Posted on 05/26/2014 8:28:39 AM PDT by null and void
Cable providers rank worst in customer satisfaction According to the latest survey by American Customer Satisfaction Index, by far the biggest (and often most accurate) study in the country, cable providers Comcast and Time Warner Cable have the lowest customer satisfaction ratings of all companies . . . in all industries . . . in all of America.
And that’s not even the bad news: Comcast and Time Warner Cable were the only two companies to score below a 60 on the ACSI’s 100-point scale. They’re lower than perennial customer satisfaction basement dwellers United Airlines, Bank of America, Sprint, Aetna — even the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power scored a higher customer satisfaction rating.
In the report, the ACSI states that the low satisfaction ratings for Comcast and Time Warner Cable should make the two companies reconsider their upcoming merge, which would quickly make them the largest content provider in the American broadband and pay TV markets.
“The combination of low and downward-trending customer satisfaction for both Comcast and Time Warner Cable is cause for concern amid merger talks between the two companies,” ACSI writes. “The issue at stake is not that the proposed merger will limit competition as the service territories of the two companies do not overlap. Instead, it is the question of whether a combination of two pay-TV providers with such poor records could possibly create a better customer experience, especially given the volume of evidence from ACSI data suggesting that mergers in service industries tend to damage satisfaction — at least in the short term.”
In all likelihood, the results of this survey will play no part in the two companies finalizing their deal. “Comcast and Time Warner assert their proposed merger will not reduce competition because there is little overlap in their service territories,” says David VanAmburg, ACSI Director. “Still, it’s a concern whenever two poor-performing service providers combine operations. ACSI data consistently show that mergers in service industries usually result in lower customer satisfaction, at least in the short term. It’s hard to see how combining two negatives will be a positive for consumers.”
Worth pointing out is the effect the Internet has had on how customers now view their television subscriptions.
“The Internet has been a disruptor for many industries, and subscription TV and ISPs are no exception,” says Claes Fornell, ACSI Chairman and founder. “Over-the-top video services, like Netflix and Hulu, threaten subscription TV providers and also put pressure on ISP network infrastructure. Customers question the value proposition of both, as consumers pay for more than they need in terms of subscription TV and get less than they want in terms of Internet speeds and reliability.”
Also worth noting from the study is that Samsung has now surpassed Apple as America’s favorite cell phone maker. The company earned an all-time high ACSI score of 81, while Apple fell for the second year in a row, this time by 2%, to a score of 79. Should Apple fall out of the top two is a serious concern, as the field is getting tight — Motorola Mobility and Nokia (Microsoft) both scored 77, respectively, and despite the PR nightmare they’ve had to go through this past year, let alone the fact that most of their market has pretty much disappeared, BlackBerry’s satisfaction rating rose 7% to a score of 74.
“Samsung has gone from up-and-comer to top-of-the-heap on the strength of its smartphone portfolio,” says VanAmburg. “Apple’s magic isn’t gone, but the luster has dulled on its older models. Each iteration improves on the last, but Apple’s year-long product refresh cycle is an eternity when a new Android phone seems to be released every week.”
As long as we’re on the topic of smartphones, Verizon Wireless has the highest customer satisfaction rating this year, climbing 3% to 75. Following suit are T-Mobile (69), Sprint (68), and AT&T Mobility (68).
“Consumers once used their cell phones primarily for talking, whereas now smartphones are becoming lifestyle accessories that we just can’t live without,” says Fornell. “But these powerful devices rely on networks that are still playing catch-up with consumer demand.”
Cut the cable, you’ll be glad you did.
We now have Comcast triple play and our service is one hundred times better than AT&T. 20 years ago AT&T couldn’t make a simple switch from two bonded ISDN channels to DSL — everything was out for a couple weeks. Then phone was out about ten days because none of their “highly trained techs” could find the point at which a squirrel had chewed through my pair of wires. DSL was never reliable, and in our last days, it would regularly drop from 1.5 Mbps to 150 kbps. They had zero interest in fixing their old plant and simply wouldn’t respond to our pleas for help. To top it all off, after we switched to Comcast, we told AT&T to take their wires off our property and they said they couldn’t do that because we were no longer a customer! I pointed out that, if I were still a current customer, I wouldn’t want my wires removed. So I ripped their damn plant out myself and, to this day, their coiled-up wire is dangling on the pole behind our house. WORST company ever.
By comparison, we are very happy w Comcast except for their infernal price hikes.
I’ve had Comcast for years, and have received great service. However, their latest Xfinity upgrade is horrible and slow. You never know if your last remote click is going to take.
