Which? Awards Recognising Progress - Celebrating Excellence
The 2011 Which? Awards - the winners
The Which? Awards celebrate the UK’s best products and services, from cars and restaurants to supermarkets and financial services.
They're chosen by Which? experts, based on our research and feedback from Which? members and the general public throughout the year.
In addition to the main winners, the awards recognise the progress of companies that have made positive changes to put consumers at the heart of their business over the past year.
The 2011 Which? Awards took place on 23 June, at Kings Place in London and were presented by Natasha Kaplinsky.
Best Car Manufacturer
Winner: Hyundai
Hyundai has improved enormously in recent years. Our experts have been extremely impressed with the quality of its cars, especially given their very reasonable prices. Hyundai has received Best Buys for its i20 and i30 models and its five-year, unlimited-mileage warranty is one of the best in the business.
Also shortlisted: BMW, Mazda, Skoda,Toyota
Best Financial Services Provider
Winner: First Direct
First Direct continues to offer high levels of service to its customers year on year. The company is currently a Which? Recommended Provider in current accounts, savings accounts, credit cards and mortgages - topping the list in almost all categories.
Also shortlisted: NFU Mutual, The Co-operative Bank
Best High Street Retailer
Winner: Richer Sounds
Richer Sounds came top of our annual high street retailer survey this year, with a customer score of 86%, receiving five stars out of five for almost all of the categories, including price and service. It was also a strong performer in our recent test of staff shop floor knowledge
Also shortlisted: Lush, Lakeland
Best Home Audio-Visual Brand
Winner: Samsung
Samsung has a strong presence across many of our product areas we cover - and its innovation and attention to detail this year has seen the company achieve more Best Buys than ever before. As a quality brand, it also offers good value for money.
Also shortlisted: Panasonic, Sony
Best Large Home Appliance Brand
Winner: Bosch
Bosch celebrates its 125th anniversary this year and is a worthy winner of this award - consistently offering a wide range of quality products at a variety of different price points, with Best Buys in every range.
Also shortlisted: AEG-Electrolux, Miele
Best Mobile Service Provider
Winner: Tesco Mobile
Tesco Mobile ticks all the right boxes for both its existing and new customers - it ranked top for contract mobile services in our 2011 customer satisfaction survey, making it the top Which? Recommended Provider for contracts – and it’s also recommended for pay-as-you-go services.
Also shortlisted: Asda Mobile, O2
Best Portable Media Brand
Winner: Samsung
Samsung offers a broad range of products and models, many of which are Best Buys, showing that it maximises consumer choice by producing quality products to suit every pocket. Its tablet product is a strong rival to other popular models, and our members love this brand’s netbooks.
Also shortlisted: Apple, Sony
Best Online Retailer
Winner: lizearle.com
Lizearle.com is the top performing online retailer across our survey for the third year running, with a fantastic customer score of 94%. Its products are considered good value for money, and this brand gets five out of five stars in all categories, including delivery, product and website usability.
Also shortlisted: ChainReactionCycles.com, Johnlewis.com, Lakeland.co.uk
Best Photography Brand
Winner: Canon
Canon has produced the highest number of products we’ve tested from any one manufacturer this year. Its customer satisfaction and reliability ratings are consistently good and the company continues to innovate across its product range, while offering good value for money.
Also shortlisted: Casio, Nikon, Panasonic
Best Small Home Appliance Brand
Winner: Philips
Philips has achieved the highest number of Best Buys overall this year and it has a strong presence across a range of product categories. As well as dominating Best Buy tables for irons and juicers, it also scores highly in blenders, toasters and kettles.
Also shortlisted: De 'Longhi, Kenwood. Morphy Richards
Best Supermarket
Winner: Waitrose
Waitrose achieved an outstanding Which? customer score of 85% in this year’s survey - receiving five out of five stars in almost all categories, including customer service and in-store environment. Its ‘Essentials’ range and price-matching campaigns have also made it a popular choice.
Also shortlisted: Aldi, Lidl, Marks & Spencer
Best Travel Company
Winner: Trailfinders
Trailfinders is one of the few travel companies that doesn’t charge for credit or debit card payments – something we strongly applaud. In our recent survey, Trailfinders achieved four stars out of five for accommodation, journey, customer service and trip organisation, and an overall customer satisfaction score of 80%.
Also shortlisted: Kuoni, P&O Cruises, Saga
Which? Positive Change Award
Winner: Barclays
The Positive Change Award has been introduced this year to recognise a company that has made significant changes that have resulted in a better deal for their customers. In an industry that has been criticised for not putting customers first, Barclays has made significant improvements this year, including rewarding staff for helping customers rather than for just selling products. Its new statements also make savings rates clear for savers, and it’s the first bank to pay out payment protection insurance compensation on a no-quibble basis.
Which? Consumer Action Award
Winner: The Co-operative Energy
The Co-operative Energy is owned by its customers - while other large energy companies are owned by outside stakeholders - and it puts consumers at the heart of its organisation. It has adopted our key asks around transparency, clearer bills and a single tariff and, by April 2012, it says that the carbon content of its electricity will be less than half that of the national average. As a UK business, it sources most electricity locally from renewable generators, including Westmill Wind Farm - a community-owned wind farm.
Which? Local Business of the Year
Winner: Mand Made, Electrician, Sheffield
Mand Made – aka Mandy Reynolds - was chosen as the UK’s best local business after receiving fantastic reviews on Which? Local. Mandy was highly praised by members of Which? Local for her efficiency and providing an excellent and reliable service. She is one of the few traders on the site to get the maximum five star rating in all her reviews.
Also shortlisted:
Aardvark Building, Roofer, Edinburgh
Alan's Gas Services Ltd, Gas installer, Altrincham
Ideal Aerials, Aerial and Satellite Installation, Leighton Buzzard
Langley Plumbing Services, Plumber, Caerdydd
Ormes Roofing, Roofer, Stourbridge
Plummy Plumbers, Plumbers, London
WC Baker & Sons, Hardware & Ironmongery, Fleet
The Good Food Guide Reader’s Restaurant of the Year
Winner:
Orwells – Henley-on-Thames, South East
Also shortlisted:
Salvos - Leeds, North East
Spire – Liverpool, North West
The Mill Tea and Dining Room – Lyme Regis, South West
Roger Hickman’s Restaurant – Norwich, East
Edmunds – Midlands, Birmingham
Ondine – Edinburgh, Scotland
Cwtch – Pembrokeshire, Wales
Molly’s Yard- Belfast, Northern Ireland
Retro Bistrot - London
Join the debate
What do you think of this year's winners? Do the awards make a difference to the products and services you use? Join the Which? Awards debate on Which? Conversation.