TV Service Providers & ISPs Earn The Lowest Customer Experience Ratings

We recently released the 2017 Temkin Experience Ratings that ranks the customer experience of 331 companies across 20 industries based on a survey of 10,000 U.S. consumers.

AOL earned the highest customer experience score in the TV/Internet Service Providers industry, according to the 2017 Temkin Experience Ratings, an annual customer experience ranking of companies based on a survey of 10,000 U.S. consumers.

Overall, however, the TV/Internet Service Provider industry averaged a 54% rating and come in last place out of 20 industries despite the average rating of the industry improving by seven percentage-points between 2016 and 2017.

US Cellular Earns Top Customer Experience Ratings for Wireless Carriers

We recently released the 2017 Temkin Experience Ratings that ranks the customer experience of 331 companies across 20 industries based on a survey of 10,000 U.S. consumers.

US Cellular delivers the best customer experience in the wireless industry, according to the 2017 Temkin Experience Ratings, an annual customer experience ranking of companies based on a survey of 10,000 U.S. consumers.

US Cellular took the top spot out of the nine wireless carriers included in this year’s ratings, earning a score of 71% and coming in 137^th place overall out of 331 companies across 20 industries. TracFone and Verizon Wireless tied for second place, each earning a score of 67% and an overall rank of 206^th.

Residence Inn, Holiday Inn Express, and Hilton Earn Top Customer Experience Ratings for Hotels

We recently released the 2016 Temkin Experience Ratings that ranks the customer experience of 294 companies across 20 industries based on a survey of 10,000 U.S. consumers.

Residence Inn, Holiday Inn Express, and Hilton deliver the best customer experience in the hotel industry, according to the 2016 Temkin Experience Ratings, an annual customer experience ranking of companies based on a survey of 10,000 U.S. consumers.

Residence Inn and Holiday Inn Express tied for the top spot out of 21 hotels in this year’s ratings. Each earned a score of 71% and came in 42^nd place overall out of 294 companies across 20 industries. Residence Inn and Holiday Inn Express were the only two hotels to improve their scores this year which, coupled with the significant decline in the other hotels’ scores, gave them the boost they needed to reach the top. Hilton, meanwhile, came in second place with a rating of 69% and an overall rank of 60^th.

At the other end of the spectrum, Motel 6 received the lowest score of any hotel, earning a rating of 41% and an overall rank of 283^rd. Fairfield Inn and Days Inn also received “very poor” ratings (below 50%).

TV and Internet Service Providers Deliver the Worst Customer Experience

We recently released the 2016 Temkin Experience Ratings that ranks the customer experience of 294 companies across 20 industries based on a survey of 10,000 U.S. consumers.

TV service providers and Internet service providers received the lowest overall customer experience scores, according to the 2016 Temkin Experience Ratings, an annual ranking of companies based on a survey of 10,000 U.S. consumers.

Of the 20 industries covered in the 2016 Temkin Experience Ratings, TV service and Internet service providers tied with healthcare providers for the lowest average ratings. These industries have been at the bottom of the Ratings for the past four years, and their scores hit an all-time low this year.

The poster child for poor customer experience in these industries—Comcast—was not only the lowest-scoring TV service and Internet service provider, but was also one of the lowest-scoring companies in the entire Ratings. It ranked 289^th overall out of 294 companies for its TV service and ranked 284^th overall for its Internet service.

Of the 10 TV service companies we looked at, six received “very poor” ratings (below 50%): Bright House Networks (49%), Charter Communications (48%), Verizon (47%), Time Warner Cable (46%), AT&T (43%), and Comcast (37%). And of the eight Internet service companies we looked at, four received “very poor” ratings: Time Warner Cable (48%), Charter Communications (48%), Cablevision (47%), and Comcast (40%).

MetroPCS, Virgin Mobile, and TracFone Lead Wireless Carriers in Customer Experience

We recently released the 2016 Temkin Experience Ratings that ranks the customer experience of 294 companies across 20 industries based on a survey of 10,000 U.S. consumers.

MetroPCS, Virgin Mobile, and TracFone tied for the top spot out of seven wireless carriers in the 2016 Temkin Experience Ratings. They each earned a score of 63%, which put them all in 125^th place overall out of 294 companies across 20 industries. MetroPCS shot to the top of the rankings by virtue of being the only wireless carrier out of the seven we looked at to improve its rating over the past year. Virgin Mobile maintained its top spot from the previous year, despite dropping five percentage-points, while TracFone’s rating stayed steady from 2015.

