Welsh Water grabs top water company spot in national customer service measure

The not-for-profit company – which serves three million people across most of Wales, Herefordshire, and part of Deeside, and Cheshire – was rated higher for customer service than all other water companies and among the best in the utilities sector overall.

It is also ranked in the Top 50 companies in the UK – the only water company to achieve this.

The company was ranked 80.1 in the survey, meaning it was two points clear of the next water company and was ranked 47th overall in the Top 50 companies.

The Institute of Customer Service’s Insight (UKCSI) study looks at the quality of customer service as a whole in the UK, across 13 sectors of the economy. It is based on customer surveys carried out every six months.

Welsh Water’s overall score puts it in top position of the water sector. The company’s score is 3.1 points ahead of the overall UKCSI which stands at 77, and the rest of the sector which stands at 72.6.

The news follows on from confirmation that Welsh Water had topped the industry regulator, Ofwat's, ratings for customer satisfaction across Wales and England. The Customer Measure of Experience (C-MeX) final ratings for its year of “shadow operation” – before being introduced permanently this year – in 2019-2020 showed Welsh Water was rated at 82.47, against the industry average (of 17 companies in total) for Wales and England of 76.65.

Chief Executive, Peter Perry, said: “As a not-for-profit company, now more than ever, our sole focus is to deliver services to our customers at the level they expect - and beyond. It is therefore very encouraging that customers in Wales feel more positive about the service they are getting from us, and that we are continuing to deliver this despite the very challenging times we live in.

“But we know we need to listen to our customers more than ever to build on these positive findings – and this research will provide a vital basis for us to work from.”