Poor customer service has landed retailers Big W and Kogan at the bottom of a new ranking from consumer group Choice ahead of Black Friday sales.

A survey of 3500 shoppers who bought an appliance in the past 12 months showed that Appliances Online and E&S Trading are most favoured, with Big W and Kogan in last place.

Choice’s director of reviews and testing Matthew Steen said Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales are just around the corner, with retailers hoping to lure shoppers with big discounts.

“We want to make sure you have the best experience possible while shopping for a new appliance, whether that’s a washing machine, a fridge or even just a toaster,” Steen said.

“For physical stores, we asked our survey respondents to rate the range of products and brands, value for money, customer service, delivery, and after-sales service.

“For online stores, we also included ease of using the website, payment options and the returns policy.”

Big W and Kogan ranked last

Big W was rated the worst in-store appliance retailer, with a score of 62 out of 100.

Although the discount department store offered decent value for money (a 67 per cent score), customer service was found lacking (a 50 per cent score).

“Our survey respondents said it was difficult to find customer service in store, and it also scored low for the range of products and brands available,” Steen said.

It’s a blow for the Woolworths-owned Big W, which has been struggling financially in recent years amid tough competition from market leaders such as Wesfarmers-owned Kmart.

Among online retailers Kogan was rated as the worst e-commerce store for appliances, with an overall score of just 59 out of 100.

Kogan had a good range of products and brands on its site (a 74 per cent score), and good value for money (70 per cent), but it was also beset by poor ratings about service standards.

“[Kogan] received the lowest score in the after-sales service category with a poor 35 per cent,” Steen said.

“Survey respondents also expressed that deliveries were sometimes slow.”

Kogan has routinely come under scrutiny from regulators such as the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) in recent years for alleged breaches of consumer law.

That includes allegations they engaged in “price jacking” where discounts offered to customers came not long after the business decided to increase the price of those appliances.

Winners: Appliances Online and E&S

On the other side of the ledger, consumers surveyed by Choice gave much better ratings to Appliances Online.

The company won with an overall score of 86 out of 100, including an 84 per cent score on value for money and range, and a 90 per cent rating for delivery.

“Appliances Online topped every online category in our survey. Many noted it had a great range of products and praised the company’s willingness to price match,” Steen said.

“Our survey respondents also noted the website was easy to navigate, and many liked how you could select a specific delivery window for your order.”

E&S Trading won for best in-store experience for an appliance retailer, with an overall score of 80 out of 100.

The retailer was offering superior range (87 per cent) and value for money (80 per cent). But where it really stood out was customer service, both before and after sale.

They scored 88 out of 100 on customer service broadly and 91 per cent on “after-sales service”.

“It’s worth noting that E&S Trading only has stores in Victoria, plus one in the ACT. If you live in other parts of the country, Retravision, Winnings and Betta also scored well in terms of in-store experience,” Steen said.