TIO names and shames

David Heath
Tuesday, 25 August 2009 09:00

IT Industry - Market

The Australian Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman’s (TIO) office has released a report analysing complaints they have received against essentially all Australian telecommunications companies.  This report reflects the TIO’s desire to assist with improvement rather than simply wielding a big stick.

Following on from yesterday’s reporting of Communications Minister Stephen Conroy’s reaction to the initial results, there is now more information available to delve more deeply into how each telecommunication company is perceived by their customers.

The connect.resolve campaign was developed by the TIO to improve "the experience of the customer, according to Deirdre O’Donnell, the Ombudsman.  "For two years in a row, more than a third of TIO complaints were about poor customer service or complaint handling experiences, which typically left customers feeling that their phone or internet company did not really care about them, or did not follow through on actions promised.

"The overall aim of the connect.resolve campaign, through highlighting such customer experiences, was to encourage the telecommunications industry to re-focus on customers and their experiences.

"The connect.resolve campaign was the TIO’s call to action to the industry – all indications are that it has heard that call. However much remains to be done if consumers are to be convinced their voices are also being heard."

The report offers an overall summary of the state of the industry for the first half of 2009 and also homes in on the performance of a large number of specific companies – specifically AAPT, Dodo, GoTalk, Hutchinson 3G, Optus, Primus, Soul, Telstra, Virgin Mobile and Vodaphone.

So, how do they fare?