Cable Well Represented in 'Most Hated Company' List Though Dish Network and AT&T Also Make An Appearance The Atlantic's list of the top 19 most hated companies in America (via Light Reading). Charter, Comcast and Time Warner Cable come in at the fifth, fourth and third most hated companies respectively, beating out a significant number of disliked banks, airlines, and some of the country's more dysfunctional power utilities. Dish Network also makes an appearance on the list at number 18, Cox Communications shows up at number 17, and AT&T's wireless division shows up at number 14. All of these companies have had trouble with consumer satisfaction studies for years (specifically There's no shortage of cable and satellite companies inlist of the top 19 most hated companies in America (via). Charter, Comcast and Time Warner Cable come in at the fifth, fourth and third most hated companies respectively, beating out a significant number of disliked banks, airlines, and some of the country's more dysfunctional power utilities. Dish Network also makes an appearance on the list at number 18, Cox Communications shows up at number 17, and AT&T's wireless division shows up at number 14. All of these companies have had trouble with consumer satisfaction studies for years (specifically The American Customer Satisfaction Index , which this data is pulled from), and all of them continue to insist they've made customer satisfaction a top priority.







News Jump SpaceX Providing Internet To Towns Hit by Wildfires; Verizon Launches New 5G Home Hardware In Twin Cities; + more news Stark New Reality In The Telco Business: Dumb Pipes No Longer Cut It; AT&T Unveils Mix and Match Plans; + more news AT&T Extends Overage Charge Waiver; Verizon And T-Mobile Each Insist Their 5G Strategy Is The Right One; + more news War Of Words Heats Up: T-Mobile Fires Back At Verizon, AT&T; Amazon Intros Gaming Service To Take On Stadia; + more news Starlink's Network Faces Huge Limitations; AT&T Whines T-Mobile Merger Put Too Much Spectrum In One Place; + more news WISPs Get CBRS Range As Great As Six Miles At 100 Mbps Speeds; Windstream Officially Exits Bankruptcy; + more news Charter Relaunches Free 60-day Internet And Wi-Fi Offer; NCTA: FCC Should Stick With 25/3 Speed Threshold; + more news Comcast Shuts Off Internet for Subs Who Were Sold Service Illegally; AT&T, Verizon Team To Stop T-Mobile 5G; + more news California Defends Its Net Neutrality Law; AT&T's Traffic Up 20% Despite Data Traffic Actually Being Down; + more news Are The Comcast-Charter X1 Talks Dead In The Water?; AT&T May Offer Phone Plans With Ads For Discounts; + more news ---------------------- this week last week most discussed view:

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FFH5

Premium Member

join:2002-03-03

Tavistock NJ 1 recommendation FFH5 Premium Member Where is Google - worst cust svc in America I guess Google doesn't make the list because most users of Google services pay nothing(except for lots of ads). But if the list was based purely on cust svc and not value for money, they would have to be near the top of the list.

cdru

Go Colts

MVM

join:2003-05-14

Fort Wayne, IN cdru MVM Re: Where is Google - worst cust svc in America said by FFH5: I guess Google doesn't make the list because most users of Google services pay nothing(except for lots of ads). This argument didn't stop Facebook and MySpace from being on the list, both of which are also free services.

HappyAnarchy

@iauq.com HappyAnarchy to FFH5

Anon to FFH5

Part of it may be that most people don't have to use Google customer service. Their products simply work for me, and judging by their popularity I am not the only one.



Not to say they don't misstep and that better customer service when it is needed shouldn't be a major priority, I have heard the horror stories. Just less people reporting service problems leading to less of a low ranking there, purely based on the fact that it works well most of the time. maubs

join:2010-02-26

Farmington, IL maubs Member Dish Tiers Dish would do well better in my opinion if I didn't have to purchase the 250+ channel package (or whatever it is) just to get BBC America. PacketExodus

join:2010-07-26 PacketExodus Member BUT NOT CV Because they're awesome!

IowaCowboy

Supermarket Hero

Premium Member

join:2010-10-16

Springfield, MA ARRIS SB6183

Netgear R8000

IowaCowboy Premium Member It does not surprise me It does not surprise me that Dish Network made the list. I had them and they lasted 3 months in my house before I went back to Comcast (which has its own issues). At least Comcast answers their phones stateside. Dish Network uses outsourced call centers and they could not send a straight bill. They quote one price and charge another. Then they advertise no commitment and then try to claim I had an 18 month commitment when I tried to cancel. I had to threaten legal action to break their claim of a contract.



I had DirecTV for about 4 years and went back to Comcast when my contract was up. I had no issues with DirecTV other than it got too expensive and Comcast offered a better deal. I use TiVo premiere boxes with CableCards and they have no issues unlike the CC receivers.

n2jtx

join:2001-01-13

Glen Head, NY n2jtx Member Surprise? These are all companies that basically tell you to bend over and take it. The "We are charging you more for less and there is nothing you can do about it" attitude along with the too big to fail mentality is why they are so hated. I worry about AT&T taking over T-Mobile even though T-Mobile has taken to embracing the same "screw you" attitude. If the companies want to act arrogantly, they should be willing to accept the lack of "love" on the part of their customers. I would throw media conglomerates, big oil and banks into the list as well.

ctceo

Premium Member

join:2001-04-26

South Bend, IN ctceo Premium Member Publicity is Publicity. See above

David

Premium Member

join:2002-05-30

Granite City, IL 215.3 11.9

1 edit David Premium Member went through the list 1 :: Pepco Satisfaction rating: 54/100

Potomac Electric had among the worst ratings in various power reliability studies, according to Washington Post. The average Pepco customer experienced 70 percent more outages than customers of other big city utilities that took part in one 2009 survey, and the lights stayed out more than twice as long. The unreliable services resulted in the adoption of the "Pepco bill," in March 2011, requiring the state's Public Service Commission to hold electric providers accountable for service quality standards. 2 :: Delta AirlinesSatisfaction rating: 56/100

Complaints include additional costs for food, beverages and baggage fees. The airline collected more than $952 million in baggage fees from flyers in 2010, almost twice as much as any other airline carrier.