Yep, I agree. I tried downgrading my cable to a lower priced package when the rates went up (I have Metrocast) and have come to the realization I don’t watch much TV in the first place. When my youngest leaves for the military this summer, I’m keeping internet and getting rid of cable. I normally stream to my computer/Kindle anyway.
I’ve got TWC. Hate it. But, since there is no competition you are pretty much stuck. Hope they do NOT approve that horrific merger.
I’d switch to Dish but the internet speed is poor in comparison.
I no longer receive cable television but I do have Comcast for VOIP and for internet. Since it appears that they can not keep either up for a week without an interruption in service, I will be canceling my account and going with CentryLink for fiber-optic internet service and a conventional POTS line.
TWC is about to get massive dis-enrollment without the SEC network.
I would gladly turn off 100 channels for the 1. They won’t do that so............
I trust corporations exactly as much as I trust unions or the fedgov. That is, not at all.
XBMC
I have Cox Cable. Compared to the other services in my town of 14k, they provide the best for the buck.
Wireless Internet is around $50/month but with limited speed and about 5gb downloading. Cable is $65/month at about 22Mbps and 250gb download.
I watch a lot of ‘tv’ via Netflix and web (via Plex) and I seldom use up even half of the 250gb. I also ‘marathon’ a lot of programs by watching 2-3 episodes at a time. Even ESPN and FoxSports are now streaming, but one has to have the cable company subscription to access that. ABC also changed over to that method. Networks and cable/satellite companies are forcing viewers to connect online but through the cable/satellite websites.
Of course, the ‘networks’ do need to find a way to compete and still be able to afford new programming. They are having a terrible run. Last year some 29 network programs ended their runs or were cancelled, many after only a few episodes. This year, some 40 network programs were dumped.
Some networks have hit pay-dirt by sticking with some programs and developing an audience. Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead are two that started out sluggish and now generate relatively large viewership. CBS landed gold when NBC dropped JAG and CBS picked it up. CBS continued their gold with the JAG spin-off, NCIS, and the NCIS spin-off NCIS-LA. Last year they tried another potential NCIS spin-off that failed and they are trying another NCIS-NO next season. The CW nearly dropped Supernatural its first year but gave it a reprieve. It will start its tenth season this fall.
Wife had our former Indiana Bell-Ameritech-SBC-AT&T number for around 40 years and when AT&T could do no more for us than continued 6.0 mbps for $51 a month and bare bones phone for $30 more, we ditched the phone altogether and went with Xfinity Performance 25 mbps for $19 plus $8 for the wireless gateway for a year then regular price $29.99 a month. AT&T made a half-hearted effort to keep us when we called to terminate service, including lying that for $19.99 all we would be getting is the same speed they provided. As if we wouldn’t have already had the Xfinity installed and speed tested before we called them.
Everyone hates the bundle BS.
Give us ala carte.
Amen.
Same here but G-box Midnight Mx2 vs Roku
I guess now that AT&T has bought DirecTV, it will go into the $hitter with the cable companies. Everything AT&T touches turns to crap ( and the prices go up at the same time). They are the worst “communications company” in the world! It’s taken them 30 years since Judge Greene broke them up to put themselves back together again. Another government failure!
Sadly half the of the air channels are hispanic, but I am 65 mi from the transmitters and get 65 channels off air in HD.
“To top it all off, after we switched to Comcast, we told AT&T to take their wires off our property and they said they couldn’t do that because we were no longer a customer! I pointed out that, if I were still a current customer, I wouldn’t want my wires removed. So I ripped their damn plant out myself and, to this day, their coiled-up wire is dangling on the pole behind our house. WORST company ever.”
I hate AT&T with a passion, but Comcast is actually worse. When we switched to DirecTV we (like you) asked Comcast to remove their drop wire. Got the same answer. So I pulled all their OSP from the house and pulled the drop across the street and wrapped it around the pole.
We have AT&T cell phone service (Verison is crap here) but at home the AT&T service suddenly went bad so I checked the cell tower locations and found that there were three nearby and one was only 1,000 ft away. They had changed it’s direction to give better service to another area and they admitted it. So I bought a Wilson repeater which fixed the problem. Now I get a letter from Wilson stating that I have to have AT&T’s “permission” to operate my “ local cell tower.” I hope AT&T understands the words “fat chance.”
My Comcast bill seems to inch-up every month despite no change in my service level. It’s gone up more than 40% in the last 4-5 years, from about $100 to $142. Not too many years ago, it was about $80 a month. I pay more for cable in most months than for water/electricity/natural gas combined.
If the SHTF, maybe one of them will still work.
One shouldn't have all one's communication eggs in one basket.
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