By Andy McCue, 5 December 2006 13:35
NEWS
Customers have voted TalkTalk and NTL the worst UK broadband providers, as customer satisfaction falls across the industry with more people switching ISPs, according to annual rankings by research company JD Power and Associates.
Telewest came out top of the rankings, which are based on responses from 1,438 customers across the UK, for the second year running, scoring highest on performance and reliability, and customer service and technical support.
Telewest was followed by AOL, Tiscali, BT and Orange, with NTL and then TalkTalk at the bottom of the rankings. AOL scored highest on image and Tiscali scored highest on cost.
Broadband from A to Z
Click on the links below to find out more...
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
The 2006 UK Broadband ISP report also showed the overall customer satisfaction ranking, which is based on things like performance, reliability, customer service, cost and billing, fell this year due to lower customer service scores across all the ISPs.
In particular the average waiting time to speak with customer service agents has increased by two minutes to 8.7 minutes since last year.
Caspar Tearle, director of service industry research at JD Power, said in the report: "The 2006 study highlights the adverse affect poor call management can have on customer satisfaction levels."
As dissatisfaction with broadband services increases, the number of customers switching supplier is rising, with one-fifth changing their ISP in the last year - up from 15 per cent in 2005. Another quarter of customers said they are likely to change ISP in the next 12 months.
It's not only consumers looking to change their broadband provider. Results from another 2006 ISP satisfaction survey by AccountingWeb show that reliability is the most important factor for 78 per cent of business customers, with half of the 400 companies questioned saying they would consider switching ISP to get improved reliability.
Comments
There are 6 comments. Join the discussion
1. anonymous
I tried to switch to TalkTalk and it was a total shambles. As I need my home broadband for work as well, reliability is paramount. Because of my experience of TalkTalk's customer service, I eventually (after 5 months) decided to cancel my order and stick with Tesco (NTL) and BT for the landline. However, cancelling was even more difficult, although I've menaged it now after an e-mail to Dunstone. Carphone Warehouse has totally cocked up its prevoiusly enviable reputation over this. It you can't provide a better service than NTL and BT then you shouln't be in business.Sell the shares!
2. anonymous
Can I add Bulldog to my personal least liked? I asked for a MAC code six weeks ago as I was still paying £32 per month for a 1M connection and they would not offer an alternative. No MAC code arrived but last week they cut me off 'because I had asked for a disconnection'. Yesterday I had two calls asking me to complete a customer satisfaction survey.
3. Chris Parsons
And can I give a mention in favour of Zen? Not the cheapest, but good reliable internet, with excellent customer service.
4. Chris Parsons
And can I give a mention in favour of Zen? Not the cheapest, but good reliable internet, with excellent customer service.
5. Simon
Well what the f**k do people expect when the primary call for the last few years has been "cheaper, cheaper, cheaper" ! Sorry, but good services cost money to run - if you don't pay what a good service costs, then stop being a f***ing winger when the service is not good.
Trouble is, now that the discount merchants have well and truly lowered the price expectation, it's got very hard for anyone trying to a sell a good product at a price that allows them to keep it good.
The fiascos reported with the (so called) "free" broadband offers should be a clue - there's no such thing as a free lunch.
6. misceng
Now that NTL and Telewest are one I fear that another bunch of customers are going to get a much worse service. As a current NTL customer seeking releif I cannot believe that NTL will not drag Telewest down to their standard.