The Telecommunications sector managed to improve its score in all pillars rather significantly, with the biggest improvement in personalization and expectations, but despite making the biggest progress of all sectors, it’s still significantly below the market’s average.
Integrity and the way customers are treated remain key topics for telco clients: (in)sufficient time to read the contract before signing, (non-)provision of the contract’s copy, or differences between conditions offered by phone and the conditions listed in the contract. Customers’ comments clearly show that for carriers, there is still plenty of space for improvement in terms of integrity.
Customer support quality is another key factor, since that’s where customers go in case of trouble. The staff’s attitude, advice quality and forthcoming approach when assisting with device or SIM card setup are key points of focus here.
In case of serious issues, like internet outage, customers want to receive clear, timely information and see that the carrier is doing everything they can to fix the problem.
Most often, the criticism carriers receive is related to their unwillingness to provide personalized services. Many customers would like to have an option to transfer unused data to the next month, purchase plans with no data at all, or choose a cheaper plan for those who don’t make too many phone calls.
T-Mobile conquered the first place in the sector, with the pink carrier focused heavily on their mobile app quality, highlighting the option to sign up for their services online.
The survey participants commended the brand’s speedy customer service, forthcoming attitude and quality of consulting provided to those needing help choosing a phone or internet plan.
For the first time in five years, Vodafone’s scores dropped a little and the company came in close second. The drop could be explained by unhappy former UPC customers, a company that was recently acquired by Vodafone, with most complaints related to decreased helpline quality.
As for O2, the carrier managed to improve its total score compared to 2020 (from 6.48 to 6.73), but it’s still rather far behind the other two giants. The company’s customers mostly appreciate it for its long-term stability and their friendly, helpful employees.
Online contracts
Some customers have had bad experience signing up for a new service in store, with employees being pushy and not giving them enough time to read through the terms and conditions, resulting in people signing up for services they didn’t want in the first place. These customers are very happy when presented with an option to sign up for a new service online, which allows them to examine all options at their own pace.
Online change of parameters
Customers would welcome an option to top up their prepaid cards and set data limits online.
T-Mobile: “I needed to negotiate a contract extension and a lower price for my plan. I was able to sort everything out with a phone call.” (Woman, 43)
T-Mobile: “I had a claim about my bill, and it was handled amazingly – the company was very accommodating and the whole matter was resolved very quickly.” (Man, 35)
O2: “I needed to increase the amount of data that came with my plan. I submitted an online request and within a few minutes I got a call from a friendly operator who explained everything and upped my data in a matter of minutes.” (Woman, 67)
O2: “They have always managed to explain everything well so far, both over the phone and in person. They are always accommodating towards my needs. From my perspective, they are very professional, and I am very happy with their services.” (Woman, 54)
Vodafone: “After the employees at one of the company’s branches failed to resolve my issue, I was finally able to deal with it online, and very quickly.” (Woman, 59)
Vodafone: “I wanted to change my mobile data limit in my online account. It can’t be done – you can lower it, but not increase it.” (Man, 31)