Biggest ever customer service survey puts O2 and IDNet in top position

The results of the biggest Broadband Survey on Customer Service ever have been announced recently by a major broadband information website.

The recognition of excellence in reliability and customer service over both the large and niche broadband service provider markets is being sought by this survey. It was shown that there is a huge difference between providers like O2 and others like Tiscali, Orange and Pipex following the ratings from half a million visitors who completed the survey.

With the top two niche operator Zen internet and IDNet coming out at the top for customer service the research showed that these levels of service can be provided by the niche operators.

In the Customer Service Awards the category for Large ISP went to O2 with a gold award, Be Unlimited with Silver and PlusNet took Bronze. In the category for Niche ISP IDNet took Gold, Zen internet got silver and NewNet got bronze.

A spokesman for the broadband website said “The satisfaction levels achieved by O2 and Be Unlimited are exceptional for a company of their size. Often consumers only consider price and the infamous ‘up to’ speeds in selecting which broadband service to subscribe to. It is refreshing to see a supplier of some of the fastest services in the country maintaining customer service and reliability levels so high.”

It is clear from the results that quality of service is key to customer satisfaction for Be Unlimited, which is part of the O2 group, although it is possible that the main reason for Be being beaten by O2 was due the UK-based call centre and the level of customer care they provide.

The marketing director at Telefónica O2 UK, Peter Rampling said “This is a fantastic endorsement of the focus we’ve had at O2 on the customer experience. In the relatively short space of time since we launched, we have firmly established O2 Home Broadband as the quality player in the UK market.”

The small and mid-sized ISPs who fell between a 2000 and 10 000 rating were included in the ‘niche provider’ categories. With a customer service rating of 87 percent, which was exceptional, the results show that the service leader for small providers was IDNet. Zen Internet, which was quite well known for its high levels of customer service and was an early adopter of ADSL. In the reliability statistics, however, Zen has edged ahead of IDNet. The fact that the other ‘niche’ ISPs Entanet and NewNet were both well in front of their competition is also worth noting.