When it comes to providing excellent customer service, big is definitely not better, according to the majority of respondents who participated in a new survey by credit card comparison and financial education site CreditDonkey.com. In almost all customer-satisfaction categories, consumers are more content with the efforts of small businesses than those of big companies.

However, better service does not trump lower prices. Just over 52 percent of respondents are more likely choose a lower price over better service – a choice that tends to fall in the favor of larger businesses that can take advantage of economies of scale.

"The survey results should serve as a wake-up call for companies of every size," said CreditDonkey founder Charles Tran. "In this high-tech, fast-paced era, people want companies to respond to their concerns and questions with personalized service. Over 80% of our respondents said they have not bought something because they weren't happy with the customer service they were getting."

While 94.3 percent of respondents said their customer service experiences with small companies meets or exceeds expectations, the rate of satisfaction fell to 64.1 percent when respondents were asked about their experiences with big businesses.

Consumers also said that small businesses do a better job than big businesses of:

• Anticipating their needs:              71 percent to 41.8 percent
• Anticipating their problems:          63.9 percent to 33.8 percent
• Consistently saying "thank you":  96.9 percent to 80.8 percent
• Following up:                              68 percent to 30.5 percent

However, big business did outperform small business in one category. By 74.2 percent to 65.5 percent, big companies are more likely to solicit feedback than small enterprises.

Survey Results: http://www.creditdonkey.com/customer-service-2013.html