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Tiscali ranks top as broadband satisfaction falls
(10-12-07) - Tiscali broadband has ranked highest for customer service according to a new report, even as overall satisfaction with broadband providers sees a continued downturn.
The third annual UK Broadband Internet Service Provider Satisfaction Study from J.D. Power and Associates revealed that although costs have fallen, and faster speeds are being offered, customer satisfaction levels continue to drop as “many providers perform below average in customer service/technical support, and performance and reliability”.
Caspar Tearle, director of service industries research at J.D. Power and Associates, said: “The 2007 study finds that call waiting times continue to increase when customers contact their ISP, with customers now waiting an average of 17 minutes before initially speaking with a representative.
“Complaints to customer service departments have risen again in 2007, and now outnumber customer service-related questions for the first time. With customers of most suppliers paying from their own pocket for these calls, these high levels of complaints come as no surprise.”
It’s not all bad news though, as some providers - such as Tiscali (www.Tiscali.co.uk) - are clearly doing better. Average service prices have dropped from £25.91 in 2006 to £21.10 this year, and average speeds have also increased to 4.87Mb said the report.
Out of 1,000 possible points, Tiscali scored an above industry average with 668 points, moving up from third place last year. Virgin Media (www.VirginMedia.com) followed with 660 points and Sky Broadband (www.Sky.com), featured in the survey for the first time, came in at third place with 657 points scoring particularly well on the image, offerings and promotions factors.
Michael Phillips, Broadbandchoices.co.uk product director, said: “Clearly there is some good news here, but the overall message is that ISPs need to work a lot harder to improve customer satisfaction and combat customers’ growing disillusionment with the broadband industry.
“Customers should take into account the various issues at large within broadband provision and do their research before signing up to a new ISP,” he said. “Look at how much it will cost to call both customer services and technical support, look out for any awards the company has won on performance and look at their average speed on our monthly Speed Tester results.”
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