Kiwi Consumers Lose Trust in Telco Providers Amid Rising Frustrations

A recent study by Accenture Song has found that most Kiwi consumers feel telcos don't keep their promises. The Brand Experience Gap study surveyed customers across various sectors, including banking, insurance, groceries, utilities, and media and entertainment.

According to the study, 64% of Kiwi consumers believe telco companies are not keeping their promises, while 69% reported feeling that way about New Zealand companies in general. This is a slight improvement from last year's results, where 72% of respondents said telcos were not keeping their promises.

The main frustration for customers is the pattern of pricing creeping up without warning or explanation, and without any visible improvement in experience. Customer service access was another consistent frustration, with long wait times, offshore call centres, and chatbots that loop being major concerns.

Meanwhile, network reliability and coverage were also a source of frustration, particularly for rural and regional customers who described feeling like they are second-class citizens. The study found that 16% of telco customers have used AI to search for deals across multiple providers.

Spark New Zealand said it is focused on continuing to earn customers' trust through reliable service, good value, and great experiences. One NZ emphasized its loyalty program, Phone Dollars, which lets customers build up value towards their next phone. 2degrees cited its corporate reputation as one of the fairest companies in New Zealand.