Kiwis say Air New Zealand NZ's most reputable company

Air New Zealand and Toyota continue a strong run in an annual corporate reputation index.

Air New Zealand has proven it is still a people pleaser by reclaiming the top spot as the nation's most reputable company.

Car manufacturer Toyota was ranked second in the 2016 NZ Corporate Reputation Index after topping the survey in 2015 and 2013.

It is the third year running both organisations have been in the top two places on the index which has been produced for the past six years by research consultancy AMR.

The survey measures how New Zealanders view the country's top 25 companies across seven reputation drivers: products, innovation, workplace, citizenship, governance, leadership and performance.

It then ranks them according to people's emotional reaction.

Sky TV came in the bottom of the heap falling two places to 25th.

The pay television company came under fire in recent months with customers threatening to cancel their subscription after it rolled out a decoder software upgrade with new interface design, which some users found difficult to read and lagging.

Air NZ has previously ranked third in 2013 and first in 2011 and 2012.

The public were particularly impressed with Air NZ's fare prices, new planes, financial results, positive service experiences and famous safety videos.

Air NZ has a 3.7 out of five star rating on Glassdoor - a website which allows employees to rate their employer.

The airline also frequently has passengers raving on social media about its high standard of customer service and quality product offering.

AMR managing director, Oliver Freedman said Air NZ and Toyota's reputation success came down to high quality and innovative products and services.

"This perception is not new; it has been built over many years through consistent delivery," Freedman said.

Both organisations were good examples of how a consistently strong customer experience, along with leadership and transparency could result in long-term reputation benefits, she said.

"Reputation is not something that is built overnight – it is years of effort and hard work."

Big box retailer The Warehouse also performed well moving up one place to third spot.

Vodafone was the most improved with its reputation ranking jumping from 20th in 2015 to 9th.

The telco's reputation took a dive between 2014 and 2015 due to a decline in perception among customers, particularly around customer service.

Dairy giant Fonterra's reputation declined from 17th in 2015 to 23rd this year largely due to ongoing issues with farmgate milk prices.

REPUTATION RANKINGS

1 Air NZ

2 Toyota

3 The Warehouse

4 Z Energy

5 New Zealand Post

6 ASB

7 Foodstuffs (owner of New World and Pak 'n Save and Four Square)

8 Zespri

9 Vodafone

10 BNZ

11 Fulton Hogan

12 Meridian Energy

13 Genesis Energy

14 ANZ

15 Progressive Enterprises (owner of Countdown)

16 Fletcher Building

17 Westpac

18 TrustPower

19 Spark

20 Contact Energy

21 BP New Zealand

22 IAG New Zealand (owner of State, AMI, Lumley and NZI)

23 Fonterra Co-operative

24 Exxon Mobil New Zealand

25 Sky TV

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JOHN ANTHONY