Consumer NZ’s telco survey shows customer service lacking

2 February 2017

Consumer NZ’s telco survey shows customer service lacking

Consumer NZ’s latest telco survey shows internet and mobile companies struggle with the basics of customer service, such as ensuring their customers’ bills are accurate.

“One out of every four consumers has encountered a billing dispute with their internet company in the past year,” Consumer NZ chief executive Sue Chetwin said.

“To make matters worse, ironing out disputes can be incredibly frustrating. Nearly two-thirds of consumers experienced lengthy delays to speak with a customer service rep,” Ms Chetwin said.

The survey also found about a third of consumers who had switched to ultra-fast broadband in the past year had encountered problems.

The biggest bugbear was unmet timeframes for installation, an issue for 23 percent. Other problems included poorly restored property following installation and damaged property during installation.

Of the seven internet companies in the survey, Flip rated best for overall satisfaction: 64 percent of its customers were very satisfied with the service they received. Slingshot and Orcon were the next cabs off the rank. Overall, 58 percent of Slingshot customers and 53 percent of Orcon customers were very satisfied.

Spark and Vodafone, the two largest players, trailed the field. Only 43 percent of Spark customers and 41 percent of Vodafone customers were very satisfied with their retailer. Both companies scored comparatively poorly when it came to value for money.

Among mobile companies, Skinny Mobile (a division of Spark) had the most satisfied customers: 69 percent were very satisfied with the service they received. Skinny did significantly better than Spark, which had an overall satisfaction rating of 53 percent.

Skinny Mobile is a Consumer Trusted business. Businesses are assessed against Consumer NZ’s Code of Conduct and agree to comply with the code’s principles.

Vodafone lagged behind the other major mobile companies with a satisfaction rating of 50 percent. Its customers were more likely than average to strike unexpected charges and inaccurate bills.

Most consumers (62 percent) had a prepay mobile plan as opposed to a fixed- or open-term account plan. Consumers with prepay plans were more likely than those on post-pay plans to agree they were getting very good value for money.

Full details of the survey are available at consumer.org.nz and in the February issue of Consumer magazine.

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