AUCKLAND – New Zealand service businesses may look nearly identical on Google, but a new analysis of 1,769 businesses and 238,920 reviews reveals that complaint rates vary by a factor of seven depending on the industry, and the headline star rating almost never shows it.
The analysis, published today by independent ranking platform Top5.nz, found that auto electricians attract 1-star reviews at an average rate of 4.47%, more than seven times the rate of mortgage brokers (0.35%). Both sectors display average ratings above 4.7 stars.
“For automotive, legal, and property management services, the star rating tells you almost nothing about how often things go wrong,” said Top5.nz. “A business with 300 reviews can absorb 15 unhappy customers and still show 4.7 stars. At that scale, individual complaints become statistically invisible in the average.”
Key findings from the analysis:
- Automotive trades average a 3.33% 1-star rate – the highest of any sector across six NZ cities
- Legal services average 2.58%, with family lawyers (3.37%) and property managers (3.42%) among the worst-affected categories
- Creative services average just 0.48%, nearly seven times lower than automotive
- One in eight NZ service businesses has a complaint rate above 5%, yet nearly all display ratings above 4.5 stars
- Smaller cities appear worse on paper due to lower review volumes, not lower service quality: Dunedin averages a 2.32% 1-star rate versus 1.59% in Auckland, but Dunedin businesses average just 68 reviews compared to 195 in Auckland
Top5.nz displays the full rating distribution on every business listing, allowing consumers to see the breakdown of reviews alongside the headline average.
Full analysis: https://www.top5.nz/insights/the-1-star-problem/
About Top5.nz
Top5.nz publishes independent, merit-based rankings of New Zealand service businesses across 35 categories in six cities. Rankings are determined entirely by public signals. No business can pay to rank.
Media Release on 30 April 2026
Media Contact
Jan Dunlop, Top5.nz
hello@top5.nz
0212577339
https://www.top5.nz/