Zen hits new heights to retain Which? recommended status

Zen Internet has again been named the top Which? recommended provider for broadband thanks to its highest ever customer satisfaction score and an extended lead over its nearest rival.

Zen achieved a customer score of 91% in the survey of nearly 2,000 broadband customers, receiving five star ratings in five out of six categories. The company in second place achieved a score of 71%, and Virgin Media, the best of the ‘big four’ providers, managed 56%.
Three quarters of Zen customers rated the service they receive from Zen as excellent. No customer rated it negatively. As the magazine notes, “it’s no surprise that many customers said they’re satisfied and would recommend Zen to others, with both satisfaction and recommendation scores at 91%.”

Zen scored top marks for customer service, ease/speed of contact, tech support, speed, connection reliability and ease of set up. The next best provider received five stars in only two categories, and no other ISP in the 12-strong list managed more than one. Sky, BT and TalkTalk came 9th, 10th and 12th in the list respectively.

Andrew Fryatt, Zen’s managing director for small business and residential, said: “We’re delighted to have retained our place at the top of the Which? rankings, and especially so because they are based on real feedback from real customers.

“Often the reaction to these results focuses on the negative, and the reported failings of the ‘big four’ providers. But there’s a different story here. There are Internet Service Providers who don’t spend huge sums on advertising and promotion, but who consistently provide a great broadband service to customers. As Which? has once again shown, Zen is certainly one of those companies, and we’ve actually extended our lead over the rest.”

This year Which? complemented its annual survey with a customer service test based on 12 mystery shopper calls to every major provider. The test was designed to check what information is provided on broadband speeds and the best package for customers, based on their likely usage. It compared this to both current Ofcom guidelines and new guidelines already announced for next year.

Zen came top of the 11-strong list when it came to meeting the new guidelines, and second on the current requirements. Zen’s overall score of 25 was the best of any of the providers tested. Nevertheless, Andrew Fryatt says that Zen are always looking to improve:

“We’re pleased that we did very well in the mystery shopper tests compared to competitors, but we accept that Zen, and the industry as a whole, can give information to customers that is more closely linked to Ofcom’s recommended advice on broadband speeds.

“We’re already taking the necessary steps. We were one of the first companies to sign up to Ofcom’s voluntary code of practice on speed information, and recently introduced a new customer charter promising full and accurate information on the speeds customers can expect, on top of our minimum speed guarantee. The results of this test have now been shared with sales teams so we can make sure customers are always provided with the most accurate and relevant information.”

ENDS

Editor’s Notes

For more information or to arrange an interview please contact Hugh Wilson at hugh.wilson@zeninternet.co.uk or on 01706 902000.

Zen Internet is a telecommunications and internet service provider (ISP), providing a full range of data, voice, hosting and infrastructure services to homes and businesses across the UK.

Zen provides its customers with the capabilities they need to communicate, collaborate and thrive in a highly-connected world, all supported by a highly robust and resilient independent network.

The company delivers excellent customer service and technical support. Zen has won many awards for excellent services including PC Pro’s Best Internet Service Provider, the UK IT Industry Award for Services Company of the Year, and a UK Customer Experience Silver Award for Technology & Telecoms.

Zen also provides business-grade broadband, Ethernet and data services for a wide range of large business and corporate customers.

Zen Internet employs more than 450 staff and last year (2017) generated revenues of £63.5m.

Zen is a Sunday Times 100 Best Companies To Work For.