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ASCI Reports Positive Swing in Customer Satisfaction, Drop for Information Services

By Raju Shanbhag
TMCnet Contributor

Primarily due to gains in the utilities and health care sectors, which offset a drop for the information sector, customer satisfaction as measured by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI)saw a positive spike this quarter. For the first quarter of 2011, the Index has risen from 0.4% to 75.6 on the ACSI’s 0-100 scale.

The news for the information sector is mixed even though customer satisfaction in the aggregate rises. The sector as a whole dropped 0.7% to 72.3, second lowest in ACSI next to government services, and many more companies declined than improved. The domains covered by ACSI for this release include information services, including cell phones, computer software, fixed-line and wireless telephone service, motion pictures, newspapers, subscription TV service, and TV news.

“For an economic recovery to take hold and generate long-term profit potential, which would be necessary in order to make a significant dent in unemployment, repeat business is going to be critical. And, for that to occur, customer satisfaction is important,” said Claes Fornell, founder of the ACSI and author of The Satisfied Customer: Winners and Losers in the Battle for Buyer Preference, in a release. “However, it is difficult to envision much of an increase in consumer spending in the near future.”

Although customer satisfaction remained much stronger than it was prior to 2010, customer satisfaction with wireless telephone service dropped 1.4% to an ACSI score of 71. With Motorola (News - Alert) (+1% to 77) outpacing last-place Nokia (-4% to 73), whose U.S. market share has contracted. Customer satisfaction with the cell phone devices themselves also dipped slightly, down 1.3% to 75.

Facebook (News - Alert) scored a 64 out of 100 in the 2010 Index.

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