The storming of a branch of Royal Bank of Scotland in the City by G20 protesters was the culmination of months of public anger about the role the banks had played in the economy’s collapse.

Here, amid the smoke grenades, the smashed windows and the looted office equipment, was the bank that for many encapsulated all that was wrong with the industry and the way that it had (mis)treated its customers.

Yet, barely two months later, has all been forgiven already? The UK Customer Satisfaction Index, published today, shows that we rate the banking sector highly for: professionalism; quality and efficiency; problem- solving; speed of service; and ease of doing business.

Customer satisfaction with the banks has risen by two percentage points since July last year, according to the Institute of Customer Service which compiled the index. It is a far cry from April Fools’ Day on Threadneedle Street, a stone’s throw from the Bank of England.

“Even though there are challenges in the banking sector, people still rate the customer service provided by frontline staff,” Jo Causon, the new chief executive of the institute, said. “They are not inclined to blame the frontline troops for recent economic woes.”

Royal Bank of Scotland maintained an above average customer service index score of 75.9 per cent — although, to put that in context, that is lower than we rate the service in Tesco, Argos, Costa Coffee or Pizza Express. RBS has also dropped against its peers in the league table of banks, a slide that also has much to do with The Co-operative Bank’s success.

The Co-op went straight to the top of the banking index, with a customer satisfaction score of 81.2 per cent, displacing First Direct from top spot. Perhaps not all is forgotten and now people prefer a bank with an ethical stance.

The banking sector as a whole scores 75.3 per cent in the index, fourth out of ten sectors in the survey of 25,000 customers. The top-performing sector is tourism, with a score of 79.1 per cent; bottom of the league table is utilities, with a score of 66.1 per cent.

The average customer satisfaction score across all sectors is 74 per cent, up from 66 per cent in 2007, when the first index was published. “Despite the economic doom and gloom, or maybe because of it, organisations are getting to grips with customer service,” Ms Causon said.

The Institute pegs “world class service” at a customer satisfaction score of 80 per cent. Thirty-seven organisations have scored on or above this level of service today, with John Lewis, the department store, the first to score 90 per cent.

Ms Causon said that research had shown that companies that take customer service seriously can boost profits by 24 per cent, are twice as likely to retain staff and have customers who are three times more likely to recommend their products or services than those that have not sorted out their customer service.

Another trend in the data published today is the British public’s enthusiasm for small local businesses over large chains. Despite the stereotype of good plumbers being a national rarity, local plumbers scored 87.2 per cent in the index — more than any bank. Local fish and chip shops scored 86.9 per cent, local hairdressers 86.1 per cent and local pubs 79.9 per cent.

Goodwill did not extend to all things on the doorstep: local police services scored 63.7 and local councils rated the lowest in the index, with only 55.5 per cent.

Forty-six per cent of those surveyed said that Britain was now the best country for customer service, way ahead of any other European country — and even the United States, which likes to consider itself the home of customer service. It appears that Britons prefer a more personal local approach to America’s ubiquitous customer service chorus of: “Have a nice day.”

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