Review royalty: The world's friendliest cities for customer service

As business insurance experts, front-of-house experience and genuine customer service are just as vital as having the right insurance for small business success.

In a world driven by technology and viral social media culture, online customer reviews are now more important than ever to businesses. People are drawn to businesses where they feel welcome, comfortable and looked after. But service isn't the same everywhere. So, where in the world can people find the friendliest customer service?

To uncover the global locations that are home to the best customer service, we analysed over 100,000 reviews of leisure and hospitality businesses in 107 cities worldwide. Looking at the language in the reviews to see how often friendly workers and staff were mentioned, building a global ranking of the cities where customer service truly stands out.

The world's friendliest cities for customer service

Topping the rankings is Edinburgh, where 59% of reviews mention friendly staff. Whilst Scotland's capital draws visitors year-round for its Gothic architecture, rich history and thriving culture, come August, the city transforms entirely, as people from across the globe descend for the world-renowned Fringe Festival. With the event known to bring in as much as £407m in economic impact, excellent customer service isn't just a nice touch in Edinburgh; it's at the core of the city's economy. The thriving scene of pubs, cafes and restaurants has grown up around keeping visitors happy, and the high volume of positive reviews speak for themselves.

Hanoi, Vietnam, takes a close second place with 58.6% of reviews mentioning friendly staff and service. Much of this warmth can be attributed to a deeply rooted culture of community and social harmony in Vietnam, with a rich tradition of hospitality culture.

Liverpool follows behind with 58.3% of reviews mentioning friendly staff. Research shows that Northerners generally score higher on warmth and openness compared to the rest of the UK – traits that naturally translate into the kind of friendly customer service people are likely to mention in reviews.

Paris ranks fourth, with 57.5% of reviews mentioning friendly staff. Having been named one of the world's top five destinations in TripAdvisor's Travellers' Choice Best of the Best Awards 2025 and home to over 120 Michelin-starred restaurants, the highest concentration in Europe, Paris's commitment to quality service speaks for itself.

Rounding out the top five is Dublin with 57.3% of reviews mentioning friendly workers. The Irish concept of 'craic' says it all. A culture built around lively conversation and good times means striking up a chat with a stranger comes naturally. Dublin's world-famous pub culture further cements this, creating a social environment built around openness and human connection. For businesses here, that culture spills into every customer interaction, making warmth a way of life.

Montreal, Vienna, Abu Dhabi, and two more UK cities, Birmingham, and Bristol, complete the global top 10, with each recording over 54% of reviews mentioning friendly staff, demonstrating that warm hospitality spans continents.

Adelaide is the only Australian city to feature in the top 20, with 50.5% of reviews mentioning friendly staff.

The UK cities with the best customer service

Birmingham ranks third among UK cities for friendly customer service, behind Edinburgh and Liverpool, with 54.2% of business reviews mentioning friendly staff.

Bristol (53.7%) and Belfast (53.2%) round off the top five, with both having over half of their reviews mentioning friendly staff and service. Both cities have a strong community spirit and independent business culture that could be responsible for creating a warm, personal style of service that customers seem to love.

The US cities with the best customer service

San Diego ranks as the US city with the friendliest workers, with over half (51.5%) of reviews mentioning friendly staff. San Diego is one of the most culturally diverse cities, with year-round good weather and a laid-back attitude creating a city with a relaxed, friendly atmosphere.

Phoenix ranks second, with 50.9% of reviews mentioning friendly staff and workers. The most populous city in Arizona is famous for its hot desert climate and is known as the ‘Valley of the Sun’. Business culture in the region reflects its multicultural heritage, where it's important to build trust and personal relationships before doing business.

Dallas ranks third, with 49.6% of reviews mentioning friendly staff. Similar to Phoenix, the Texan city shares the same underlying value of building relationships with people, however, Dallas is deeply rooted in Southern hospitality. The emphasis on community values and personal relationships plays a crucial role in the service industry to consistently deliver warm and friendly service.

New York follows closely behind (48.3%), with Atlanta closing off the top five (47.1%).

The European cities with the best customer service

When removing UK cities from the rankings, the European leaders for excellent customer service are Paris and Dublin.

Vienna takes third place, with 55.6% of reviews mentioning friendly staff and workers. Here, the customer is always right, and politeness is always expected, meaning professionalism and warmth go hand in hand.

This is followed by Luxembourg City, with 51.2% of reviews mentioning friendly staff and workers.

Zurich follows closely behind and rounds off the top five, with 50.8% of reviews mentioning friendly staff and service. Politeness is a cultural foundation for the Swiss and is built on mutual respect, with people making eye contact and greeting one another in friendly but formal tones.

Rated, reviewed and protected

Across the world, tourism plays a vital role in many cities, making a warm welcome key to building rapport and encouraging repeat visits. Whether it’s the relationship-first culture of Phoenix or Austria’s more formal but genuine approach, people consistently respond to feeling welcome. While styles may vary, the business case for friendly service is consistent worldwide.

Customer-facing businesses often bring increased footfall, more interactions and, in turn, a higher level of risk. As customer numbers grow, so does the potential for accidents or unforeseen incidents, regardless of how strong the service offering is.

A spilled hot drink or a slip on a wet floor can happen in any setting - even in the most welcoming environments - which is why it’s important for businesses to consider having appropriate protections in place.

Alicia Hempsted
Insurance Expert

Our expert Alicia Hempsted, explains:

“As businesses grow and engage with more customers, it’s important to make sure they’re protected. Public liability insurance is an important safeguard for those working with the public, helping to cover costs if something goes wrong, while also showing customers that their experience is taken seriously - from the moment they walk through the door to long after they’ve left.”

Methodology

We searched Google Maps for restaurants, bar and tourist attractions across 107 cities worldwide. For each city, we selected 30–50 locations from the top results, with the sample designed to maximise variety in establishment type, size and average review score.

We then collected 1,000 reviews per city from those locations and analysed the review text to identify reviews suggesting staff friendliness. For each city, we calculated the percentage of reviews in each group that passed the friendliness threshold.