acsi american customer satisfaction indexmarketing.theacsi.org/acton/attachment/5132/f-0055... ·...

ACSI TELECOMMUNICATIONS

REPORT 2017

ACSI

INDUSTRY RESULTS FOR:Subscription Television Service

Internet Service Providers

Fixed-Line Telephone Service

Wireless Telephone Service

Cellular Telephones

Smartphones

May 23, 2017

ABOUT ACSIThe American Customer

Satisfaction Index (ACSI) is a

national economic indicator

of customer evaluations of the

quality of products and services

available to household consumers

in the United States.

The ACSI uses data from

interviews with roughly 180,000

customers annually as inputs

to an econometric model for

analyzing customer satisfaction

with more than 300 companies

in 43 industries and 10 economic

sectors, including various

services of federal and local

government agencies.

ACSI results are released

throughout the year, with all

measures reported on a scale of

0 to 100. ACSI data have proven

to be strongly related to several

essential indicators of micro and

macroeconomic performance. For

example, firms with higher levels of

customer satisfaction tend to have

higher earnings and stock returns

relative to competitors. Stock

portfolios based on companies

that show strong performance in

ACSI deliver excess returns in up

markets as well as down markets.

At the macro level, customer

satisfaction has been shown to

be predictive of both consumer

spending and GDP growth.

American CustomerSatisfaction Index®

©2017 ACSI LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Internet Service Providers

64 0.0%

Wirelesss PhoneService

73 +2.8%

SubscriptionTV Service

64 -1.5%

Fixed-LinePhone Service70 0.0%

Cell Phones79 0.0%

http://www.theacsi.org







In a second straight year of improvement, the telecommunications segment gains 1% to an ACSI score of 69.3 on the American Customer Satisfaction Index’s 100-point scale. This report covers results for five industries: subscription television service, internet service providers, fixed-line telephone service, wireless telephone service, and cell phone manufacturers. For cell phones, the ACSI reports scores at both the company and brand levels with customer satisfaction scores for nearly two dozen smartphone models.

SUBSCRIPTION TELEVISION SERVICECustomer satisfaction with subscription television service slips 1.5% to 64, tied with internet service providers for last place among 43 industries tracked by the ACSI. Many of the same large companies offer service for internet, television, and voice via bundling. The threat of competition from streaming services has done little to spur improvement for pay TV. Customer service remains poor, and cord-cutting continues to accelerate. More than half a million subscribers defected from cable and satellite TV providers during the first quarter of 2017—the largest loss in the history of the industry.

Customers still prefer fiber optic and satellite to cable, putting Fios (Verizon Communications) in first place with a 1% uptick to 71. AT&T takes the next two spots with its fiber optic and satellite services. The company’s U-verse inches up 1% to 70, while satellite provider DIRECTV is unchanged at 68. DIRECTV NOW, an internet streaming service launched last fall, got off to a rocky start, but accounted for most of AT&T’s new subscribers last quarter.

DISH Network is the lowest-scoring satellite provider at 67, with a narrow lead over the best that cable can offer. With a score of 66, Optimum (formerly Cablevision Systems and now part of Altice USA) is the highest-scoring cable provider. Altice USA became the fourth largest U.S. cable operator following its acquisitions of Cablevision Systems and Suddenlink, which comes in below the industry average after a 2% uptick to 63.

Despite a 5% gain, Spectrum (Charter Communications) also scores below the average at 63, along with the smaller subscription TV providers (-2%). Nevertheless, Spectrum is the most improved, gaining ground with customers on the strength of its two-way interactive Spectrum Guide interface, as well as its merger with high-scoring Bright House Networks.

