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Brits frustrated by their broadband service

Over a million British households are spending at least 6 hours setting up or troubleshooting their broadband service, with 1 in 5 users having to contact their provider at least three times to resolve problems, according to a survey of 1,500 broadband users conducted for O2 Broadband*.

The survey sought to find out what frustrated broadband users: connection speeds and customer support ranked highly. It also revealed that customers don’t feel they are being provided with a quality product, with a quarter of Brits being unhappy with their broadband service and one in every eight broadband users admitting that they will be looking to switch provider in the next three to six months.

Speed is of the essence
Connection speeds remain at the forefront of pains for broadband users with nearly a quarter of people saying this is the most frustrating thing about their broadband service, though only half those questioned had any idea what speed their broadband was.

Customer services
Dealing with customer services is another common source of frustration. 20% of those questioned experienced difficulty even getting through to their provider and for those that did, over half had to use a premium rate number. Poor customer service was most frustrating for those based in the North East with nearly a third (30%) rating it the most common source of dissatisfaction.

Temper temper
For many Brits, dealing with broadband issues is causing high levels of stress. Over half (56%) of those questioned admitted to losing their temper with their computer due to broadband issues. This could again be down to customer services with the majority of those surveyed finding being ‘on hold’ one of the most stressful situations of daily life.

Broadband Britain
Brighton emerges from the survey as the most broadband-savvy part of the UK, with 2 in 3 requiring no support at all to set up or manage their service. Conversely, users in Sheffield are statistically the most likely to need help setting up or managing their service. The most consistently stressed broadband users are in Cardiff with 61% of those questioned admitting to losing their temper, while the most dissatisfied users are in Bristol with nearly a quarter (24%) planning to change provider in the next 3-6 months.

“It’s clear from previous studies and backed up by this research that UK broadband customers have low overall satisfaction and are not having an easy ride when it comes to set up, maintenance and customer support of their service,” said Sally Cowdry, Marketing Director, O2 UK. “Indeed, it is with this insight that we have designed our O2 Broadband offering.”

O2 Broadband was launched in October 2007 with a simple promise to make broadband better. It is simple to set up and use, offers total transparency in both pricing and service speeds and has free, UK-based 24/7 customer care. Since launch, O2 Broadband has topped a comparison of major UK broadband providers on Thinkbroadband.com. The poll measures key satisfaction areas for customers, including speed, reliability and customer service.

Please visit www.o2.co.uk/broadband for further information.

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