TalkTalk number one for customer satisfaction
Today the latest report on customer satisfaction among home phone users, commissioned by the independent comparison and switching service uSwitch.com, reveals that telecoms giants ntl and BT are still trailing their younger competitors in every area of customer service that was reviewed. In fact, in each of the main categories in the report, either ntl or BT came last – with ntl finishing bottom in 5 of the 8 categories and BT falling behind in 2, both companies were voted as the least likely to ensure that existing customers are on the best deals for them.
TalkTalk, meanwhile, came out on top in every category apart from one – maintaining an impressive 17% gap between the level of satisfaction among its customers (89%) and those of last placed ntl (72%).
The uSwitch.com customer satisfaction report – one of the largest in the UK - monitors the quality of service provided by the biggest home phone providers, as evaluated by their own customers. Launched in November 2005, with the aim of providing consumers with the necessary information to make an informed decision about their existing or future supplier based on service as well price, more than 16,000 home phone users have now taken part. The survey, one of the most comprehensive in the industry, provides a unique insight into customer experience. The full results can be viewed on the uSwitch.com website, where consumers can take advantage of the unique facility to compare levels of customer satisfaction alongside information on cost and potential savings. uSwitch is also the only price comparison service in the UK to have an Ofcom-accredited home telephony calculator.
- Overall, TalkTalk has the most satisfied customers (89%), followed by Tiscali (88%), Sky Talk (87%) and Telewest (83%), BT (75%) and ntl (72%) had the lowest scores.
- Almost 730,000 (28%) ntl customers, and 3.25 million (25%) BT customers are not satisfied with their provider.
- Value for money is the most important factor for consumers when they are asked about their home phone service, with 99% of respondents saying that it is important to them. However, while almost 9 out of 10 TalkTalk customers (88%) feel that they are getting value for money, only 59% of BT customers do – 5.3 million remain dissatisfied.
- Telewest comes out head and shoulders above the rest for customer support services, with three quarters (75%) of its customers saying that they are happy with their provider – 12% more than their nearest rival in this category.
- Almost half (48%) of Tiscali customers and one in two (50%) ntl customers are not satisfied with their provider’s customer support services.
Consumer trust in suppliers to look after their interests is low across the board – with only 48% on average believing that their provider makes sure that they are on the best deal. This means that almost 12 million customers are not sure whether they do have the right package. The majority of ntl (56%) and BT (56%) customers do not believe that their supplier ensures they are on the best possible deal and this is also true for nearly half of Tiscali (43%) and Telewest (46%) customers. Even the highest ranked provider TalkTalk only achieves a 65% satisfaction rating in this category.
Chris Williams, Home Phone Product Manager at independent comparison and switching service uSwitch.com said: “The probability that consumers will come into contact with customer services is going to increase significantly as developments in the industry increase the likelihood of more and more people signing up for ‘bundles’ with a single provider – taking not just their phone service, but also a broadband connection and possibly a television service. The quality of their experience is likely to have a significant impact on whether they decide to stay with a particular provider, or switch to a company with a better track record.
“Our latest report reveals that some home phone providers – most notably ntl and BT - still appear to be falling short of delivering the service levels that their customers expect. Once again, TalkTalk has come out on top in seven of the eight main categories, including the category for best Overall Customer Satisfaction. It will now be interesting to see whether they can maintain these levels of satisfaction among their customers as they expand other areas of the business.”
Almost everybody surveyed stated that ‘value for money’ was an important factor when they were choosing a supplier– demonstrating that consumers now have a clear idea of the service they expect to receive from their provider. In spite of this, it would appear that over 8 million households are not satisfied with the value for money they receive from their current provider.
Williams concludes: “There appear to be more than 7 million customers who are likely to review their existing deal within the next 12 months. Consumers have always known that they can shop around for better prices, but this report shows that suppliers can also be differentiated by other services such as customer support and value for money. By comparing their existing deal with what is available throughout the rest of the market, customers can have the best of both worlds and ensure that they are getting a good deal on both cost and service.”
Labels: talktalk-broadband
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