Cable scores lowest in paid TV customer satisfaction survey
October 7th, 2009, 6:00 am · 44 Comments · posted by Tamara Chuang, a.k.a. The Gadgetress
In a report out this morning, traditional TV service providers continued to get pounded by consumers. Ratings company J.D. Power and Associates ranked cable companies the lowest out of all available TV services in the company’s 2009 TV Service Satisfaction report.
Here in the West, Time Warner Cable and Cox Communications scored the lowest out of the six TV services available in Orange County. Newer TV alternatives AT&T U-verse and Verizon FiOS took the lead, with satellite TV services DirecTV and Dish Networks tied for third place.
The annual report said overall scores improved from 2008, indicating that TV providers really are paying attention to their customers, said Frank Perazzini, director of telecommunications at J.D. Power.
Consumers said they didn’t have to wait on hold for as long as last year — falling 13 percent to 9 minutes, 5 seconds. Customers also experienced fewer outages — 11 percent this year, compared to 15 percent last year.
Overall scores were at 632 on a 1,000-point scale, up 23 points from last year. This year’s study was based on 28,118 U.S. households who were surveyed in January, March and July 2009.
Still, 632 out of 1,000 doesn’t sound too hot. Here’s where the local companies landed:
Time Warner scored below the region’s average. But at 616 point, Time Warner improved from last year’s score of 582, and 557 in the previous year.
Cox, which scored 646 this year, remained about the same. Cox scored 644 last year and 650 in 2007.
Even with the improvements, the cable companies lost loyal customers. Says Perazzini, “In fact, the percentage of cable customers affirming their loyalty to their provider has declined to 25 percent in 2009 from 27 percent in 2008.”
AT&T U-verse led the group for the second year and it also added 24 points to its ranking.
As mentioned earlier, while the most satisfying TV services are no longer traditional TV companies, the same is true for telephone services. In J.D. Power’s last telephone report, Cox was rated at the top with Time Warner’s phone service ranked evenly with AT&T and Verizon.
Previous stories on customer service:
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Cox is okkaaaaayyyy I guess when it comes to customer service, but the DVR system could use updating. I was just saying to my girls on the way to school this morning (prompted by an AT&T commercial on the radio) that it is so frustrating to only be able to record two things at a time AND I have to watch one of those channels? WHY would I want to watch what I am recording? I am recording it because there is something ELSE I want to watch right at that moment. I should be able to record two channels and watch a third all at the same time. Kinda bugs and the AT&T deal is looking better and better…
totally true…only reason why i could not switch to directv is they don’t carry the lakers games when they play at home and dish does not have tfc…i think if you switch to fios, you’ll also get directv…
Is there no measure by which Time Warner DOESN’T suck? I sometimes think that I’m being a demanding customer, but as it turns out, they’re just terrible at what they do.
I meant “any measure”.
Cable is a gyp. Too many commercials for something you pay for.
The time warner customer service rep I spoke to had a difficult time speaking english. This in conjunction with their spanish only promos are a direct insult to americans. Pathetic!!!
You think they should only market service to English-speaking customers? Man, I hope you don’t own a business, cuz with marketing strategies like that, you won’t for long.
I really happy with ATT U-verse. It’s never out, you can record 4 programs, and can look online to set up the recordings. Plus there isn’t an ugly dish on the house.
“I’m” really happy…..
The consolidation of these huge corporations created a fat cash cow for shareholders. There is nothing wrong with that per se but the consequences can be higher prices and crappy service. Time Warner is the poster child for this. Add deregulation to the mix and its party time in corporate boardrooms and frustration in our living rooms and offices.
is there any difference between subscribing to fios and subscribing to directv? i went to the fios website and it was mentioned there that you’ll be getting directv…
Time Warner upgraded the software I Garden Grove and I hate it most of the options do not work; you can not look up any shows that are over 1 day away from air time, and my DVD resets on a daily basis. More than half of the options just do not work. I have been planning on calling them to demand a partial refund. When you pay for a service that cost the money that they charge and it doesn’t function that is a rip off!
doesn’t surprise me that “time well not spent” is at the bottom….although, all these companies probably charge too much for their service…I’d like to see a line up of channels that actually have some content worth watching and only pay for those channels…I could give a rats behind about 40 of the hispanic channels and chick channels…oh, and the “digital plan” but you still have rent the box…..c’mon…what scam….
The link below is the complaint to BBB. Read and see terrible customer service is from Time Warner Cable.
http://www.trustlink.org/BusinessProfile.aspx?ID=205746432
U verse not available in my area
Fios not available in my area
Satellite too many trees in my area
Cable is my only option and that sucks!
Can someone please send this report in all “CAP” letters to the corporate managers at Time Warner Cable.
