Britons most likely to complain

UK shoppers are more likely to complain about poor service or rude staff than consumers in other European countries.
By The Newsroom
Published 27th Aug 2011, 07:00 BST

A survey of 11,000 adults across Europe, including 3,000 in this country, found that 96 per cent of people in the UK would make a fuss if they received poor service in a shop, 29 per cent higher than the European average.

The study, by shopping comparison website Kelkoo, showed that poor customer service, low quality products, rude staff and problems with deliveries were the main reasons for UK shoppers to be disgruntled.

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Most UK shoppers said they believed service would not improve if they did not complain, although some were too embarrassed to make a fuss or did not think it would achieve anything.

Britons were closely followed by the Italians (95 per cent) and Germans (91 per cent) in the moaning stakes, with the French least likely to complain at 42 per cent.

British people also admitted they started to get irritated if they queued in a shop for longer than five minutes.

Chris Simpson, of Kelkoo, said: “Britain being crowned the biggest nation of complainers is definitely a positive thing for retailers as it enables them to understand consumers’ needs and subsequently make improvements.”