Customers are getting fed up with organisations that use 'the Covid-19 situation' as an excuse for lower standards of service.

A survey by the UK Institute of Customer Service found 24% of customers feel that organisations have sometimes used the Covid-19 situation as an excuse and 23% have witnessed substandard adherence to Covid-19 rules in their experiences with organisations.

The survey reported a range of less welcome changes in service during the Covid-19 crisis, with 35% of customers experiencing stock shortages. At least 25% say they have suffered delays with deliveries, had to queue for longer, or found it difficult to contact an organisation.

Over 30% of customers have made more online purchases in the last six months. More than 20% have reduced and thought more carefully about what they spend.

But the UK Customer Satisfaction Index (UKCSI) is 77.4 (out of 100), 0.4 points higher than in July 2020 and 0.6 points above the January 2021 UKCSI.

Over 50% of customers who said their experience of dealing with an organisation had changed because of the Covid-19 pandemic said that the change was positive.

Among companies considered first direct, John Lewis and amazon.co.uk are the highest rated organisations.