The slot will identify the best provider of customer service in categories such as banking, airlines, telecommunications, power companies and real estate firms. Next week Fair Go, one of New Zealand TV's longest-running series, will kick off with an examination of supermarkets. Colmar Brunton spoke to 2,000 Kiwis and asked them if they had a particularly good experience at a supermarket in the past year, or a particularly bad one.

"We've all heard about those companies that have treated customers badly, but Fair Go and Colmar Brunton have decided to take a more constructive approach and identify those organisations that are doing the right thing by Kiwis," said Dick Brunton, co-founder of Colmar Brunton and its Executive Chairman.

"The TV show's excellent reportage, coupled with our research capabilities, creates a powerful partnership to drive a crusade to improve the customer experience in New Zealand by showing both consumers and companies what good experiences look like."

The first Fair Go-Colmar Brunton Best in Service Poll will be revealed  on Wednesday, April 27, on TVOne at 7:30pm.

Colmar Brunton has conducted, at its own expense, comprehensive customer experience surveys in 2005, 2006 and 2010. The most recent survey showed that the personal customer experience in New Zealand has improved in the past five years, mainly because of a significant reduction in particularly bad customer experiences.

"After 12 months with Fair Go, we will be able to see whether customer experience is improving in each category, and which brands are improving or failing to improve," said Mr Brunton, who has spent more than three decades in the understanding of consumers, markets and brands.

ENDS