The telecommunications industry has been named the “most frustrating” sector by Australian mothers, with Telstra singled out as the most frustrating company.
Two thirds of mothers say they had been frustrated by telecommunications companies, followed by 53% of mums who nominated energy and utilities providers, 51% who said banks and 50% who said the retail industry.
The top causes of frustration for Australian mothers were bad service (68%) and a lack of responsiveness (58%).
The figures come from a study of 1,000 mothers conducted by Motherpedia in partnership with research company, CoreData.
Almost 60% of mums said they’d felt frustrated with Telstra, as opposed to 24% who said they’d felt frustrated with Optus, and 19% who said they’d felt frustrated with Vodafone.
These proportions, it should be noted, are generally consistent with each company’s market share in Australia. Telstra has approximately 60% market share.
After Telstra, Woolworths (31%) was the most frustrating company, followed by Coles (27%).
The Commonwealth Bank ranked as the fifth most frustrating company in Australia, while Jetstar, Myer, AGL and Target also featured in the top ten.
The survey showed that of the mothers who had been frustrated with companies, 66% of mums said they had reached ‘boiling point’ with Telstra, while half of that figure had reached ‘boiling point’ with Coles.
Motherpedia.com.au’s Bonita Mersiades said: “Similarly, with the banking sector, not as many mums were frustrated with leading brands like the Commonwealth Bank and the NAB, but when they did become frustrated, it was extreme.”
While 87% of those surveyed said they had and do voice their frustration to brands, when they did voice their frustration, two-thirds did not apologise.
Furthermore, 90% of mums said they share their experience with others.
Mersiades said: “It’s well established that mums have the power of the family purse and make most of the purchase decisions in the Australian household. This study shows not only that some brands have a way to go in understanding their needs and what mums want, but also in how to deal with mums appropriately when things go wrong.”