At the other end of the spectrum, Sprint was the lowest-ranked wireless company for the second year in a row, receiving a rating of 54% and an overall ranking of 211^th.

Overall, the wireless industry averaged a 58% rating in the 2016 Temkin Experience Ratings and tied for 10^th place out of 20 industries. Although every industry’s average dropped between 2015 and 2016, the wireless industry decreased the least, only going down 3 percentage-points.

Here are some additional findings from the wireless industry:

Virgin Mobile Leads Wireless Carriers in Customer Experience

We recently released the 2015 Temkin Experience Ratings that ranks the customer experience of 293 companies across 20 industries based on a survey of 10,000 U.S. consumers.

The average rating for the wireless carrier industry dropped from 62% in 2014 to 61% in 2015—the first times in the history of the ratings that the industry’s average declined.

Here are some highlights from the wireless carriers’ results:

• Virgin Mobile earned the highest rating in the industry with a score of 67%, which put it in 128^th place overall. Virgin Mobile has been steadily improving its ratings over the past five years. In 2011, it was the lowest-rated wireless carrier, with a score of 29%, in 2012 it increased its score to 59%, and then to 61% in 2013, 64% in 2014, and then this year, it became the top-rated wireless carrier, with 67%.
• With a score of 55%, Sprint is the lowest-rated wireless carrier for the first time since we began evaluating this industry in 2011. Sprint scored the furthest below the industry average for each of the three components: 8.7 percentage-points below the success average, 4.3 points below the effort average, and 5.5 points below the emotion average.
• Of the eight wireless carriers that we looked at last year and this year, four of them increased their rating and four of them decreased their rating. U.S. Cellular (+16 points), Virgin Mobile (+3 points), MetroPCS (+2 points), and T-Mobile (+1 point) improved their scores, while TracFone (-4 points), AT&T (-4 points), Sprint (-2 points), and Verizon Wireless (-1 point) received lower scores in 2015 than in 2014.
• U.S. Cellular experienced one of the most dramatic improvements in the Ratings, going up 16 percentage-points over the last year. This is following a 14-point decline between 2013 and 2014. In 2014, U.S. Cellular was the lowest-rated wireless carrier, with a rating of 46% and a rank of 264^th out of 268 companies. This year it scored the industry average—62%—and placed 187^th out of 293 companies.
• U.S. Cellular increased each of its component scores more than any other wireless carrier, going up by 12 percentage-points for success, 16 points for effort, and an astounding 19 points for emotion.

TV Service Providers Deliver Very Poor Customer Experience

We recently released the 2015 Temkin Experience Ratings that ranks the customer experience of 293 companies across 20 industries based on a survey of 10,000 U.S. consumers.

The average rating for the TV service providers industry dropped from 54% in 2014 to 52% in 2015—the first time in the history of the Ratings that this industry has declined. As an industry, TV service providers ranked 19^th out of 20 industries.

Here are some highlights from the TV service providers’ results:

• Cablevision Optimum earned the highest rating the TV service provider industry, with a score of 61% and an overall rank of 199^th place.
• Comcast was the lowest-rated TV service provider for the second year in a row, scoring 43% and ranking 291^st out of 293 companies. Comcast also scored the furthest below the industry average for each of the three components, falling 6.7 percentage-points below the success average, 9.3 points below the effort average, and 11.6 points below average for the emotion average.
• Of the nine TV service providers that we evaluated both last year and this year, only two of them increased their scores between 2014 and 2015. Verizon improved by three percentage-points, while AT&T improved by one point.
• Bright House Networks—last year’s top-rated TV service provider—dropped eight percentage-points since 2014, while Cox Communications dropped seven percentage points over the last year.
• Dish Network’s success score declined more than any other TV service provider’s, dropping by 10 percentage-points between 2014 and 2015. Meanwhile, Cox Communication’s effort and emotion score declined the most in the industry; its effort scored dropped by 12 points over the last year, and its emotion score dropped by 8 points over the last year.
• Despite scoring above average for both the emotion and effort component—4.4 and 4.1 percentage-points above average respectively—DirecTV scored 3.1 points below average for the success component.

Internet Service Providers Set the Lowest Bar in Customer Experience

We recently released the 2015 Temkin Experience Ratings that ranks the customer experience of 293 companies across 20 industries based on a survey of 10,000 U.S. consumers.

With a rating of 51%, Internet service providers have the lowest average score of any of the 20 industries we evaluated. The industry’s average decreased by 4.3 percentage-points over the past year, down from 56% in 2014. This is the largest decline in average rating for any industry.