Cox Communications recovers 3% to an ACSI score of 61. Just a point lower, Time Warner Cable (TWC)—now part of Charter Communications—rises 2% to 60. This is the last year of measurement for TWC before they are rebranded as Charter Spectrum in 2018. Frontier Communications—having acquired fiber optic service in California, Texas, and Florida—debuts in the ACSI with a score of 60 and ties TWC. Meanwhile,

Wireless Competition Boosts Customer Satisfaction, While Subscription TV and ISPs Face Problems

ACSI Telecommunications Report 2017

ACSI

1 WWW.THEACSI.ORG | [email protected] ©2017 ACSI LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.




mailto:info%40theacsi.org?subject=


ACSI


For the industry overall, very few elements of the customer experience have improved. According to subscribers, in-person service is one aspect that has gotten better this year, but the improvement is slight (up 1% to an ACSI benchmark of 78). Website satisfaction also has inched up 1% to 74.

The remaining components of pay TV are unchanged or worse than they were a year ago. Viewers maintain that HD picture quality is paramount, stable at 80. Many of the largest providers have reported investments in technology and additional service staff, but according to subscribers, service at support centers is not any faster (76). In addition, remote controls, menus, and guides are more difficult to use (75).

Compared to last year, TV signals are less reliable (75) and there are fewer premium channels available (74) as providers continue to battle over content distribution. Consumers find bills confusing (73), but call centers are a definite low point for the industry (65).

price hikes for Xfinity (Comcast) subscriptions send customer satisfaction tumbling 6% to a score of 58. Mediacom remains the lowest-scoring pay TV provider despite a 4% improvement to 56.






ACSI


INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERSInternet service providers remain at the bottom of the ACSI rankings, unchanged at a score of 64. Data-rich video accounts for more than half of all internet traffic, but ISPs are falling short of providing higher-capacity networks at an affordable price. Competition is limited across most of the country, and customers are unhappy to be locked into service contracts when prices rise. Service is still largely considered to be slow and unreliable. Customer satisfaction with most major ISP providers deteriorates this year, but 5 of 12 companies actually improve.






ACSI


Fios, the fiber optic service from Verizon Communications, remains at the top of the category, but its lead weakens due to its 3% downturn to 71. AT&T’s U-verse fiber optic service narrows the gap considerably by leaping 8% to 69. AT&T’s ultrafast GigaPower fiber-to-the-home networks already appear to have had a positive impact on customer satisfaction. The company plans to roll out the service to 12.5 million customer locations across its 21-state wireline footprint.

Third place among ISPs goes to Optimum (Altice USA), which slips 1% to 68. Suddenlink, also part of Altice USA, attains an 8% upswing to 66, having significantly improved speed from a year ago. Suddenlink continues to expand availability of its gigabit cable broadband service, which is paying off with consumers. Spectrum (Charter Communications) also realizes improvement, edging up 3% to 65.

The rest of the ISPs fare much worse, falling below the industry average. The combined score of smaller providers slumps 2% to 63. Time Warner Cable, now part of Charter Communications, drops down 6% to a tie with Cox Communications at 62.

Xfinity (Comcast) achieves a gain of 2% to 60, which is a four-year high for the company. Customer service aside, subscribers like fast internet access, and Comcast has increased internet speed 16 times over the past 14 years. Mediacom also improves, up 2% to 58. Moving in the opposite direction, CenturyLink






ACSI


wanes 6% to 59, while Windstream falls 3% to 57. Rounding out the bottom of the industry, Frontier Communications is flat at the low score of 56.

According to users, most aspects of the customer experience with ISPs are getting worse. Courtesy and helpfulness of staff has deteriorated 3% to 77, and in-store service is slower (75). Bills are more difficult to understand (73), website satisfaction is down (72), and internet service less reliable (70) and more prone to outages (70).

Overall speed has not changed (69), but users perceive video streaming to be of lower quality (68), and performance during peak hours is worse (69). The diversity of internet offerings leaves a lot to be desired (66) and call centers continue to be a sore spot for the industry, retreating 3% to a low benchmark of 61.






