Tesco and Apple have come top in a survey that measures how likely consumers are to recommend products and services to their friends. 

The survey, carried out by customer experience experts Satmetrix, assesses brands in nine different industries across Europe to find brands Net Promoter Score. This is based on customers likelihood to recommend the companys product or service. A Net Promoter Score (NPS) is calculated as the percentage of customers who are promoters, rating the company 9 or 10 on a zero-to-ten point scale, minus the percentage who are detractors, rating 6 or lower. 

In the mobile phone carrier category, Tesco Mobile came out on top in the UK. The same survey last year had Tescos joint venture partner O2 in the top spot. Tesco Mobile had an NPS of 28 per cent, 20 points ahead of the sector average of 8 per cent, and 36 points ahead of last place, in a field that also included 3, Virgin Mobile, Vodafone, and sister-brands Orange and T-Mobile.

The iPhone won best experience by some margin in the mobile handset category, as it did last year. Despite the issues with the iPhone 4 at launch, Apples iPhone users scored the company even higher this year at 69 per cent, up from 67 per cent in 2010. Other handset manufacturers included in the study were LG, Motorola, Nokia, RIM/BlackBerry, Samsung, and Sony Ericsson. Apples score was 74 points ahead of last place and 50 points ahead of the industry average.

“Now in their second year, the Satmetrix benchmarks highlight that many companies across the nine sectors have retained their number one spot and in many cases have widened the gap between themselves and the worst performers,” says Robert Salvoni, MD of Satmetrix International. “In a world where people are encouraged to switch suppliers and personal recommendations have become the most trusted source of information, focusing on delivering a customer experience that drives positive conversations is now business critical.” 

The full reports are available for purchase via the Sametrix website and the Net Promoter website.