Stop press

Switching suppliers has become a national habit costing New Zealand businesses $320 million a year in lost business, according to research conducted by BMC Software. The BMC Churn Index, a study of 4000 Asia Pacific consumers, including 600 New Zealanders, has revealed that virtually every New Zealand

Not surprisingly, high prices and fee increases (93%) were the main reasons given for switching suppliers. But it's not all just about price, with poor service a close second. Forty-two percent of customers are aggrieved by inadequate responses to service problems, and a similar proportion (40%) are frustrated by general service errors.

Niche banks are setting new standards when it comes to customer satisfaction according to findings from The University of Auckland Business School's 2007 Retail Bank Customer Survey, conducted by associate professor Richard Brookes and co-author Jesse Candy. Kiwibank has now equalled TSB, which has led the overall satisfaction stakes from its first survey appearance in 2000. TSB's stellar performance across a range of key measures gives it a noticeable edge over all the other banks, including Kiwibank.