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Forrester's Canada Customer Experience Index Shows Which Brands Treat Their Customers Best

Airlines ranked as Canadians' least favourite industry.

Strong customer experience is key to building a loyal client base — and some do it better than others.

Market research company Forrester collected data from Canadians showing which companies do it best.

It published its 2016 Canada Customer Experience Index on Thursday, giving a glimpse to what brands provide the best service in sectors such as air travel, accommodation and more.

Highest-Scoring Airline

Canada Customer Experience Index, 2016

Quebec telecommunications firm Vidéotron scored the highest of any brand in the survey, followed by lifestyle site Well.ca. The Fairmont hotel chain and Chapters/Indigo tied for third place.

Forrester said the key to customer service-fueled loyalty is emotion — or, specifically, "making customers feel appreciated, confident and respected."

The survey found 80 per cent of respondents would advocate for a brand "if they feel appreciated." Meanwhile, 70 per cent of respondents said they would be loyal to brand that appreciated them. This contrasts with 13 per cent who would stay if a company didn't value them as customers.

Sixty-eight per cent of respondents who felt appreciated would also increase their spending with a particular company, Forrester found.

Porter flying high

Airlines ranked as respondents' least favourite industry; it was the only one to register a "poor" score.

Porter Airlines emerged as the highest-scoring airline in the survey, while United Airlines scored lowest.

Digital content-providing services were another low scoring industry, ranking in the "OK" range. Netflix earned a spot as respondents’ favourite service in this sector, while CraveTV was the least.

Forrester conducted its research by surveying 74,379 Canadians aged 18 to 88 between March and June.

They looked at 193 brands in total and asked respondents about their interactions with select companies over the past year.

Only 53 companies saw their customer service scores change since last year's index.

Of those, 23 brands improved and 30 worsened. A dozen companies in the survey gained at least five points, while another 12 lost that many points.

Most trusted brands

Forrester's survey comes a week after the University of Victoria (UVic) unveiled its Gustavson Brand Trust Index.

Mountain Equipment Co-op and President's Choice tied for most-trusted brand; Volkswagen ranked lowest.

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