Secret shoppers with disabilities less satisfied with telecom options

One in five potential customers for telecommunications services "perceived that they may have faced misleading or aggressive sales practices," and telecom shoppers with disabilities are "significantly" less satisfied with their options than those without disabilities, according to a "secret shopper" report released Tuesday by the CRTC. The report, prepared by Forum Research Inc. for the commission, found that while the majority of interactions between shoppers and sales staff were satisfactory, shoppers who were looking for prices that are cheaper and use less data than plans at $75 per month with 10 GB of data were not able to find appropriate plans from the big three -- BCE Inc., Rogers Communications Inc. and Telus Corp. "This is the lowest priced plan offered by these Service Providers to the secret shoppers, even those who are looking for a lower-priced plan, or who don’t use as much data and it would appear that their needs are not being accommodated," the report's executive summary said. The report did note that Shaw Communications Inc.'s Freedom offered a similar data allowance at $50 per month, while Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. and Quebecor Inc.'s Videotron offered "more variety in terms of data allowances and pricing." The report highlighted that consumers with disabilities weren't as happy with their experiences, and "typically have significantly lower satisfaction rates across key metrics on sales practices," such as the appropriateness of product recommendations and misleading or aggressive practices. Whereas 76 per cent of people without disabilities reported they were "recommended a product or service that was appropriate for their needs," only 65 per cent of people with disabilities said they were. Likewise, 90 per cent of people without disabilities felt the "information they were provided was not misleading," while 80 per cent of those with disabilities did. The CRTC defined a "secret shopper" as "a trained undercover shopper sent to provide unbiased feedback on goods and services," it said in a press release. In certain circumstances, shoppers who are blind or partially sighted had difficulty attaining contracts in alternative formats, but the report noted the sample size was too small to determine whether the problem was systemic or not. The report noted that seniors were more satisfied with their interactions, rather than less. When it came to feeling they were recommended the appropriate product, 79 per cent of seniors said they were, compared with 73 per cent of non-seniors, while only nine per cent felt they were pressured to purchase, compared to 12 per cent of non-seniors. Sales interactions through companies’ online chat functions had significantly lower levels of satisfaction than in-person or over the phone interactions. "The secret shopper project allowed us to gain on-the-ground insight into the challenges Canadians may face when engaging with communications service providers’ salespeople," CRTC chairman Ian Scott said in the Tuesday release. "While we are encouraged by the results, more needs to be done to stop misleading and aggressive sales practices. This is why the secret shopper project will continue into the future.” Alongside the release of the report, the CRTC also expanded its call for comments on the accessibility consultation launched this summer to include Tuesday's report. It said it would set new deadlines in that proceeding at a later date. The secret shopper project stems from recommendations in the February 2019 CRTC report on misleading and aggressive sales practices. That report found that misleading or aggressive sales practices "occur to an unacceptable degree; they are harming Canadian consumers, in particular vulnerable Canadians; and they are a serious concern for the CRTC.” During the hearings in the run up to that report, the commission heard from University of Ottawa researchers who had conducted a similar secret shopper program. The secret shopper report released Tuesday reflected the experience of some 422 shoppers, and their shopping experiences were divided by service provider according to each provider's portion of the total market share. Shoppers were also divided by region and language, according to the proportion of each to the overall population. Shoppers were then asked to answer a 41-question questionnaire, covering aspects of their experience. The research was conducted in late 2019 and early 2020. — Reporting by Michael Lee-Murphy at mleemurphy@thewirereport.ca and editing by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca

Secret shoppers with disabilities less satisfied with telecom options

News | September 29, 2020

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Secret shoppers with disabilities less satisfied with telecom options

News | September 29, 2020

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