Andrea Vermaak

Bestmed Medical Scheme’s 2021 results in Consulta’s South African Customer Satisfaction Index (SA-csi) have once again placed the Scheme at the forefront of customer experience in the South African medical scheme industry. “Bestmed performed exceptionally well, emerging as the leader in the overall Customer Satisfaction Index well above industry par. Bestmed also takes the lead in the value index by a significant margin on the industry par and is well ahead of all other schemes,” states Ineke Prinsloo, Head of Customer Insights at Consulta. The SA-csi is an independent international benchmark of customer satisfaction. Bestmed was measured alongside five other large medical schemes using a multi-variate model. Weighted indices include perceived quality and value, customer expectations and satisfaction, customer complaint incidence and handling, and customer loyalty. Perceived quality and value Bestmed leads the way with overall scores of 83.2 for perceived quality (industry average is 79.4) and 74.1 for perceived value (industry average is 70.5). The perceived quality index measures a customer's experience of the Scheme's quality of service and products, while the perceived value index measures quality relative to the price paid. Customer expectations and satisfaction The customer expectations index measures a customer's anticipation of the Scheme's products and services. Bestmed ranked first with a score of 83.7 for customer expectations (industry average is 82.2). Customer satisfaction is a weighted average of overall satisfaction with a product or service; the degree to which a product or service has met, fallen short of or exceeded expectations, and how a product or service compares to a customer's idea of the ideal product or service. Bestmed leads with an overall customer satisfaction of 81.2 (industry average is 77.1) Customer complaint incidence and handling Bestmed once again received the lowest number of complaints in the industry with …