By Andy McCue, 13 November 2006 17:10
NEWS
'Free' broadband providers TalkTalk and Orange have the worst customer service and support, according to an annual survey of almost 15,000 fat pipe users.
But customer service satisfaction also fell generally across the top 10 broadband providers by nine per cent in the last year, despite broadband prices falling by an average of 17 per cent and the advent of 'free' broadband bundles, the survey by uSwitch.com found.
Fewer than half of TalkTalk and Orange's broadband customers - 42 per cent and 46 per cent respectively - said they were happy with the customer service they got from their provider, while NTL and Tiscali weren't far behind with just over 50 per cent.
Just last week TalkTalk announced a deal to overhaul its current customer service operations in a deal with CRM vendor NetSuite.
Carphone Warehouse launched its 8Mbps broadband and free phone call TalkTalk bundle earlier this year but admitted recently that unexpected high demand for its broadband offer had meant poor service for thousands of people who had signed up.
Telewest retained top spot and scored highest on customer service with 72 per cent, followed by AOL and Virgin.net.
Silicon.com's A to Z of Broadband
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A is for ADSL
B is for BT
C is for Cable & Wireless
D is for Dial-up
E is for Education
F is for Fibre
G is for Goonhilly
H is for HSDPA
I is for In-flight
J is for Janet
K is for Kingston
L is for Landlines
M is for Murdoch
N is for Next generation
O is for Ofcom
P is for Power lines
Q is for Quad-play
R is for Remote working
S is for Satellite phones
T is for Trains
U is for Unbundling
V is for VoIP
W is for WiMax
X is for Xbox
Y is for YouTube
Z is for Zombies
On overall customer satisfaction - a combination of customer service and value for money - Virgin.net came top with 85 per cent of its customers happy, while Orange and TalkTalk came joint bottom with 70 per cent.
Steve Weller, head of communication services at uSwitch.com, said that with broadband pricing unlikely to fall much further providers will have to improve customer service if they are to recruit and retain customers.
He said: "Broadband providers have always differentiated themselves on price. Over the next 12 months we will see more on customer satisfaction. The service providers are going to have to offer great customer service. People are really pissed off about paying 50p a minute for technical support."
Weller also warned the move to bundled triple- and quad-play packages will also potentially make it more difficult for customers to switch suppliers.
He said: "It's going to be an interesting year as people move to these bundles. How do you make one seamless transfer from one bundle to another? That is something Ofcom needs to look at."
No one at either Orange or TalkTalk was available for comment at the time of publication.
Comments
There are 4 comments. Join the discussion
1. anonymous
No-one needs to pay 50p a minute for technical support. Look up the e.g. 0870 number on www.saynoto0870.com and it will give you the 01 or 02 target number. Very useful for all those people on free call bundles.
If you can't find the number you want, there is a request service to get it added. You can also tell them of any new ones you have discovered.
2. David Hudson
My BT broadband & phone services are great, both do exactly what they are supposed to do at a cost that I am prepared to pay. Customer Service for BT broadband is rubbish, however, for the phone services, again great. I wonder why? Is it because the CS for broadband seems to be overseas, while that for phone services is in UK? Maybe I'm lucky that the electronics work so well, when real people don't.
3. Matt H
I don't mind paying for Technical Support... IF:
a) I get through in a timely manner and my problem gets resolved quickly.
b) The person on the end of the phone can understand english.
c) The person on the end of the phone can speak english.
d) The person on the end of the phone knows what a computer and broadband connection is.
e) The person on the end of the phone can answer simple questions that are not listed on their cheat sheet of standard responses.
f) The ISP actually gives me what I'm paying for.
For those who are interested..... I'm an NTL Customer with no BT Line so I don't have the option to change provider unless I pay out £170 for a line!!!!! Luckily, my broadband connection is pretty stable.....
4. Simon
It's about time some of these non-free 'free' and very definitely capped 'unlimited' offers were stamped out. Frankly I don't give a s**t about the crap service people are getting for their 'free' service from Orange or Sky, they deserve all they get for being stupid enough to believe that you can get something sensible for nothing. What I do get bothered about is the way these providers blatently misrepresent their offerings and screw up the market so that we all suffer.