ACSI


FIXED-LINE TELEPHONE SERVICEOverall customer satisfaction with fixed-line telephone service is flat at an ACSI score of 70, as nearly half of all U.S. households forgo landlines in favor of wireless service. Only the most loyal customer base is left behind with a stable level of satisfaction.

Individual company performance, however, is mixed. According to users, voice-over-internet protocol (VoIP) calling is the preferred mode of landline-based communication. Vonage, a VoIP provider, climbs 3% to 80—an 18-year high for any company in the industry. Because it is an OTT service that doesn’t need to maintain an infrastructure, Vonage is better able to focus its resources on customer service.

Companies that provide both cable and internet service in addition to landline telephone do not perform as well. In distant second place, the group of smaller fixed-line service providers recovers 4% to 75, and Verizon Communications picks up 1% to 73.

Spectrum (Charter Communications) surges 9% to 71. The improvement reflects its merger with historically high-scoring Bright House Networks, which has lifted Spectrum in all three categories. Two companies join Spectrum after small changes of +/- 1%: AT&T and Optimum (Altice USA).






ACSI


Below the industry average, Cox Communications is flat at 68, while Time Warner Cable (Charter Communications) moves up 5% to 67. CenturyLink drops off 3% to 66, followed by Comcast’s Xfinity (+2%) and Windstream in a tie at 65. Frontier Communications deteriorates the most, losing 9% to land in last place at 61.

Many aspects of landline service are better than they were a year ago. Call quality is higher (+1% to 79), staff are more courteous and helpful (+4% to 79), and transactions are completed faster (+3% to 76). Service is reliable (79) and outages are minimal (78). The helpfulness of information services ticks up 1% to 74, although this is the second-to-lowest element. Like all telecom industries, call centers are the worst part of the customer experience, but fixed-line call centers do show slight improvement (+1% to 66).






ACSI


WIRELESS TELEPHONE SERVICECustomer satisfaction with wireless telephone service climbs 2.8% to 73, as carriers engage in increasingly competitive price wars. Compared with other telecom categories where customers have little choice, the wireless industry is a good example of how competition impacts customer satisfaction. When companies fight for customers, prices are competitive, service improves, and customer satisfaction is higher.

In many ways, the wireless industry is history repeating itself, with mobile phones taking the place of fixed-line telephones. Decades ago, landline phone companies were fully immersed in price wars to win and keep customers. Today, unlimited data and no contracts are hallmarks of the new battleground, and the industry is truly competitive again.

Smaller carriers lead the way with a 3% hike to an ACSI score of 79. Prepaid provider TracFone Wireless, which acquired Walmart Family Mobile from T-Mobile last year, gains 3% to a score of 77. Verizon Wireless climbs 4% to match U.S. Cellular (+3%) at 74. Sprint improves customer satisfaction for a second straight year, up another 4% to 73—an all-time ACSI high for the company. T-Mobile ties with Sprint, but moves in the opposite direction, slipping 1% to match industry average. AT&T Mobility (+1%) is at the bottom of the category at 72 and is now slightly below average.

The future of wireless service will become even more competitive, as Comcast recently announced it will begin offering its own wireless service, Xfinity Mobile. While the cable giant has the financial muscle to quickly scale its wireless service nationwide, it will focus first on offering mobile to existing customers as part of bundles with other services.






ACSI


Technology is a strong point for wireless carriers as website satisfaction is head-and-shoulders above that of other telecom industries—and it continues to improve (80). Call quality is stable, along with network coverage (both 79), while reliability in terms of dropped calls is better (78).

Employee interactions, however, have deteriorated slightly. The courtesy and helpfulness of staff is down 2% to 79, while in-store transactions seem to be taking longer (-4% to 75).






ACSI


CELLULAR TELEPHONESCustomer satisfaction with cell phones is stable at an ACSI score of 79. Cell phone technology has not changed much during the past four years. Compared with the four telecom industries, cell phones rate well, but most other durable goods and consumer electronics score higher. To some extent, the relatively lower ACSI for the industry is a result of high consumer expectations for mobile devices.

