The Isle of Wight's own broadband provider WightFibre has been promoted to the premier league of customer service.

The company has been awarded The Institute of Customer Service’s ServiceMark with Distinction Accreditation, an independent and national benchmark of an organisation’s achievement in customer service and its commitment to upholding those standards.

The accolade is the highest level of accreditation awarded by the ICS and is currently held by just 16 organisations in the UK.

WightFibre is also the first broadband company in the UK to secure the accreditation with distinction following a qualification process which involved a series of surveys and interviews with staff and customers.

The institute surveyed more than 500 WightFibre customers, as well as most of its employees, to score the company’s approach to customer service and to compare this to the UK Customer Satisfaction Index (UKCSI).

WightFibre achieved a very high score of 89 per cent, compared to an average of 74 per cent for telecom companies and 75 per cent for all companies in the 2021 UK Customer Satisfaction Index.

John Irvine, chief executive officer, said: “I am extremely proud of the team at WightFibre for making us the first broadband company in the UK to be awarded this accolade.

"It really does affirm our company ethos of 'Because we care'.

"To achieve this during such challenging times, when our teams are largely working from home, is even more impressive.

"This assures our customers that they’ll receive not only some of the best broadband to be found anywhere in the world but also the best possible service.”

David Beckett, head of customer service, who led the accreditation process said: “The three-year journey we have been on to achieve this, is testament to the hard work and commitment of all my colleagues across the company and to their passion to deliver the best experience for all of our customers.”

Jo Causon, CEO of The Institute of Customer Service, commented: “Achieving ServiceMark with Distinction, puts WightFibre in a small group of high-performing businesses that have proven their commitment to the highest service standards."