ComReg Q3 Report reveals record low complaints made by eir customers

Regulator’s Consumer Line Report for Q3 2021 shows fourth consecutive quarter of falls in eir complaint numbers 

• 81.6% reduction in fixed service complaints from 2020 peak 

• 77.5% reduction in mobile service complaints from 2020 peak

• Best performing telecoms operator in terms of issue resolution

The Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) has published results showing that eir has achieved its lowest number of customer complaints on record in the third quarter of this year. ComReg’s Consumer Line Statistics Report Q3 2021, which details consumer contacts in relation to electronic communications services by its Consumer Care team, shows a sizeable fall in the number of complaints made by eir customers over the past year, with the company having now experienced four consecutive quarters of falls in complaints.

Complaints about the company in respect of fixed broadband and telephone services fell by 11% from the second quarter of this year to the third, reducing from 40.3 to 35.8 complaints per 100,000 customers. Similarly, complaints from eir mobile customers fell 5% from last quarter, down from 6.6 to 6.3 complaints per 100,000 customers.

The continuous reduction in customer complaints has been achieved as a result of significant improvements made across customer care by eir over the last 12 months, including enhanced training for customer care agents, the development of a suite of online self-serve care options removing the need for customers to call, investment in robotics as well as the implementation of a dedicated customer care line for those over 65 years of age. The company seeks to further improve its customer care performance in 2022 through the continuation of our system transformation programme. 

This quarter’s results mark the lowest number of complaints per 100,000 customers for eir’s mobile services since this reporting began in 2015. This quarter’s figures also represent an 81.6% reduction in fixed service complaints and a 77.5% reduction in mobile service complaints since their peak in the latter half of 2020, in the midst of disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Since then, customer complaints to ComReg by eir customers have fallen dramatically over four consecutive quarters to new record lows.

The report by ComReg also demonstrates that eir is the best performing telecoms operator in terms of issue resolution across the telecoms industry. The mean resolution time of customer complaints was reported to be significantly below the median industry level this quarter. Complaints by eir mobile customers to ComReg were resolved on average three days faster than the industry median for the quarter, while complaints by eir fixed customers were resolved on average two days faster.

eir CEO Carolan Lennon said of the results that: “Delivering a standard of care our customers can depend on is the number one priority for eir, historically we had never been good at it. We are absolutely determined to continue to improve and make care a differentiator for our business. eir has been investing heavily in transforming our care offering and that investment is now paying strong dividends with four consecutive quarters of reductions in complaints made to ComReg. The first months of the Covid-19 pandemic were extremely challenging for the management of customer issues for our company and our industry, we are delighted to end this year having achieved record low figures in ComReg’s complaint numbers this quarter and the lowest numbers for eir since recording began.”