Here are some highlights from the Internet service providers’ results:

• Optimum earned the highest rating in the industry with a score of 60%, putting it in 207^th place overall. Optimum is a newcomer to the Ratings, and knocked last year’s winner AOL out of the top-spot.
• With a rating of 45%, Comcast is the lowest-scoring Internet service provider for the second year in a row. Comcast’s score dropped two percentage-points since 2014, and this year, the company ranked 289^th out of 293 companies.
• Of the eight Internet service providers that we looked at both last year and this year, not a single company’s score increased. Verizon’s rating stayed the same at 57%, while every other company’s score declined. Time Warner dropped the most, going down eight percentage-points, while Cox Communications dropped seven points, and AOL dropped six points.
• With a rating of 45%, Comcast is the lowest-scoring Internet service provider for the second year in a row. Comcast’s score dropped two percentage-points since 2014, and this year, the company ranked 289^th out of 293 companies.

AT&T and DirecTV Combination Should Improve Consumer Experience

AT&T announced plans to buy DirecTV for almost $50 billion. I won’t comment on the deal, but want to make some observations about what this might mean for customer experience in the TV services industry.

As we show in our examination of the 2014 Temkin Experience Ratings, the TV services industry delivers terrible customer experience. It has the lowest average score out of 19 industries. When Comcast and Time Warner came together, it actually combined two of the worst companies in delivering customer experience.

But the DirecTV and AT&T combination has more upside for consumers. As you can see in the chart below, DirecTV is one of the best companies in the industry across many of our Temkin Ratings (see Temkin Forgiveness Ratings and Temkin Trust Ratings). It also has a relatively (for the industry) high number of consumers that are willing to recommend the company. AT&T, on the other hand, is about average for customer experience in the industry, but it is above average in the other measures.

Hopefully the combined AT&T and DirecTV will focus on building differentiation through great customer experience. The bar isn’t very high in the industry and it’s already on the right path.

The bottom line: Great customer experience in TV services will drive loyalty

AOL Leads Internet Services Industry in 2014 Temkin Experience Ratings

We recently released the 2014 Temkin Experience Ratings that ranks the customer experience of 268 companies across 19 industries based on a survey of 10,000 U.S. consumers.

AOL is the highest-rated Internet service provider for the second year in a row, landing in 136^th place overall with a rating of 65%. EarthLink came in a very close second with a rating of 64% and a rank of 144^th after being near the bottom of the list for the past two years.

Download entire dataset for $395

Here are some additional findings from the Internet services industry:

Bright House Networks and DirecTV Lead Terrible TV Services Industry Industry in 2014 Temkin Experience Ratings

We recently released the 2014 Temkin Experience Ratings that ranks the customer experience of 268 companies across 19 industries based on a survey of 10,000 U.S. consumers.

TV service providers ended up with the lowest average score out of 19 industries in the ratings.

Bright House Networks continues its three-year reign as the highest-rated TV service provider, earning a rating of 63% and placing 160^th overall out of 268 companies across 19 industries. While DirecTV has always ranked near the top of the list, this is its first year in second place, and it scored a 62% rating and placed 174^th overall. At the other end of the spectrum, Comcast fell from the middle of the pack in 2013 to the very bottom of the pack in 2014, landing in 260^th place overall with a rating of 47%.

Download entire dataset for $395

Here are some additional findings from the TV services industry:

TracFone Leads Wireless Industry in 2014 Temkin Experience Ratings

We recently released the 2014 Temkin Experience Ratings that ranks the customer experience of 268 companies across 19 industries based on a survey of 10,000 U.S. consumers.

TracFone continues its reign as the highest-rated wireless carrier for the fourth year in a row, earning a rating of 67% and placing 119^th overall out of 268 companies across 19 industries. At the other end of the spectrum, US Cellular plunged down the ratings this year, descending from the middle of the pack in 2013 to the lowest-rated wireless carrier in 2014. US Cellular ultimately landed in 251^st place overall with a 46% rating.

