And the UK winners of the 2024 awards for appalling customer service are …
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Reflecting on a year of unfair decisions and shoddy treatment, we put the worst-offending firms on the podium. For years I have lived a lie. I have lambasted corporate Britain for letting the populace down. I’ve self-righteously blamed airlines for leaving passengers grounded, I’ve hounded energy firms for slugging pensioners with invented bills and exposed councils and insurers for pushing households into homelessness. These last 12 months it’s dawned on me that my ire has been misplaced. The fault lies squarely with consumers and their penchant for illicit activity.
![[Anna Tims]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2018/01/08/Anna_Tims,_L.png?width=75&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Take those airline passengers. Observer readers, it seems, have form when it comes to trying to smuggle illegal items on board. If it weren’t for the vigilance of airline customer services, a blind Paralympian would brazenly have taken his assistance dog on a flight to a sporting championship, while airport security staff have, time and again, safeguarded the travelling public by confiscating the walking sticks of pensioners.
![[A teacher and students in a classroom.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/83eb80bb13b8ffd20b07d2ae005c4250a6c3273f/0_0_3000_2000/master/3000.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Then there are the perils of the road, from which insurers are, without fear or favour, endeavouring to shield us all. Many is the author who would be lethally on the loose behind the wheel if insurance providers did not selflessly refuse them cover. Now, with the budget squeezing company resources, business will need to demand more (from customers) for less (to customers) to keep the economy going. Don’t expect those customers to be grateful. But I have learned to be, and I’m dedicating my annual awards to those who have gone above and beyond to save us from ourselves.
![[Two passengers, one in a wheelchair, next to a Eurostar train]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c0e104e132c0326c85ffb6210418b03af053aacc/0_1168_3413_3322/master/3413.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
