More customers satisfied with telcos, but gap widens among 3 players

According to the latest findings of the Customer Satisfaction Index of Singapore (CSISG) released by the Institute of Service Excellence (ISES) at SMU, telcos are seeing higher customer satisfaction levels. The study found that customers had higher expectations of telcos but still ended up more satisfied with the perceived overall quality of their products and services. The higher index was driven by big jumps in scores for the Wireless@SG (16.8 per cent) and broadband (3.3 per cent) sub-sectors. The institute’s head of research and consulting, Mr Chen Yongchang, said the leap in satisfaction for Wireless@SG to 69.6 points could be due to the roll-out of free Wi-Fi service at 33 MRT stations in the lead-up to the survey period. Another finding that came up was the widening gap in customer satisfaction seen in the mobile telecommunications sub-sector. Telco firm Singtel advanced to 72 points, compared with StarHub’s 67.5 and M1’s 65, the institute said. Mr Chen added that telcos need different approaches to keep customers both satisfied and loyal. Survey respondents ranked network reliability and having a range of subscription plans to meet their needs as highly important to satisfaction, while loyalty and rewards programme were key to loyalty.