[LINK] Telco and ISP complaints soar

[Luke Burton]

On Tue, 10 Oct 2000, Richard Archer wrote:

> ISP's make up 16% of customer relationships, yet only generate 7.5% 
> of the complaints. That indicates ISPs are better than *twice* as 
> good as Telcos at resolving/avoiding complaints.
> 
> On top of this, consider the simplicity of offering a service like a 
> home phone line -- everyone knows how to use a phone.
> 
> Now compare it to the complexity of offering dialup internet access:

Sure, but how many of the complaints relate to:

a) users unable to use the service correctly.
b) infrastructure problems (fibre seeking backhoes, router explosions).
c) being shafted by the sales people.

I think that due to the greater size and complexity, you're more likely to
get issues like B and C cropping up if you're a telco. An ISP on the other
hand has a much simpler infrastructure and range of services, so is more
likely to have issues with A.

And it all boils down to 'what issues get escalated to the TIO?' Are
quibbles over Windows going to be TIO material (A), or is it more likely
to be "My ISP just debited my credit card for $300 and say they never did
it" (C).

So the figures look good, but comparing raw 'complaint' counts between
ISPs and big Telcos is a bit like comparing apples and oranges ...

My AUD$0.02 (US$0.01).

Luke.

-- 
Luke Burton, Analyst Programmer.
inter-touch Pty Ltd (http://www.inter-touch.com).

"How should I know if it works?  That's what beta 
testers are for.  I only coded it." (Linus Torvalds)