This is the age of telecommunications. And when it comes to telecommunications, a large proportion of Canadians use several services: home and cell phones, Internet access, cable and satellite TV signals. It's easy to assume that virtually all Canadian households deal with one or more telecommunications companies. On the other hand, the current economic climate leads us to believe that discontent with telecommunications companies is starting to rise.
In fact, from January 1 to October 31, 2008, telecommunications was the 2nd most complained-about sector at the Office de protection du consommateur (OPC)1 , with 11% of complaints handled. And, still at the OPC, it is estimated that 14% of the 12,778 complaints received in 2005-2006 about a cell phone company concerned customer service. Other statistics confirm this reality. For example, Canadian complaint statistics from the Better Business Bureau2 confirm that, in 2008, of the 1,382 types of company ranked by the number of complaints received, cellular telephony ranked first, Internet services 7th, cable TV 14th and wireline telephony 17th. By comparison, the food industry (grocery stores), another area with which all Canadian households deal, ranked 107th in terms of complaints received.
Despite the CRTC's efforts to promote competition, the number of players on the Canadian telecommunications scene remains limited. This situation is likely to lead to consumer abuse, as consumers are unable to make competition work to their advantage. That said, according to the data compiled byOption consommateurs for this study,
a large proportion of complaints are related in one way or another to customer service.
For example, in 2008, over a ten-month period, Option consommateurs received more than 300 complaints about telecommunications services; 41% of these were related to customer service. This study investigates the customer service situation of Canada's leading telecommunications companies in terms of complaint handling and dispute resolution.
and dispute resolution. We propose to evaluate the customer satisfaction policies of Canadian telecommunications companies, as well as the perceptions of consumers who do business with these companies.
The present study is based on literature research, interviews with officials from telecommunications companies and consumer rights organizations, a close examination of websites and the results of four focus groups with consumers who have used customer service. The study's baseline is the ISO standard (10001, 10002 and 10003), which in this context constitutes a canon of comparison for corporate customer service.
In conclusion, Option consommateurs makes a number of recommendations based on its analysis of each of the three ISO standards, in addition to the following general recommendations:
Companies need to change their perspective on their loyal customers. In order to improve their customer service and, by the same token, their retention rate for existing customers, there are a number of key points to bear in mind. Customer service must be adapted to individuals and respectful of their needs.
This means that customer service must offer a prompt, personalized response, as well as efficient problem resolution. In this respect, a contractual promise to resolve problems according to a standard timetable would be de rigueur.
What's more, good customer service is defined by availability and openness, which means easy-to-find contact details, a simple-to-navigate telephone service and scrupulous follow-up of requests and the customer's overall file. Accessibility is also defined by the language used by the company. For example, the language used in contracts and by technical support agents needs to be simplified and simplified. In addition, billing should be clear, so that customers can understand at a glance what they're paying for each month.
In addition, companies should demonstrate transparency, for example, by clearly publishing contact details for making a complaint, making their code of conduct available and presenting clear, concise contracts.
We believe it is vital that CCTS's mandate be broadened to include informing and educating consumers about customer service issues in the telecommunications sector.
We recommend that the CRTC intervene with the industry to change its problematic ways of doing things, or broaden CCTS's mandate to give it a more coercive role, so that it can implement a general sanctions regime for telecommunications companies, as well as introduce a number of regulations to guarantee a certain quality of customer service.
quality of customer service. In the current context, CCTS only deals with dispute resolution on a case-by-case basis.
By broadening its mandate, CCTS could prevent many of these disputes from recurring. In addition, CCTS should be more accessible. Among other things, the CCTS' contact information should be posted on all bills consumers receive from their suppliers, and easily accessible on the suppliers' websites.
In terms of visibility, CCTS should increase its presence in the mass media so that Canadian consumers are aware of its mandate and how to contact it.
