Broadband ISP Customer Satisfaction Ranked Second Worst, Above Only Gas Stations
We've noted for years how the steady, mindless consolidation by telecom monopolies has resulted in patchy broadband access, slow speeds, and high prices. But another longstanding trademark of the industry has been its abysmal customer service, created by mindless growth and a subsequent refusal to scale customer service to match.
The latest customer satisfaction rankings by the American Consumer Satisfaction Index shows that while broadband and traditional cable TV provider customer satisfaction is slowly increasing for some providers, the industry as a whole still rates as the second worst in America, above only gas stations:
Overall satisfaction of ISPs rose 6%, to a score of 68, in ACSI's latest study. But ISPs still have a ways to go on the consumer satisfaction front when compared to other industries. The ISP benchmark score of 68 was near the bottom, beating only gas stations, which posted a benchmark score of 65. Subscription TV services, with a score of 69, didn't perform much better. The US Post Office, with a 70, scored higher than ISPs and subscription TV services.
You have to truly pause and think about the large number of terrible industries that exist in the U.S. (airlines, utilities, insurance companies, U.S. health care) to appreciate the work it takes to have the worst customer service in the country. And this is after literally decades of broadband and cable companies insisting that improving customer service and satisfaction was their top priority.
Meanwhile, while streaming video services are certainly experiencing some very ugly growing pains (especially among employees and creators), they continue to rank significantly higher among consumers than the traditional cable TV providers they disrupted:
Turning to overall streaming apps, Amazon Prime led with a score of 80, followed by Peacock (79). Hulu's subscription VoD service, Netflix, Paramount+ and YouTube Premium all notched a 78. The bottom-feeders in the category were ESPN+ (72) and Crackle (70).
The most popular industries in America? Athletic shoes and soft drinks, followed by breweries, full service restaurants, online retailers, and television manufacturers.