Among the largest manufacturers, Apple maintains the lead, unchanged at 81. It has been nearly two years since Microsoft Mobile (Nokia) introduced a new Windows phone, but Microsoft moves up 8% to tie Samsung in second place at 80. While Microsoft did not disrupt the market when it took over the Lumia brand from Nokia in 2014, the Windows operating system appears to have withstood the test of time. However, Microsoft did not publish the results of its mobile division in its most recent financial report, and it remains to be seen if new devices will be released as the company finalizes its split with Nokia.

Despite much-publicized problems with faulty batteries that caused fires in some devices, Samsung is steady at an ACSI score of 80. The problems were limited to the Note 7, which was only on sale for two weeks before being recalled, and are thus not captured in this data. Galaxy S8 and S8+ were released at the end of data collection, and are not reflected in Samsung’s score.

HTC picks up 1% to 76 to tie with Motorola (Lenovo), which ebbs 1%. The combined score of smaller manufacturers overtakes LG after a 3% boost to 75, leaving a stagnant LG at the bottom of the category with 74.






ACSI


Over the past few years, the general trend for smartphones has been toward larger screens. This year, the top smartphone brand is iPhone SE—which has just a 4-inch screen. Apparently, consumers were craving a new iteration of a smaller, less expensive phone as the SE is Apple’s first update to a 4-inch phone since 2013.

The Galaxy S6 edge+ ties the iPhone 7 Plus in second place (86), while the Galaxy S6 edge takes third (85). Apple and Samsung dominate category, and other manufacturers come in at the low end. Motorola’s Moto G and the larger LG G4, with its 5.5-inch screen, trail behind with scores of 75 and 73, respectively. The lowest-rated model, however, belongs to Samsung—the Galaxy Core Prime (70).






ACSI


According to users, not much has changed with mobile devices over the past year. Text messaging still gets the top mark, albeit, at 86, a bit lower. Calls are easy to make (85) and phone designs are pleasing (84). Audio quality (82) and video quality (83) are very good, as are websites (83). Operating systems show a slight uptick (82), and battery life, while still the lowest-ranking element, is slightly better (76).

No advertising or other promotional use can be made of the data and information in this report without the express prior written consent of ACSI LLC.






ACSI


ABOUT THIS REPORT

The ACSI Telecommunications and Information Report 2017 on cellular telephones, fixed-line telephone service, internet service providers, subscription television service, and wireless telephone service is based on interviews with 36,194 customers, chosen at random and contacted via email between May 17, 2016, and April 25, 2017. Customers are asked to evaluate their recent experiences with the largest telecommunications service providers and phone manufacturers in terms of market share, plus an aggregate category consisting of “all other”—and thus smaller—companies in those industries.

The survey data are used as inputs to ACSI’s cause-and-effect econometric model, which estimates customer satisfaction as the result of the survey-measured inputs of customer expectations, perceptions of quality, and perceptions of value. The ACSI model, in turn, links customer satisfaction with the survey-measured outcomes of customer complaints and customer loyalty. ACSI clients receive confidential industry-competitive and best-in-class data on all modeled variables and customer experience benchmarks.

ACSI and its logo are Registered Marks of the University of Michigan, licensed worldwide exclusively to American Customer Satisfaction Index LLC with the right to sublicense.





https://www.facebook.com/theACSI

https://twitter.com/theACSI

http://www.acsimatters.com

https://www.linkedin.com/company/american-customer-satisfaction-index-acsi-?trk=vsrp_companies_res_name&trkInfo=VSRPsearchId%3A60811181380135309026%2CVSRPtargetId%3A758098%2CVSRPcmpt%3Aprimary


ACSI






acsi american customer satisfaction indexmarketing.theacsi.org/acton/attachment/5132/f-0055... ·...

Documents