California might not have the world’s friendliest servers, but it did come top among towns in the US.
At least that was the verdict rendered by the experts at business insurance firm Money Super Market, who compiled a survey to determine which places have the “friendliest customer service.”
To gauge this somewhat subjective stat, the company perused Google Maps for restaurants, bars, things to do, and tourist attractions encompassing 107 cities across the globe.
For each city, they chose 30–50 locations from the top results in an effort to maximize variety with regard to establishment type, size, and average review score.
They then amassed 1,000 online reviews per metropolis from the locations in question and analyzed the text in each review so they could select the ones that suggested staff friendliness.
All told, Money Super Market ended up poring over a staggering 100,000 reviews.
They then calculated the percentage of “friendly” reviews in each city to deduce their final customer service ranking.
When it came to customer service hubs in the US, San Diego reigned supreme with 51.5% of their reviews mentioning friendly staff and service.
Money Super Market attributed their high placement to the sunny hub’s cultural diversity, year-round good weather and “a laid-back attitude creating a city with a relaxed, friendly atmosphere.”
It was also one of the two US cities to crack the list of the top 20 cities with the friendliest customer service on Earth.
The other was Phoenix, which placed second on the domestic countdown, boasting a friendly review percentage of 50.9%.
Money Super Market claimed that this congeniality score could be attributed to the fact that the denizens of Arizona’s most populous hub value building “trust and personal relationships before doing business.”
The value of relationships in business was also a priority in third-place winner, Dallas (49.6%), although Money Super Market noted that the Texan mecca’s score was rooted in “Southern hospitality.”
“The emphasis on community values and personal relationships plays a crucial role in the hospitality industry to consistently deliver warm and friendly service,” they wrote.
Biting at their heels was the Big Apple (48.3%), while Atlanta rounded out the top five (47.1%).
While they didn’t give a reason for our abundance of corner-store courtesy, Gotham frequently places last on countdowns of the friendliest states in the Union, seemingly living up to the New York “rude” stereotype — although New Yorkers claim we’re simply honest.
Despite our impressive showing domestically, the NYC friendliness wasn’t enough to move the needle internationally.
The 10 US cities with the friendliest customer service
- San Diego — 51.5%
- Phoenix — 50.9%
- Dallas — 49.6%
- New York — 48.3%
- Atlanta — 47.1%
- Washington — 46.9%
- Philadelphia — 46.6%
- Houston — 45.3%
- Austin — 44.8%
- Boston — 44.8%
We were conspicuously absent from the global nice list. Instead, the UK dominated, with a record four cities making the top ten.
They were led by Edinburgh, where 59% of reviews mention friendly staff. The Scottish metropolis was followed by Hanoi, Vietnam (58.6%), then Liverpool, UK (58.3%), with Paris, France (57.5%) surprisingly placing fourth, seemingly upending the reputation of Parisians as aggressively impolite.
Dublin, Ireland, placed fifth with a score of 57.3%.
The 10 cities with the friendliest customer service in the world
- Edinburgh, United Kingdom — 59.0%
- Hanoi, Vietnam — 58.6%
- Liverpool, United Kingdom — 58.3%
- Paris, France — 57.5%
- Dublin, Ireland — 57.3%
- Montreal, Canada — 56.8%
- Vienna, Austria — 55.6%
- Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates — 55.3%
- Birmingham, United Kingdom — 54.2%
- Bristol, United Kingdom — 53.7%
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