At the end of a year in which the telecommunications industry--particularly Telstra--has come in for a vicious roasting over service delivery, the Australian Communications Authority (ACA) has released a survey revealing customer satisfaction with service levels has generally slumped over the last 12 months.
ACA chairman, Tony Shaw, said in a statement "a major finding was that 26 per cent of households and 32 per cent of small businesses were dissatisfied with the level of customer service they had received. This was more than double the results of the 2001 survey".
However, the ACA's 2002 customer satisfaction survey revealed some bright sparks within the gloom. Small businesses remained as satisfied with Internet service levels in 2002 as they were in 2001. But telecommunications executives preparing to heave a sigh of relief should also note that households' satisfaction levels slumped to levels not seen since 1999.
The survey found that 82 percent of small businesses were satisfied with the overall service provided by their Internet supplier, while 79 percent were satisfied with the terms and conditions of their Internet account. These results each fell within three percentage points of the outcomes achieved in 2001. However, household satisfaction levels plummeted from 88 percent in 2001 for both overall service and terms and conditions to 73 percent and 76 percent respectively.
Households' satisfaction levels with information provided by telecommunications companies about the technical aspects of Internet services slumped by seven percentage points to 66 per cent in 2002 over 2001, while those dissatisfied increased from 12 to 17 per cent. Small businesses' satisfaction levels remained at 2001 levels for both information on technical aspects and the provision of information before signing up.
The survey found Internet access in Australia continued to grow, with one in two households and two in three small businesses reporting they were connected to the Internet.
Australians outside the large corporate sector were also keen to gripe about the cost of telecommunications services, with around half of both small business and household respondents claiming prices for mobile telephone services were excessive. However, the fixed phone line rental bore the brunt of their venom, with around two-thirds of both categories of respondents claiming prices paid for the service were "too high".
Mobile service quality also suffered from customer outrage. "In spite of recently increased network coverage, satisfaction with technical aspects of mobile phone services was also at its lowest level since 1998," Shaw said. "This mostly related to coverage issues and the number of call drop outs".
