For the fifth consecutive year, Manulife Mutual Funds, a division of Elliott & Page Limited, has been named the best in Canada for customer service among its competitors, according to an ongoing study by Environics Research Group.

“Customer service is a key element of our business as our people are usually the main point of contact for brokers and advisors servicing their clients with Manulife products,” says Guy Vaillant, vp operations. “We continue to succeed because we listen to what our clients need, we fulfill those needs, and then try to go above and beyond.”

The 2005 Call Audit study measured customer service representatives at 14 mutual fund companies on various attributes including: professionalism, wait time, plus overall value-added service to clients. It also measured the departments on aspects of client service efficiency.

The annual Call Audit study was conducted between January 2005 and December 2005 and the results of approximately 4,500 telephone calls to client service departments by advisors brokers and their assistants were combined to develop an overall ranking.

Manulife ranked highest in the study with an overall score of 87.92 out of a possible 100 points, improving from 85.99 points in last year’s survey.