U.S. Consumers Still Not Too Happy with Internet, Video Services

source: PC Mag

U.S. consumers--even when they continue to buy the products at very-high rates--never seem to report being highly satisfied with their linear video subscriptions or internet access services. In fact, with the important caveat that some service providers do much better than others, U.S. consumers generally do not say they are exceptionally happy with their internet access or linear video services They never have been.

Customer service provided by U.S. cable TV providers likely has improved quite a bit over the last 30 years, and definitely over the last 40 years. Still, U.S. consumer satisfaction with subscription video ranks at 65 out of 100, among the very lowest scores for any consumer product.

Mobile services rank higher, across the board, with an industry average of 71 out of 100.

Internet access services, sold by the same entities, ranks lower than video or mobile, at an average of 64, earning the absolute lowest scores of any product tracked by the American Customer Satisfaction Index.

Satisfaction scores for fixed network voice services are higher, likely because the unhappy customers have already left.

That noted, consumer satisfaction with mobile services does, however, seem to be related to perceptions about value and price. In some surveys, the highest-rated services all share one characteristic: they offer lower prices than tends to be the norm for the largest U.S. mobile service providers.