AA survey slams services
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• UK motorway service areas (MSAs) have been branded as overpriced and overcrowded in a pan-European survey by the AA.
The findings, which will come as little surprise to truck drivers, show that our services are well below the European average— only Belgium and Holland come below Britain for quality among the nine countries tested.
None of the 10 UK MSAs surveyed is rated as "good"; only three manage "acceptable" with the rest described as "poor". Researchers found that UK MSAs typically have dirty restaurants and toilets and offer poor quality food at high prices.
France has the best service areas, achieving 10 good, two acceptable and one poor. Germany is rated second with Austria third.
UK MSAs are praised for their layouts and round-the-clock operation, but are let down by their poor food and high prices.
AA policy director John Dawson says: "In areas that matter most to customers, such as food quality, service and value for money, this is a disappointing showing. When taking a break from the most congested roads in Europe, the UK driver is given poor quality service areas."
Welcome Break, which has three MSAs slammed as poor and only one listed as acceptable, says its levels of customer satisfaction have improved over the past year.