Download entire dataset for $395

Here are some additional findings from the airline industry:

Report: What Happens After a Good or Bad Experience, 2014

We just published a Temkin Group report, What Happens After a Good or Bad Experience, 2014. The report, which includes 19 data charts, examines which companies and industries provide the most bad experiences, what impact those experiences have on spending, and how the negative impacts of bad experiences can be mitigated by good service recovery. The report also examines how consumers share their good and bad experiences with companies as well as with other people. Here’s the executive summary:

To understand the effect of good and bad experiences, we asked 10,000 U.S. consumers about their recent interactions with 268 companies across 19 industries. Results show that Internet services and TV services are the industries most likely to deliver a bad experience to their customers, while grocery chains are the least likely to. At the company level, Scottrade had the smallest percentage of customers reporting a recent bad experience with the company and Time Warner Cable had the highest. More than half of the customers who encountered a bad experience at a fast food chain, credit card issuer, grocery store, or hotel either decreased their spending with the company or stopped altogether. However, our data shows that a good service recovery effort can help mitigate a bad experience. Unfortunately, many firms—especially in the banking, Internet services, and TV services sectors—aren’t very good at service recovery. In addition to the consequences of bad interactions, we also examined which channels customers use to share their good and bad experiences and how these changed across age groups. We then compared these results to survey responses from the past two years. We also uncovered a negative bias inherent in how customers provide feedback. ING Direct, Residence Inn, and Fairfield Inn have the most negative bias in the feedback they receive directly from customers, while Hy-Vee and Hyundai have the most negative bias on Facebook. 

Click link to see full list of industries and companies covered in this report (.pdf).

Download report for $195

One of the most interesting analyses in the report is the look at how service recovery after a bad experience affects the spending pattern of consumers. Here’s a summary of one of the charts showing just how important it is for a company to recover well after making a mistake:

Here are some other insights from the research:

• Sixteen percent of consumers who have interacted with TV service and Internet service providers report having a bad experience over the previous six months. Next on the list are wireless carriers, with 12% of their customers reporting a bad experience. At the other end of the spectrum, only 3% of consumers report a bad experience with grocery chains and 4% report having a bad experience with fast food chains.
• The five companies with the most customers reporting bad experiences are Time Warner Cable (25%), Motel 6 (22%), Coventry Health Care (21%), and Comcast (21%). There were 10 companies with only 1% or less of their customers reporting bad experiences: Scottrade, Chick-fil-A, H.E.B., Whole Foods, ShopRite, ING Direct, Starbucks, Trader Joe’s, Vanguard, and True Value.
• More than one-quarter of consumers who have a bad experience stop spending with computer makers, car rental agencies, credit card issuers, hotel chains, and software companies. The impact of bad experiences is less costly for parcel delivery services, wireless carriers, health plans, TV service providers, Internet service providers, and grocery chains, as less than 15% of their customers with bad experience stopped spending.
• The industries that are the best at responding to a bad experience are investment firms, major appliances, retailers, and car rental agencies. The industries that are the worst at responding to a bad experience are TV service providers, wireless carriers, Internet service providers, parcel delivery services, and health plans.
• Thirty-two percent of consumers give feedback directly to companies after a very bad experience and 23% give feedback after a very good experience.
• Overall, 25- to 34-year-olds are the most likely to share feedback about their experiences. After a good experience 57% tell a friend directly, 28% share on Facebook, and 18% put a comment or rating on a review site. After a bad experience, 60% tell a friend directly, 31% share on Facebook, and 20% write a review.

Download report for $195

The bottom line: Make sure to recover quickly after a bad experience

USAA On Top of 2013 Temkin Customer Service Ratings

We just released the third annual Temkin Customer Service Ratings of 235 companies across 19 industries based on a study of 10,000 U.S. consumers (see full list of firms).

Download entire dataset for $295

Company Results

Here are some company highlights:

• USAA earned the top two spots for its insurance and banking businesses. Other companies at the top of the ratings are credit unions, Ace Hardware, Charles Schwab, Dollar Tree, Chick-fil-A, Sonic Drive-In, Hy-Vee, Costco, Trader Joe’s, Advantage, Publix, and H.E.B.
• TV service providers and Internet service providers earned nine out of bottom 10 spots in the ratings.
• For the second straight year, Charter Communications took the bottom spot. The rest of the firms in the bottom five are Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications, Optimum (i/o), and CareFirst.
• The following companies earned ratings that were 15 or more points above their industry averages: USAA (insurance and banking), Alaska Airlines, credit unions, Advantage, Kaiser Permanente, TriCare, Charles Schwab, and Bright House Networks.
• Five companies earned ratings that were 15 or more points below their industry averages: Apple Stores, US Airways, RadioShack, HSBC, and 21^st Century.
• Twenty-three percent of companies earned “strong” or “very strong” ratings, while 37% earned “weak” or “very weak” ratings.

Temkin Group also examined year-over-year results for the 171 companies that were in both the 2012 and 2013 Temkin Customer Service Ratings and found that:

• Forty-four percent of companies improved their ratings while 47% experienced a decline.
• Twenty companies showed double-digit increases, led by: Citibank (banking and credit cards), U.S. Bank, Hyundai, Nissan, Old Navy, Charles Schwab, Continental Airlines, and Piggly-Wiggly.
• Eleven companies showed double-digit decreases, led by: LG, Giant Eagle, Toshiba, Cox Communications, ING Direct, and Budget.

