Ever heard of the American Customer Satisfaction Index?
The annual survey released by the University of Michigan Tuesday showed amid a weak economy and heated competition that some sector players risk losing out long-term. Customer satisfaction with cable and satellite TV companies is slightly up from recent years, however, the industry remains at the low end of rankings across all sectors.
Rising scores for smaller cable TV providers offset the deterioration in customer satisfaction by Comcast and Charter Communications. The industry gains 3% to 64, led by 5% jump to 69 for the collection of smaller cable TV providers. Among the large companies, Comcast drops the most, shedding 4% to 54, sharing the basement with Charter communications (-2% to 54). By contrast, Satelitte TV continues to do better than cable. DirecTV edges up 2% to 68, and while DISH Netword slips 3% to 65, it remains well ahead of the large cable TV providers.
“The picture is not pretty,” said Sanford Bernstein analyst Craig Moffett. “The pay TV group is, overall, a disaster, ranking worse on average than the IRS.”
“Weak customer satisfaction — for the whole industry — is an enormous Achilles heel for pay TV and perhaps more than any other factor threatens the foundation of the pay TV model,” Moffett said.
Poor customer service affects consumer decisions; what products to purchase, which service is worth it and ultimately sways opinion. In an age of instant gratification, the media industry cannot falter on customer service and expect the consumer to continue forking over hard-earned cash for mediocre services.