first direct is the UK’s Top Call Centre for customer service

first direct has come first in the latest research from the Top 50 Call Centres for Customer Service. The direct bank scored 92% in the UK's biggest ever call centre benchmarking exercise, conducted by independent market research company GfK NOP. The overall Top 50 average was 83%.

The research consisted of 20,000 mystery shopper calls to 50 of the UK's leading call centres, across five sectors - retail, financial services & insurance, telecoms & utilities, public sector and entertainment, leisure & travel.

Each call centre was rated using over 50 criteria across five key areas of service - timeliness, ease of use, reliability, staff knowledge and personalised service.

Jason Sharpe, Head of Sales and Service at first direct, commented, "We are so excited to have won this award. It's impossible to explain just how much we put into making first direct a great place to work so that our customers can experience outstanding customer service and to receive this award means that we've got it right. But we never stand still and we're always transforming and developing to make sure that the service just keeps on getting better."

Claudia Hathway, Editor of Call Centre Focus, commented: "This benchmarking survey represents a landmark for the call centre industry, with 50 of the UK's top call centres prepared to put their reputations on the line in order to raise service standards for their customers. We would like to congratulate First Direct for their excellent performance, and indeed all of the Top 50, for such high achievements. We hope this initiative will inspire other call centres to improve their levels of customer service to reach the standards set by our Top 50 members."