Ireland’s 2024 Worst Customer Experience Brands Revealed
Ireland’s customer experience rankings for 2024 reveal a stark divide, with ten well-known brands landing at the bottom of a survey of over 150 companies. The annual CXi study, conducted by Amárach Research, found that while overall Irish customer experience scores rose 3% to their highest level in nine years, certain services continue to lag due to consumer reliance on them rather than consumer satisfaction.
The Bottom 10 Brands
The lowest-ranked brands, which include Social Welfare, Ryanair, RTÉ, Re-turn, Instagram, TikTok, Irish Water, Ticketmaster, Dublin Bus, and Facebook, were identified through the survey. Four of these operate in entertainment and leisure, including three social media platforms or ticketing services. The remaining two are public sector entities, two are travel-related, and two are utilities.
Ticketmaster ranked 160th, dropping 17 places this year and marking its third consecutive appearance in the bottom 10. The company faced criticism for customer service issues, fees, and impersonal interactions. One consumer commented, “Impossible to speak with a person and they never resolve anything,” while others cited “Excessive prices and fees” and “Everything is AI.”
RTÉ improved to 155th from last place following controversy over payments to former presenter Ryan Tubridy. Chairman Gerard O’Neill noted the broadcaster had made a “notable recovery,” though rebuilding trust remains ongoing.
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Reasons for Low Scores
Report author Michael Killeen identified necessity as a common thread, stating, “These are largely services people use out of necessity or habit rather than choice.” He highlighted Ticketmaster’s tiered pricing and dynamic models as alienating consumers, especially given its perceived monopoly on major event tickets. The public sector also scored poorly, with Social Welfare, An Garda Síochána, and the HSE ranking near the bottom. Killeen observed that sectors heavily reliant on technology often face consumer frustration when digital tools fail to improve service quality.
He emphasized that “customers are not rewarding brands for having AI; they are rewarding brands they trust to deploy it appropriately.” Staff quality, he noted, remains the strongest influence on customer experience scores, even as they continue to adopt digital solutions rapidly.
Broader Implications
The findings contrast with broader Irish brand performance, where 64% of companies improved their CX scores—far exceeding the 6% reported in the US. Irish Credit Union retained its top spot for an 11th year, while pharmacies, supermarkets, financial services, and retail brands generally performed well.
