When you think about great customer service, Asda and Tesco might not be the first names on your lips, but when it comes to mobile phones they seem to be leading the way. How does your mobile provider rate?
Our latest and greatest (involving over 8,000 respondents) mobile phone customer satisfaction survey has found that it’s these two supermarket brands that are delivering the best customer service – and highest satisfaction.
And it just goes to show that when you’re choosing the right provider you don’t have to compromise on customer service just for the sake of price.
Supermarkets are ahead of the mobile game
In the full results Tesco Mobile was the only network to be awarded Which? Recommended Provider status for its contract and Sim-only service. Only Asda, Tesco and O2 managed it for pay-as-you-go offering.
So what can explain these results? I do think that some of the supermarket brands benefit from lower expectations when it comes to how well their networks perform, although this is no excuse for the big brands performing poorly.
Orange and Vodafone, despite being two of the more expensive networks, had some pretty disappointing customer service scores. They were also the only two operators who appeared in the bottom half for both contract and pay-as-you-go (PAYG) customers.
As mobile giants, they need to tackle some the issues that are repeatedly springing up. If Tesco can manage it, why can’t they?
Low cost comes at a price
The survey also shows that a company can’t hide behind its low prices as an excuse for not treating its customers well. Some operators – like 3 – always seem to be panned for bad service, and this year’s results are no exception, although at least it looks like they are starting to get things right with their PAYG customers.
While 3 is still seen as one of the cheaper options for contract and Sim-only, Tesco is not only a rival on cost, it comes with much a better customer service score, as well as a better range of handsets and clearer bills.
It’s great to see some of the newer entrants, like the supermarkets, picking up good scores. I just hope it will kick some of the bigger names into action and provide us all with a better service.