BBC Technology - Customer Care survey - PlusNet the winners.

[BGN]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7279176.stm

In a survey of customer care, PlusNet have come out on top, beating most of the big rivals such as BT, Virgin, Tiscali, Pipex etc. They asked 4,000 broadband using homes which they felt had the best customer care.

I'm not surprised about some of the results, though. I can see why Virgin, BT and Orange did so poorly, having personal experience with them in the past myself. That being said, these surveys always seem a little biased towards giving praise or slating a large broadband company. I can't ever recall seeing a broadband survey on somewhere such as the BBC that included Zen or IDNet for that matter.

Anyone surprised by these results? Anyone not surprised at all? As I said, I can see why some providers ranked so low, personal experience has told me to keep away from Broadband from the massive providers. BT should stick to providing my household phone, Orange stick to being my mobile network and Virgin... stick to... What don't they do anymore?

[madasahatter]

These surveys always ARE biased towards the big providers in that the small providers usually don't even get any mention. And I think we all know that the big providers usually attract the people who don't know any better anyway. The problem with these surveys is that it perpetuates the myth that these are the only providers out there, and people blindly follow thinking "well it's a well know name so it must be good" 

tbh, I'm not surprised by this survey at all - I just think it should be taken with a very hefty pinch of salt. 

[Gary]

I'm not surprised, most UK customers don't really know about the smaller providers like IDNet and Zen, they don't do research until they have an issue, and if they never experience a great service they will only have theirs to go buy and most think that's how most ISP's behave speed and support wise, but since the almighty cockup that was orange and tiscali people are becoming wiser, alas they still dont see the Internet as a service and therefore want to eat all you can, even when sometimes they don't need to, then they get stuck in lengthy contracts (AOL 24mth with free lappy type) In my mind there is no such thing as a free lunch pure and simple. Companies like IDnet will not get noticed as they are below the radar on x amount of users so are not considered a major provider, and long may it stay that way. If you want unlimited downloads go with O2 (be), that's probably the best bet if they are enabled in your exchange as they seem to have reasonable customer support from what I hear, but for me IDnet is a good home, and will be unless my usage or its business model no longer fit my needs. As far as Orange being a mobile provider, that seems to have slipped a bit also, they have priced themselves out the market a bit, T mobile (awful signal here) and O2 provide better and cheaper packages, I left Orange mobile due to issues with them with my mobile service and inept customer service and long waits on hold, also any company that charges 1p for a delivery reports is taking the michael a bit, they really have bitten off more than they can chew and this was forecast when they leapt on the free BB wagon.

[BGN]

I fell for the "they're big, they must be good" with Virgin Media. Makes me wonder how it even got into this 'top ten' to be fair, any broadband review sites I happen to go on, they get less than 50% satisfaction rates from an average of all reviews, and the same for PlusNet. I've heard bad things about nearly every company on there, and having dealt with three of them, I am less likely to believe their hype anymore. Something always gets me enraged at the "up to 8Mbit superfast Broadband from Tiscali" when I hear it on the TV.

Oh well, I hope those on the major providers enjoy Phorm... throttled speeds during peak times... blocked ports. Mmm, I think I might go play an online game now... and perhaps use BitTorrent later.

[Philip]

Orange have not responded to the BBC's request for comment.   

[Gary]

Orange have not responded to the BBC's request for comment.   

That's because the BBC could not get through, and Orange don't answer emails, and if you are lucky and they do it may take 3 months, I had one replied after that long asking did I still have an issue as they had just found my complaint ticket

[Rik]

Yet again a survey which only looks at the large players and which is, surprise, surprise, conducted by a comparison site. Totally unbiased then.

http://www.broadbandchoices.co.uk/?kt=181&gclid=CNb6tf6P-JECFQ8YQgodbDjDxg

[Gary]

Yet again a survey which only looks at the large players and which is, surprise, surprise, conducted by a comparison site. Totally unbiased then.

http://www.broadbandchoices.co.uk/?kt=181&gclid=CNb6tf6P-JECFQ8YQgodbDjDxg

So looking at that site Rik, Orange have been plugging their product on every single page much to the sites advantage I'm sure, very unbiased

[Rik]

Orange is even a featured provider! 

[Gary]

Orange is even a featured provider! 

That's got to be tongue in cheek surely

[Rik]

No, it's pounds in pockets, Gary.

[Gary]

No, it's pounds in pockets, Gary.

sadly its true, and since any ISP with under a million users gets ignored they just don't give people the choice, as IDNet will not be lining pockets for prizes

[talos2]

I had a letter from Orange yesterday threatening me with court action for not paying my sub's.
  I left Orange in Jan, had a confirming letter which I kept (thank god ) recieved my MAC code in 1 day, Joined IDnet the same day, even had a refund from Orange for over payment.
  Just goes to show how disorganized they are

PS..    They even threaten to disconnect me from their server

[Gary]

I had a letter from Orange yesterday threatening me with court action for not paying my sub's.
  I left Orange in Jan, had a confirming letter which I kept (thank god ) recieved my MAC code in 1 day, Joined IDnet the same day, even had a refund from Orange for over payment.
  Just goes to show how disorganized they are

PS..    They even threaten to disconnect me from their server

You should let them, email them saying go on cut me off your server see what I care, then when they take you to court rake them over hot coals for being stupid publically

[Simon]

I'm a big fan of these surveys, as I'm quite happy for other people to flock to the big companies, and leave wonderful firms like IDNet to the more discerning clientèle, like all of us!   

[Gary]

I'm a big fan of these surveys, as I'm quite happy for other people to flock to the big companies, and leave wonderful firms like IDNet to the more discerning clientèle, like all of us!   

A case of keep your head down keep your mouth shut works well when the big guns go advertising for cannon fodder, Simon

[talos2]

You should let them, email them saying go on cut me off your server see what I care, then when they take you to court rake them over hot coals for being stupid publically

  EMAIL THEM ? ORANGE    surely you jest?.                    I think I'll just send the boys round to explain the error of their ways

[Rik]

I have a friend who went with Orange despite my best efforts. I received a text from him to tell me not to email him as his email hasn't been working for a week. 

[Gary]

  EMAIL THEM ? ORANGE    surely you jest?.                    I think I'll just send the boys round to explain the error of their ways

Sorry, I forgot as an ex Orange user that email does not work with them, been used to IDNet for to long now


Edit: Typo

[Noreen]

I'm a big fan of these surveys, as I'm quite happy for other people to flock to the big companies, and leave wonderful firms like IDNet to the more discerning clientèle, like all of us!   

That's exactly how I feel, Simon. More power to their elbow I say. The sort of people that we want will find their own way here.

[madasahatter]

I'm a big fan of these surveys, as I'm quite happy for other people to flock to the big companies, and leave wonderful firms like IDNet to the more discerning clientèle, like all of us!   

That's a really good way of looking at it Simon - have to agree