TalkTalk is 'worst customer-service offender': Eckoh
TalkTalk has come top of a table ranking the 10 "worst customer-service offenders" compiled by customer service solutions provider Eckoh. The list also includes communication providers, airlines, travel sites and insurance companies. "The survey contradicts independent complaints data, and our internal data shows levels of customer satisfaction have increased in recent months," a TalkTalk spokesperson told ISPreview.co.uk.

Thursday, Jul 21st, 2016 (9:02 am) - Score 3,086

A new Brick Wall Index from customer service solutions provider Eckoh, which identifies call centre menus that create the highest levels of consumer frustration, has ranked TalkTalk top of its table for being one of the “worst customer service offenders” in the United Kingdom.

The study appears to be based off an independent analysis of “tens of thousands of visits” to independently compiled maps of call centre menus hosted by PleasePress1.com (i.e. they analysed the search terms used on the site to spot those call centres that cause most frustration), which monitors how people use call centres and reveals how to jump past some of the most annoying automated systems.

According to the analysis, the worst offenders include communication providers, airlines, travel sites and insurance companies.

TOP TEN WORST OFFENDERS 1 TalkTalk 2 Expedia 3 TV Licensing 4 Sainsburys 5 Royal and Sun Alliance 6 Flybe 7 Ryanair 8 British Airways 9 EasyJet 10 Privilege

We should add that PleasePress1 also has its own Phone Range Index, which similarly aims to pinpoint the UK’s most ineffective customer service lines by weighing the number of menu options against the levels within each menu and the length of introductions (it also factors user feedback). However TalkTalk isn’t listed in the Phone Range Index, although BT crops up at no.3 and Sky Broadband pops in at no.6 (FYI – No.1 is HMRC, which is no big surprise).

Tony Porter, Eckoh Head of Global Communications, said: “Judging from this analysis, it would appear that some mobile companies rarely answer the phone and some airlines make it hard for callers to reach their destination. It is essential that companies invest in their customer service systems as poor service is a major source of frustration for UK consumers. Customer inertia is a thing of the past. Getting through to someone who can help you or provide an automated alternative is critical, and it is vital that companies invest in systems that allow them to respond quickly to customer enquiries, whether that is online or by phone.”

Naturally Eckoh has a vested interested in all this, although most will agree that using call centres is rarely a fast or effective experience.

UPDATE 12:50pm

The following statement has been received from TalkTalk.