The housing association sector has been judged the second worst of any discipline when it comes to customer service.
A communications company, Esendex, analysed online Trustpilot review data to give each industry a weighted index score out of 100, factoring in overall review scores and average sentiment ratings for customer service terms.
With a score of 55.7 out of 100 and an average Trustpilot score of 3.4, housing associations emerged as the second lowest performing sector out of the 15 industries analysed . Esendex claims this means it has an urgent need for investment into maintaining positive customer relationships and leveraging exceptional service to build loyalty and long-term success.
Sentiment analysis found the sector received very low scores for ‘service’ (3.1/5); ‘satisfaction’ (3.3/5); and ‘experience’ (3.2/5).
Some 63% of all housing complaints in Q1 of 2024 were linked to ‘property conditions’ and the survey authors say that with low sentiment scores for service and experience, the housing association sector also falls behind the overall average across all industries, which stands at a Trustpilot score of 4.1 and an index score of 76.8.
In contrast, the real estate sector performed significantly higher, with an index score of 78.4.
“Addressing these challenges in the housing associations sector will be critical to prevent wider repercussions in the property market. Issues such as poor maintenance and declining tenant satisfaction and trust can deter investors and developers, while weakening consumer confidence” say the survey authors.
Retail ranked the lowest for customer service, scoring just 51.4 out of 100.
Customer Happiness Index
| Industry | Average Trustpilot Score | Index Score (out of 100) |
| Construction and Manufacturing | 4.6 | 89.9 |
| HR and Recruiting | 4.6 | 89.7 |
| Health and Medical | 4.4 | 88.0 |
| Education | 4.5 | 87.8 |
| Credit and Debt Services | 4.4 | 86.8 |
| Sales and Marketing | 4.3 | 83.0 |
| Utilities | 4.3 | 82.7 |
| Shipping and Logistics | 4.2 | 79.7 |
| Real Estate | 4.0 | 78.4 |
| IT and Communications | 4.2 | 77.3 |
| Electronics and Technology | 4.0 | 75.6 |
| Entertainment | 3.5 | 63.7 |
| Banking and Money | 3.6 | 61.9 |
| Housing Associations | 3.4 | 55.7 |
| Retail | 3.3 | 51.4 |
The authors continue: “To be competitive, businesses must proactively build trust, a positive brand reputation, and improve customer service. By investing in the right customer service solutions … companies can streamline communication, reduce response times, and ensure support is available when and where customers need it. Sectors with low customer satisfaction scores, like housing associations, need to continue investing in the right tools to maintain these standards.
“Beyond strengthening customer relations, these tools also reduce pressure on customer support teams, cut response wait times, and provide 24/7 assistance, so that customers get the support they need, when they need it and in a way that’s tailored to them.”
