CANADIAN WIRELESS PROVIDERS received generally good grades from their subscribers in terms of how they have been supporting their customers during the Covid-19 crisis, according to research from Toronto’s Solutions Research Group.
The median mark was a B+ overall, with 16% assigning their provider a perfect mark of A+ and 29% giving an A, while 38% gave a B+ or a B. About one-in-six (18%) graded their wireless provider a C+ or lower. SRG’s Mobile and Wireless 2020 syndicated study was conducted among 1,267 wireless subscribers in both official languages nationally in July 2020.
The gestures from the providers which earned highest praise were little extras like “free data for 30 days” or “free long distance” in customer comments. Customers also noticed and gave high marks if a company did not increase prices or try to upsell them during the crisis, says the SRG release. Those receiving good marks also were noted for being good communicators and being responsive. If the wireless service did not degrade during the crisis (which consumers perceived as a time of high demand), the provider earned credit for that, too.
“They have taken measures to ensure customers can still receive service, can still reach a rep and have made their website very interactive and accessible. They also dropped late fees and disconnections for non-paid bills,” said one respondent.
Customers gave their providers low marks if they initiated a billing increase or tried to upsell during the lockdown or shortly after. Others gave a low mark when their provider did not provide added value or did not accommodate customers’ requests for relief.
“I asked to defer my payments and they said no,” said one.
Three brands achieved a very strong median mark of ‘A’ from their customers to make it to the honour roll, which were: Public Mobile, Koodo and Freedom Mobile.
