J.D. Power Recently released their 2013 Canadian Television Provider Customer Satisfaction Study and the 2013 Canadian Internet Service Provider Customer Satisfaction Study. According to the findings, customers who bundle their television, Internet and telephone services with the same telecom provider have the highest percent of satisfaction.
The study for television providers used six factors to measure customers’ overall satisfaction, those were cost of service, programming, communication, customer service and billing. The study for Internet providers used five, performance and reliability, cost of service, communication, billing and customer service.
The key insight from the study was that 83% of customers bundle their TV and Internet service, while 17% only subscribe to TV with their provider. 59% of customers with a TV and Internet also have telephone service from the same provider, which is referred to as the triple-play package.
Customers who selected the triple-play package pay an average of $165 per month. TV and Internet bundle cost an average of $156, while TV-only subscriptions cost $89.
“Bundling typically provides discounts and has the added convenience of one bill with one provider,” said Adrian Chung, account director at J.D. Power. “These elements are key drivers of higher satisfaction and provide the stickiness that leads to long-term loyalty.”
Triple-play customers tend to have the highest overall satisfaction with 690 on a 1,000-point scale, while TV and Internet bundlers have 678 and TV-only with 658. And 19% of triple-play customers stated that they “definitely will” recommend their providers to others.
Customers who subscribe to premium TV packages are more loyal to the provider. Only 16% indicated they “will likely” switch to another provider in the next year. They are also more “likely” to purchase additional services, while 22% of basic TV subscribers will likely switch in the next 12 months.
The study also shows that 42% of customers view content on their smarphones or tablets, but satisfaction among these customers average at 661, 22 points lower than those who only watch on their television.
“Satisfaction for mobile users suffers because they tend to experience more problems with picture and download speed,” said Chung. “They expect their mobile device to have the same speed and quality as their home TV, and in many cases their expectations are not met.”
When it comes to Internet, speed is the determining factor. The study shows that 15% of Internet users with fibre optic had their expectations exceeded, while only 8% of DSL and cable users have the same response.
Satisfaction is highest for customers with fibre optic Internet service. Customers who choose this service will experience fewer problems, but issues with their connection often lead to a significant decline in satisfaction.
“While customers with fibre optic connections are very pleased with the speed and reliability of their Internet connection, they also have very high expectations,” said Chung.
29% of DSL customers and 31% of cable customers have experienced outage with their Internet connection, where as only 25% of customers with fibre optic have experienced problems with their Internet. But if a problem does arise, fibre optic users’ satisfaction drops 114 points, 15 more than DSL and 13 more than cable.
In the eastern region, Vidéotron ranks highest in both television customer satisfaction with 747 and Internet customer satisfaction with 755. In the western region, SaskTel ranks highest in customer service with 730 points for television customer satisfaction and 705 for Internet customer satisfaction.
More than 10,500 telecommunication customers responded to the study conducted in October 2012 and April 2013.
Elliot Chan 