Pumpkin Patch rates top on Australian shopper survey

Pumpkin Patch's stores feature activities for shoppers and their children.

A survey of Australian shoppers shows they received the best customer service from New Zealand-based company Pumpkin Patch.

The result came from a Roy Morgan research poll which involved nearly 16,000 Australian shoppers over 12 months between March 2014 and February 2015.

Pumpkin Patch rated the highest for customer satisfaction among clothing and sport stores in the latest survey at 92 per cent, followed by women's clothing company Suzanne Grae, which pulled out of New Zealand in 2013.

The positive results in the poll are likely to be welcomed by the company which has shed about 75 per cent of its value on the stock exchange over the past two years.

Twenty-nine stores were involved in the survey which is carried out mainly by researchers going door-to-door.

Pumpkin Patch Australasian general manager retail Trish Watt said she was proud of her staff for the result.

Mrs Watt said it could be attributed to the roll-out last year of a new staff training programme and more activities for shoppers and their children.

"We've spent a lot of time rolling out a revised customer service programme for our staff and ... we have been doing a lot of things for marketing to customers. We have in-store activities, we have a partnership with Crayola, so we have colouring-in tables to make that customer experience really, really positive."

Pumpkin Patch was looking at increasing staff numbers during peak periods so that customers weren't left standing in a queue, she said.

Cambridge grandfather of three boys, John Payne, had just picked up a couple of birthday presents for his 1-year-old nephew, Frank Brew, when he was approached by the Herald outside Pumpkin Patch's Worley Place, Hamilton store.

"Being a granddad, or a poppa, I go there for most of my children's stuff because I don't know what they want and I've always found they've got a very good selection and the people are very kind and come up to you and say 'gidday, how are you, can I help you' and leave you to it ... which I like."

• To view the full survey (PDF), click here.