Budget brands beat Big 3 in service, study says

Second-tier wireless brands outperformed their big-name counterparts in customer satisfaction, with BCE Inc.’s Virgin Mobile leading the pack, according to a new study.

The J.D. Power study measured how satisfied consumers are with customer service representatives over the phone, in-store, online and with automated phone systems. It found the most satisfied customers have their problems solved by the first customer service agent they speak to on the phone, stay on the phone for less than 10 minutes and only need to call once.

The Big Three of Bell, Rogers Communications Inc. and Telus Corp. were all outshone by their tier-two brands, which aim to attract individuals rather than families on shared plans.

Virgin topped the list, with Telus’s Koodo in second place. Rogers’s Fido landed in the middle of the pack, below regional providers Videotron and Sasktel, but it still beat Rogers, which placed last.

Carriers don’t report separate results for their different brands, so it’s difficult to assess what led to varying levels of satisfaction. But since last fall — the survey was conducted in September and October 2016 and March 2017 — analysts have noted intense competition among second-tier brands with promotions. They’re vying for customers who might otherwise choose Shaw’s lower-cost Freedom Mobile, which is expanding its network. Customer satisfaction is key to stop people from moving to new carriers, the study noted, as the most satisfied customers are less likely to leave and more likely to recommend the service. Reducing churn is a top priority as it costs about 50 times more to acquire a new customer than it does to keep an existing one.

The study was based on an online survey of 5,500 wireless customers who contacted customer service over the past six months.