Was a Cox customer (Cable, Internet & Phone) for 6yrs only because i didn’t want a dish on my house. The minute ATT put in their fiber optics in the neighborhood, I switched. Results – MORE & better services for a lower price. Quality product all the way. Called Cox to cancel and was transferred (kid you not) 9 times before I could actually cancel my service – and then they asked if they lowered the price would I stick around! If you are able to get ATT U-verse, go for it!
I have UVerse, is good most of the time, but I wanted the mLB package and MLB channel, but they do not offer it.
As for everything else, they rule.
Time Warner is horrible, had them, sucked. Dish was horrible too.
BEWARE OF AT&T!!!! BEWARE OF AT&T!!!! BEWARE OF AT&T!!!! I wouldn’t touch AT&T again with a 10-foot pole. After 5 yrs of being a loyal customer (and after way-too-many vain attempts on our part to obtain decent service) they tried to take us for $1000 (a “cancellation fee”?) just to cancel. AT&T IS A NIGHTMARE!! Have heard the same story from two other people. We switched to Verizon which is THE BEST!! I caution taking these polls at face value. BEWARE OF AT&T!!!! BEWARE OF AT&T!!!!! BEWARE OF AT&T!!!!!
Totally Worthless Crap in La Habra has the following issues
1) The basic digital is $65 a month and most of the channels I don’t watch (for that price I should at least have a movie package or ala-cart)
2) Most of the channels are either too loud or too soft and I get fed up constantly messing with the volume.
I reported the problem last year and they refuse to fix it!
3) I had to put a cooling fan on top of the box to keep it from overheating and locking up
4) The reason TWC stinks is because they have to somehow pay for all those golden retirement and bloated management salary packages
I wish my apartment would allow satellite, I would drop cable in a heart beat!
I am a current cox customer and have cable, internet, and phone.
I pay for high speed internet, but it is almost as slow as dial-up, if you can believe that. Also, has anyone else had to replace their DVR boxes because they overheat? I have lost soooo many recorded shows because when I go to play them, it stops at a certain point and will not restart. What a rip!!!
Cox says they are comig out with a box that does not overeheat, but I will believe it when I see it.
Maybe it’s time to switch and stop complaining. HAHA
We have AT&T U-Verse and we LOVE it!! We got rid of Time Warner. AT&T has great service and we’ve had zero problems with it. I highly recommend it to all!
P.S. Took us FIVE MONTHS and MULTIPLE MINUTES (hours?) ON HOLD on the telephone to FINALLY cancel our rotten AT&T service without paying their “cancellation fee”, all the while receiving “late notices” on their so-called “fee”. Seriously……
This is not surprising at all. Cox Communications has the absolute worst customer service. They really do not care at all unless you are upgrading or buying something new. I know of several people who have left Cox because they were fed up with their customer service. DSL is fast enough for most and Direct TV is much better in every category across the board including price.
Maybe they should both merge and they will be a Totally Worthless Cox!
u know it’s funny ~ i had cox for 11yrs and had no problems whatsoever! moved to corona and fot att and have nothing but problems from the get go! i wish someone would come up with an idea that you get all your local channels (for free) and build your own bundle for channels that u want. it sucks that u have 2 pay for this pkg to get 1 channel u want ~ corporate people need to wake up to what the consumer actually wants to see!!!!
Cable HD channels are compressed more than 30%. SO the HD show you see thru cable is 30% less detailed than over the air HD show. Go figure.
Time Warner contracts out with other companies to do the service calls. Every time one came out, he would explain what the previous guy did wrong. This carried on over 5 service calls before I gave up and came to the conclusion they would never get things working properly. I would say it was comedic if it wasn’t such a waste of my time.
DirecTV is absolutely TERRIBLE, bordering on CRIMINAL. I’ve never experienced anything like Directv’s customer service in my life!!!
My Cox cable constantly freezes. I’ve had them here to check my signal several times and they blame it on each individual channel for “not sending a strong enough signal”. If that’s the case (which I don’t believe) they should require each channel to be sent at the proper signal. It happens on every channel, on every TV at the same time. I think their service sucks and they can’t fix my problem. I’m definately switching.
same here. the football game on monday kept freezing over and over and i had to switch to standard definition for a few minutes until the hd came back on.
I live in a brand new 1 yr old house in Irvine. Have had nothing but problems with the cox HD feed. Blackouts during Monday night football this week were frequent.
Also tiling, freezing frames, and lack of audio with the video are just a few of the problems we’ve had. Also Internet blackout and failure at the level of the ISP occur about once a month. Last month I had to return a digital cable box that had failed.
I have the SAME problem, and Cox blames mine on old wiring in my house.
Funny, I have had the same wiring here for ten years, and only now have been dealing with digital distortion, screen-freezes, and DVR problems (none of which likely has anything to do with my wiring).
I think I will switch to AT&T.