In the most recent survey of Australia’s telco customers last month, 82% of customers said they were satisfied, very satisfied or neutral about the service they receive from their provider – that’s up from 80% in the first poll conducted two years ago, but down from 84% recorded in the previous quarter.
The survey - carried out for Communications Alliance by Roy Morgan Research last month – was designed to measure the overall experience of Australian telco customers, particularly in relation to key customer ‘touch points’ covered by the revised Telecommunications Consumer Protections (TCP) Code. The enforceable Code was created by Communications Alliance, industry representatives and other stakeholders, and registered by ACMA late in 2012.
According to the Communications Alliance, many service providers are already deliver outstanding customer service and industry’s “concerted improvement efforts”, combined with the impact of the TCP Code, has seen customer complaints to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) fall by more than 40% to an eight year low.
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The survey showed steady ratings, at 71% in customers’ satisfaction with the ease of contacting their provider and at 85% in satisfaction with information provided when customers purchased a telecommunications product.
And, satisfaction with complaint handling, at 67%, was up on the initially recorded figure of 66% but down on the previous quarter measure of 69%.
On dissatisfaction levels, the survey found that one in five, or 18%, of respondents surveyed, were dissatisfied with customer service in some way, but only a small group of customers – or 7% - said they were very dissatisfied.
According to the Communications Alliance, the survey results demonstrate that the satisfaction with service remains stable over the period with minor fluctuations - in the survey last month the proportion of respondents who were very satisfied increased (33%) as compared to 26% in the survey conducted in March 2013.
On the ‘ease of contacting their telecommunications provider, two-thirds (65%) of respondents to last month’s survey said they were satisfied, while over a quarter (28%) were very satisfied.
But, the same survey also found that one in five (22%) of customers were dissatisfied with the ease of their contact while a small number (8%) were very dissatisfied.
Overall, Communications Alliance says that satisfaction with ease of contacting has remained at 60% or above for the last four quarters, compared to 56% in the first survey in March 2013.
Conversely, dissatisfaction was highest, at 30% in the 2013 survey, and has been held below 24% for the last four quarters.
On complaint handling, last month’s survey reveals that just over a half (52%) of those telco customers who had made a complaint in the last six months said they were satisfied with how their complaint had been handled.
A third of those making a complaint (33%) reported their dissatisfaction with complaint handling, while one in six (16%) were very dissatisfied with the process.
In the last four quarters to last month, the level of satisfaction with complaint handling remains consistently at 51%, or more, satisfied - similar to complaint satisfaction levels in March 2013.
