New ComCom rankings reveal telcos with best customer service

Telecommunications Commissioner, Tristan Gilbertson, says this is part of the Commission’s ongoing work to improve retail service quality for consumers. 

“These rankings focus on how well each provider looks after you when something goes wrong. This really matters to consumers. We know there can be a big gap between what consumers expect and what they actually get from their provider.”

Mr Gilbertson says consumer frustration in this area is reflected by ongoing high levels of complaints about customer service.

“Consumers told us that two things matter most to them when something goes wrong – how quickly providers fix problems and how helpful staff are in making that happen. Our rankings show how well different providers are performing in these areas. 

“To balance this out, we’re also showing how successful providers are at avoiding customer service issues in the first place, as well as how they compare in terms of overall satisfaction, so that customer service can be seen in a broader perspective.”  

Mr Gilbertson says that providing this information upfront will help Kiwi consumers choose the best provider for them and also avoid surprises later about the quality of customer service on offer.

“The current rankings, using six months of data from New Zealand customers, show that while some are doing better than others, all providers have areas for improvement.

“Skinny is the current league leader and ranked well across almost all mobile and broadband areas with its customers experiencing the fewest issues.

“We can also see that Skinny customers are more likely to recommend this brand to friends and family. However, it ranked lowest for broadband customer service staff helpfulness and knowledge.

“Contact Energy appears to be outperforming some of the traditional telcos in broadband, ranking highly for satisfaction and staff helpfulness. One NZ (previously Vodafone NZ) is ranked low across almost all measures for mobile and broadband, although it did rate well for the speed with which it resolves broadband issues.”

Mr Gilbertson says each consumer will have a different set of priorities when it comes to choosing a telecommunications provider.

“Our work suggests that the rankings will be useful to many consumers when it comes to weighing up providers and making an informed decision. There’s often a trade-off involved between price and the level of customer service on offer. Consumers can now see what they can expect from different providers to help choose who is best for them.”

The Commission intends to undertake further work to ensure the rankings are easy for consumers to find and use. It will update the rankings every month over the next six months and then publish updated rankings every quarter to show changes in customer service levels over time.

“Providers are free to publish the rankings themselves and we encourage them to put them on their website and make them visible in retail stores,” Mr Gilbertson says.

Mr Gilbertson says the Commission is still considering whether to make it mandatory for providers to publish some or all of the rankings on their websites and in their retail stores.

"We see these rankings as a powerful tool for customers, and an incentive for positive change from providers over time. The current rankings reflect a point in time, and we would expect this to be dynamic as providers lift their game for the benefit of Kiwi consumers of mobile and broadband services.”

The rankings can be found on the Commission’s website here.

Background

Because of persistent quality of service issues, and ongoing high levels of consumer complaints, Parliament amended the Telecommunications Act in 2018 and tasked the Commission with improving the quality of service that telecommunications retailers are providing to consumers.

To meet this challenge, we are focused on improving retail service quality to reflect the demands of consumers and ensuring they have the information they need to choose the best provider and technology for them.

Our Retail Service Quality work encompasses all aspects of customer experience, including billing, switching providers, marketing, contracts, installation, and performance.

Our work in this area so far has resulted in improvements to the telecommunications dispute resolution scheme, usage and spend information for mobile consumers, and broadband marketing practices.

The rankings we are announcing today are focussed on customer service as this is a particular pain point for many consumers and generates a large volume of complaints.

Later this year we will introduce guidelines to make it easier for consumers to compare telecommunications providers and plans on a like for like basis and will tackle other consumer pain points including issues in billing, switching and debt practices in 2024.