Ofcom: Sky And O2 Get Customer Service Thumbs Up, But TalkTalk Struggles

Sky has the best-rated customer service of any major ISP or landline provider in the UK, according to new figures from Ofcom, while O2’s customers are the most satisfied about the level of support they receive in the mobile sector.

The communication regulator’s seventh annual customer satisfaction survey showed that the majority of providers in the landline, broadband, mobile and Pay TV sectors maintained overall satisfaction rates of between 67 and 76 percent while dissatisfaction levels ranged between 5 and 11 percent.

I can’t get no (customer) satisfaction

The average level of satisfaction with customer service in the landline market rose from 67 percent to 70 percent over the past year, with Sky customers reporting 79 percent, Virgin Media 72 percent and BT 69 percent.

TalkTalk recorded the lowest with 56 percent, down from 62 percent year-on-year, with customers reporting lower than average satisfaction rates in almost every criteria assessed by Ofcom. Twelve percent contacted their provider with a complaint and 61 percent said they were satisfied by the service they received.

Again, Sky led the way with 73 percent, up from 67 percent, with TalkTalk bottom thanks to a rating of just 43 percent.

Broadband and mobile

In the broadband sector, satisfaction levels of 67 percent remained unchanged, with Sky rated the best at 80 percent, ahead of Virgin Media on 70 and BT with 60. TalkTalk brought up the rear with a score of 53 percent – down from 62 percent.

A fifth of respondents made a complaint to customer service, with average satisfaction rates of 53 percent. Once again Sky fared the best with 76 percent, up from 58 percent, and TalkTalk worst with 40 percent, down from 45 percent.

In mobile, a satisfaction rate of 72 percent was recorded with O2 rated best at 80 percent, ahead of Virgin Media on 78 percent, Three and Vodafone on 69 percent and EE on 66 percent. A fifth said they contacted their provider with a complaint, leading to an average satisfaction rate of 59 percent. O2 satisfied 73 percent of customers, with Vodafone getting a satisfactory rating from 49 percent.