Canadians are increasingly dissatisfied with their banks, citing higher banking fees and lower levels of service as key reasons for their unhappiness, according to a new J.D. Power and Associates survey released on Thursday.

However, bank customers who receive individualized financial advice from their bank tend to be happier with their overall banking experience, says Jim Miller, senior director of the U.S.-based research firm’s banking practice.

“We find that when customers have a financial advisor [at their bank], their satisfaction with that bank tends to be higher,” says Miller. “They’re getting, or perceive to be getting, a different level of service.”

The J.D. Power 2015 Canadian Retail Banking Satisfaction Study, the 10th annual conducted by the firm, measures customer satisfaction across seven different factors at both the Big Five banks and at six mid-sized Canadian banks on a 1,000-point scale.

Satisfaction with the Big Five averaged at 737 in this year’s survey, down 12 points from last year. Satisfaction with the six mid-sized banks was 759, down by seven points from in 2014.

The survey found that customers believed that banking fee hikes were unfair, particularly considering that Canadian banks continue to report strong earnings. Customers also felt that they had to wait longer for in-branch or phone service from their bank.

Several Canadian banks increased fees this year, while keeping an eye on costs, as they look for ways to maintain profitability during a time when net interest margins remain compressed.

Customer unhappiness appeared to have an effect on continued loyalty, the survey’s authors say. Among dissatisfied customers of the Big Five, 9% said they would definitely or probably switch bank within the next 12 months, up from 7% in 2014. Among dissatisfied customers of the mid-sized banks, 10% either would switch or probably switch, up from 9% year-over-year.

However, if a customer had an advisor with the institution — and 35% of customers at the Big Five reported having a financial advisor with their firm — the sense of loyalty to the bank strengthened by association, Miller says.

“It changes the relationship,” he says. “Rather than banking with an institution, the customer starts to think of himself or herself as working with a particular advisor. It’s easy for me to get upset when [my bank] is announcing record earnings and my fees are going up, but it’s harder to get upset with the advisor, if [I feel] the advisor has been looking out for me.”

However, just providing a customer with an advisor won’t increase, by itself, loyalty to the institution, Miller says. Good overall service will.

“It’s not just, ‘Let’s go find everybody a financial advisor’,” he says. “You actually have to take care of customers.”

Among the Big Five, TD Canada Trust ranked highest in terms of customer satisfaction for the 10th year running. Among the six mid-size banks, Tangerine Bank, a subsidiary of the Bank of Nova Scotia, ranked highest.

The survey, which was conducted in April and May, was based on responses from more than 14,000 customers who use a primary bank for personal banking, says J.D. Power.