It’s a business adage that is as old as time, but it turns out it really does pay to be kind.

New research has quantified the cost of good customer service in the UK, finding service with a smile could increase UK consumer spending by £64.6 billion a year.

On average, people spend a £142.91 each week in shops and restaurants – however they would be willing to spend an additional £19.08 every week if they were to receive more attentive service.

Despite this, just 11 per cent of Brits said they usually receive friendly service when shopping or eating out.

The research of 2,028 UK adults was commissioned by low cost airline and holiday company, Monarch.

Nils Christy, Chief Operating Offer at Monarch, said: “We are often described as the nicer airline and we pride ourselves on this, so we wanted to see just how much the UK values this quality from other service providers.

“With the research proving that niceness could be a major boost to our economy, hopefully Brits will put it higher up on their agenda.”

Households with a total income of £45,000 – £55,000 per year were found to be the most responsive to nice service and would be willing to reward it with £44.68 more each week on average.

In comparison, individuals with salaries of over £55,000 per year said they would be happy to typically spend £24.48 extra a week on kind service.

People from Glasgow said they would be willing to spend an extra £28.84 a week on average on good service – the most generous in the UK.

While respondents from Norwich said they would reward friendly staff with an additional £9.08 extra per week on average – the lowest among those polled.

On average, 97 per cent of Brits consider themselves to be nice people – with kindness, respecting others and honesty the key ingredients of what makes someone nice.

And three quarters of UK adults said it’s important to be kind because it encourages others to treat you the same way.

For nicer flights and holidays visit: www.monarch.co.uk.