Since acquiring Northwest airlines in 2008, Delta's consumer satisfaction score has plunged. According to ACSI, a big merger in service companies usually have a negative impact on customer services in the short-term, because of organization issues. Delta's rating dropped another 6 points this year.



3rd place- and people always tell me they will switch to them for better service. 3 :: Time Warner Cable Satisfaction rating: 59/100

Time Warner has been a public relations disaster for at least a decade. Blunders include usage caps, fees increasing each year faster than inflation and fraudulent business acts and bad services. In June 2011, a lawsuit was filed against Time Warner for refusing to make closed captioning available on CNN's online videos after being notified by disgrunted consumers. Recently it also aired pornography on children's channels. 4 :: Comcast Satisfaction rating: 59/100

Complaints include poor communication of upgrade and billing changes, lost channels for customers who didn't upgrade to digital box or digital-ready TV, long waiting time for technicians and price hikes.



Comcast announced that a new dispatch system will cut wait-time for repairs and installations in half by 2012. One of the largest cable companies in terms of revenue, it remains one of the worst in terms of customer satisfaction. Comcast has decreased two points since the previous year. 5 :: Charter Communications Satisfaction rating: 59/100

Common complaints include improper billing practices - which led to a class action settlement in 2004 - and poor customer service following the closing of domestic call centers in 2006. The Better Business Bureau issued a warning to Charter in 2007 following numerous complaints. In 2009, the company filed for bankruptcy and was forced to cut cost and downsize heavily.



Within the next few months, Charter's subscribers will increase by 16,000 in Missouri with the acquisition of Texas-based U.S. Cable.



9th- Myspace

10th- Facebook



Pretty much here everything summed up are privacy issues,

personal information protection, etc.



11th- united healthcare



Now this one kind of surprised me.... I always had good luck with united healthcare here in the midwest. They were very helpful with the paperwork and such for the weight surgery back in 2001. Calling their nurses line was the best. When I moved to illinois it wasn't offered so I went with blue cross/blue shield of southern illinois. Since the wife has worked in healthcare she likes dealing with them much better than united was. Supposedly blue cross/blue shield of southern il is good. Southern illinois health care can be challenging at times, but a good fax machine to their fax line gets answers pretty quick and to the point. Since faxing some bills to them was just easier I went that route.



12 :: Long Island Power Authority

13 :: LA Department of Water and Power



14 :: AT&T Mobility- I guess being in 14th place isn't that bad. I guess I could say "Well we are better than myspace and facebook!"



This one is quite shocking- I am kind of surprised a bank is better than mobility is I guess all them $0.00 forclosure statements don't mean that much!

15 :: JPMorgan Chase-



I kind of thought that would make them higher on the list.



16 :: Pacific Gas and Electric

The company is still under investigation for a gas line explosion that killed eight people in September 2010.



Another cable company...

17 :: Cox Communications



My brother has dish and doesn't have a problem from all I know.

18 :: Dish Network



If memory serves I think they made 2nd place in WCIA over at consumerist if memory serves. I would have expected them to be higher.

19 :: Bank of America Looks like wasn't near as much as power companies were at the top of the list... number 1 was2nd placeNot shocked an airline took 2nd place.3rd place- and people always tell me they will switch to them for better service.4th- again not shocking5th- again not surprised nor shocked.6-8 are pretty much airlines- again not shocking nor surprising.9th- Myspace10th- FacebookPretty much here everything summed up are privacy issues,personal information protection, etc.11th- united healthcareNow this one kind of surprised me.... I always had good luck with united healthcare here in the midwest. They were very helpful with the paperwork and such for the weight surgery back in 2001. Calling their nurses line was the best. When I moved to illinois it wasn't offered so I went with blue cross/blue shield of southern illinois. Since the wife has worked in healthcare she likes dealing with them much better than united was. Supposedly blue cross/blue shield of southern il is good. Southern illinois health care can be challenging at times, but a good fax machine to their fax line gets answers pretty quick and to the point. Since faxing some bills to them was just easier I went that route.12 :: Long Island Power Authority13 :: LA Department of Water and Power14 :: AT&T Mobility- I guess being in 14th place isn't that bad. I guess I could say "Well we are better than myspace and facebook!"This one is quite shocking- I am kind of surprised a bank is better than mobility is I guess all them $0.00 forclosure statements don't mean that much!15 :: JPMorgan Chase-I kind of thought that would make them higher on the list.16 :: Pacific Gas and ElectricThe company is still under investigation for a gas line explosion that killed eight people in September 2010.Another cable company...17 :: Cox CommunicationsMy brother has dish and doesn't have a problem from all I know.18 :: Dish NetworkIf memory serves I think they made 2nd place in WCIA over at consumerist if memory serves. I would have expected them to be higher.19 :: Bank of America your comment..

