feTime Warner Cable Has Lowest Customer Satisfaction Score Of All U.S. Companies, Not Just Cable Providers

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(Lyman Green)

In news that backs up the results of a recent Consumer Reports survey, Time Warner Cable’s pay-TV service is not just dead last on the American Customer Satisfaction Index’s rankings of cable companies, but of all companies in the entire Index.

TWC managed to score a ridiculously bad 51 out of 100 on the ACSI for its pay-TV service (the Index scores cable companies’ pay-TV, broadband, and phone services separately), tying it with survey newcomer Mediacom for the worst rating thus far in 2015. Mediacom was also a bottom-of-the-barrel performer in the CR survey.

This is a repeat of sorts for TWC, which saw its Internet service receive the worst overall ACSI score (54) in 2014, while its pay-TV score of 56 was the second-lowest.

While TWC’s broadband score improved slightly to a subpar 58, the score for Comcast’s Xfinity service slipped a point to 56, putting it at the back of the pack for all ISPs this year.

TWC’s latest merger partner, Charter, also failed to fare well, scoring a miserable 57 for broadband and just meeting the industry average of 63 for its pay-TV service.

On the plus side of things, both AT&T and Verizon FiOS received above average scores for pay-TV and Internet access. AT&T topped the broadband ratings with a score of 69, while FiOS dropped three points to 68, falling out of the leadership spot it held for the previous two years.

As a whole, this sector continues to bring up the rear of all industries on the ACSI. In 2014, its average score of 71 only beat out Public Administration/Government, and it looks like we might be in for a repeat of that ranking this year with the overall sector average dropping to 69.

“There was a time when pay TV could get away with discontented users without being penalized by revenue losses from defecting customers, but those days are over,” says Claes Fornell, ACSI Chairman and founder. “Today people have more alternatives than ever before. Consumer abandonment of pay TV is shaking up the industry and lower satisfaction could mean even more cord cutting by subscribers ahead.”

by Chris Morran via Consumerist