The third annual Comparisat study of UK customer service levels has placed high street chains Dixons (now branded Currys.digital) and Currys at the bottom of the list.

The survey found that poor service relegated the electrical retailers to the bottom of the chart but also found that they had the most unhappy customers in all of the survey.

The Comparisat study was conducted by UK market research agency, FDS. It interviewed 1,500 households about 36 top companies ranging from utilities and retailers to leading online stores and supermarkets.

The survey covers customer service levels, satisfaction with staff, quality, range, innovation, trust, loyalty, value for money and the complaint handling process.

Overall, and for the second year running, UK shoppers were unhappy with the level of customer service. However, the big change this time was that we are no longer going to put it up with it.

One in five surveyed admitted to having made an official complaint against a major organisation – up 10 per cent on 2005. Even more worrying for the offending organisations, almost one-third of people who complained reduced, or stopped using, that store or service.

Most criticism was reserved for energy utilities, which came bottom of the customer satisfaction chart by offering ‘poor value for money’.

On the bright side, online stores such as Amazon and Ebay surged ahead to second and third place in the overall survey rankings, indicating we are now a lot more comfortable with online shopping.