GRUMPY shopkeepers in St Albans have put the city firmly on the map as the worst in the south-east for customer service. A nationwide shopping survey also placed St Albans in the bottom 10 per cent overall for customer service. But Councillor Melvyn Teare

GRUMPY shopkeepers in St Albans have put the city firmly on the map as the worst in the south-east for customer service.

A nationwide shopping survey also placed St Albans in the bottom 10 per cent overall for customer service.

But Councillor Melvyn Teare, the district council's portfolio holder for economic development, was disinclined to give the survey any credence saying he would first have to assess the questions asked to whom, where and at what time.

He said: "I also wonder who pays for these things."

According to Retail Eyes, who sent almost 200,000 mystery shoppers all over the country, Southend came top in East Anglia with an average approval rating of 82 per cent while St Albans languished near the bottom with a score of 78.25 per cent.

The country's least accommodating businesses were from Carlisle, bottom by almost 10 per cent.