Ryanair voted the worst for customer service

RYANAIR has been rated the worst firm for customer service out of 100 British brands after passengers were left dismayed by its handling of complaints.

The damning verdict comes in a Which? survey, revealing that airlines, telecoms and energy providers performed most poorly.

Which? asked nearly 4,000 of its members to rate how companies make them feel, how helpful and knowledgeable their staff were, and how well they handled complaints.

Ryanair came last – managing a paltry customer service score of only 45 per cent, with one star in all three categories. When asked about how well the airline handles complaints, half gave it the lowest rating possible. Given a choice of 50 words to describe Ryanair, most passengers opted for ‘greedy’, ‘sneaky’ and ‘arrogant’. One said: ‘Ryanair seem to make things deliberately difficult in order to make more money out of their customers.’ Other airlines in the survey fared only slightly better. British Airways scored 66 per cent in 83rd place, while easyJet was the highest ranking airline with 68 per cent in 79th place.

Just above Ryanair in 99th place was Scottish Power with a score of 46 per cent. And telecoms giant BT was third from bottom with 52 per cent.

Online bank First Direct, which is part of HSBC, took top spot with 89 per cent.

Harry Rose, of Which? magazine, said: ‘People spend a lot of money with their utility providers and on flights, so it’s disappointing to see some woeful performance across the board in those sectors.’

‘The best way to send a clear message to businesses about the importance of customer service is to spend your hard-earned cash with brands that make it a top priority.’