Singapore - A majority of Singapore consumers have stopped doing business with at least one firm in the last year due to poor service, a survey said Monday.

Half of the 300 consumers queried rate the overall quality of service they received as fair or "poor/terrible."

Sixty-three per cent said their expectations are seldom met, according to the Accenture Survey on Customer Service Standards.

The results are similar to an Accenture survey last year of more than 3,500 consumers in China, Australia, the United States and Brazil.

Fifty-nine per cent of the respondents said they had switched at least one service provider in the prior 12 months. The figure in Singapore was 75 per cent.

"Consumers have more information and choices than ever, driving a seismic shift in the balance of power to the consumer and adding to the complexities that companies today face," The Business Times quoted Woody Driggs, managing director of Accenture's customer relationship management global practice, as saying.

Most consumer switching occurs in the retail, banking and internet industries, the survey said. (dpa)