Industry Results

Here are some industry highlights:

• Grocery chains, retailers, and fast food chains earned the highest average Temkin Customer Service Ratings, while TV service providers, Internet service providers, wireless carriers, and health plans earned the lowest ratings.
• On average, credit card issuers, banks and fast food restaurants improved the most while appliance makers, TV service providers and investment firms declined the most.

Calculating the Temkin Customer Service Ratings

During January 2013, Temkin Group asked 10,000 U.S. consumers to identify the companies that they had interacted with on their websites during the previous 60 days. These consumers were asked the following question:

Thinking back to your most recent customer service interaction with these companies,
how satisfied were you with the experience?

Responses from 1= “very dissatisfied” to 7= “very satisfied”

For all companies with 100 or more consumer responses, we calculated the “net satisfaction” score. The Temkin Customer Service  Ratings are calculated by taking the percentage of consumers that selected either “6” or “7” and subtracting the percentage of consumers that selected either “1,” “2,” or “3.”

Download entire dataset for $295

To see all of the companies in the Temkin Customer Service Ratings as ell as all of our other Temkin Ratings and sort through the results, visit the Temkin Ratings website

The bottom line: TV service providers deliver terrible customer service

Amazon and USAA On Top of 2013 Temkin Web Experience Ratings

We just released the third annual Temkin Web Experience Ratings of 211 companies across 19 industries based on a study of 10,000 U.S. consumers (see full list of firms).

Download entire dataset for $295

Company Results

Here are some company highlights:

• For the third straight year, Amazon.com topped the Temkin Web Experience Ratings while USAA took the next two spots for its bank and insurance businesses.
• Other companies at the top of the ratings are Regions, U.S. Bank, eBay, Advantage Rent A Car, credit unions, and QVC.
• At the other end of the spectrum, MSN, Health Net, EarthLink, and Cablevision earned the lowest ratings.
• Only 6% of companies earned “strong” or “very strong” ratings, while 63% earned “weak” or “very weak” ratings.
• Amazon.com and USAA’s insurance business earned ratings that were 20 points above their industry averages and eight other companies were at least 10 points above their peers: Kaiser Permanente, Advantage Rent A Car, eBay, QVC, USAA (bank), Sonic Drive-In, Charles Schwab, and Fidelity Investments.
• Health Net and RadioShack earned ratings that were 20 points or more less than their industry averages and six other companies were at least 15 points below their peers: 21st Century, American Family, Days Inn, Taco Bell, and Kmart.

Temkin Group examined year-over-year results for the 154 companies that were in the 2012 and 2013 ratings and found that:

• Forty-one percent of companies improved, while 53% declined.
• Over half of the companies that were in the 2012 and 2013 ratings earned lower scores this year.
• Eight companies showed double-digit increases: Humana, Old Navy, U.S. Bank, Citibank, TriCare, Blue Shield of California, Toyota, and Safeway.
• Twenty-one companies declined by at least 10 points and six companies dropped by more than 15 points: Southwest Airlines, MSN, United Airlines, ShopRite, Cablevision, and Bright House Networks.

Industry Results

Here are some industry highlights:

• Banks earned the highest average Temkin Web Experience Ratings, followed by investment firms, retailers, credit card issuers, and hotel chains.
• Five industries earned average ratings of “very weak” ratings: Internet service providers, TV service providers, airlines, health plans, and wireless carriers.
• Seven industries improved between 2012 and 2013., while nine declined. Airlines suffered the most dramatic drop, losing 15 points.

Calculating the Temkin Web Experience Ratings

During January 2013, Temkin Group asked 10,000 U.S. consumers to identify the companies that they had interacted with on their websites during the previous 60 days. These consumers were asked the following question:

Thinking back to your most recent interaction with the websites of these companies,
how satisfied were you with the experience?

Responses from 1= “very dissatisfied” to 7= “very satisfied”

For all companies with 100 or more consumer responses, we calculated the “net satisfaction” score. The Temkin Web Experience Ratings are calculated by taking the percentage of consumers that selected either “6” or “7” and subtracting the percentage of consumers that selected either “1,” “2,” or “3.”

Download entire dataset for $295

To see all of the companies in the Temkin Trust Ratings as ell as all of our other Temkin Ratings and sort through the results, visit the Temkin Ratings website

The bottom line: Web experiences are heading in the wrong direction.