FURNITURE and white goods giant Harvey Norman has scored the poorest customer service rating of Australia's major retailers in a survey by consumer advocate Choice.

The group used shadow shoppers to rate the performance of 10 of the country's biggest retailers, including Myer, David Jones, Target and JB Hi-Fi. While Harvey Norman received the worst feedback, Choice said most stores surveyed provided a ''frustrating'' shopping experience, with staff frequently ignoring customers and showing a lack of product knowledge.

Myer and David Jones also received a poor report card. Shoppers consistently complained of sales assistants talking with each other while they waited for service.

Earlier this month both retailers flagged an increase in staff to improve customer service after reporting drops in annual earnings, partly due to increased competition from online.