staff, excellent and prompt service on the ground, in the air and at call centres, and good promotions that give customers value.

In addition to airlines, cafes, restaurants, supermarkets, automobile dealerships, electronics retailers and apparel shops all ranked highly in the Service Hero results.

On the other end of the spectrum, telcos and Islamic banks were at the bottom in terms of levels of customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction levels were reported at lower than 50 per cent, with the companies labelled “unheroic” for “not doing the bare minimum.”

Specific criticisms of telcos included high prices for services, rude/unhelpful staff, and taking too long to resolve customer issues, if they can be resolved at all. Some customers also complained of misleading promotions, such as mobile data speeds or how much data was being offered.

More than 350 brands were assessed for the results. The overall average satisfaction score for all the brands and industries in the results was 77.6 per cent.