Almost three quarters (73 per cent) of Britons have experienced bad customer service five times or more in the last year, according to a survey of more than 1,000 respondents by internet service provider Eclipse Internet.

Some 32 per cent have had a bad experience ten times or more, with 16 per cent branding customer service in the UK as ‘simply awful’.

Clodagh Murphy, director at Eclipse, says: ‘It’s clear that UK consumers are becoming more and more demanding. Large shopping centres and the internet have meant customers have more choice than ever before so are willing to shop around. If they have a bad experience, they simply won’t go back.

‘Businesses today need to realise that customers come first and losing any through bad service can be detrimental.’