Facebook, Nokia and AT&T Top the Most Hated Companies List
Not a great list to be a part of but 24/7 Wall Street put together a list of the most hated companies and Nokia, Facebook, AT&T and Netflix all made the top 10. To be clear, this isn’t just consumer ratings but it also can include investment decisions that tie into it but let’s go one by one. Facebook received it’s #1 most hated spot because of it’s lack of privacy and continual changes to the site and has seen low consumer satisfaction ratings across the board. It only surprises me to be #1 on the list with also the most reach.
Next up is AT&T at #3 who is well despised. They note:
AT&T (NYSE: T) recently received the lowest score given by JD Power for wireless customer care performance. It also was given the lowest rating for customer service by ACSI. AT&T has been dogged by problems with its 3G network, which are now largely behind it. AT&T was attacked by both the government and press for what many saw as an attempt to set up a monopoly through its buyout of T-Mobile. Consumers feared the combined company would have extraordinary powers to set prices. The wireless carrier also received the lowest satisfaction rating for cell-phone standard service providers, according to Consumer Reports. The MSN Money-IBOPE Zogby International customer service survey reports that 26% of customers rate service as “poor.”
Yeah I’m not going to defend them. What shocked me the most is Nokia at #4. This is a mix of consumer and investment factors:
Nokia (NYSE: NOK) has punished its shareholders as its percentage of the smartphone market has dropped quarter after quarter — its stock is down 50% in the last year. Nokia likely will lose its lead as the top handset company in the world to Samsung sometime this year. Nokia was tied for lowest overall satisfaction in JD Power’s 2011 Wireless Traditional Mobile Phone Satisfaction Study. It also has received the lowest ACSI score for wireless telephones. According to Interbrand, Nokia’s brand value has dropped 15% from last year. Nokia has tried to salvage its prospects through an agreement with Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), whose Windows OS will be used in Nokia smartphones. Despite rave reviews for the new Windows Mobile, a partnership with the weakest mobile OS maker only makes Nokia’s fortunes worse.
All I hear is praise for Nokia’s handsets but that JD Power satisfaction survey doesn’t sound so pleasant.
What do you guys think? Are these the right companies?
Related Posts
About The Author
I have commented about this in the past, but if you look at the Consumer reports ratings that go city by city and rate ATT consistently as poor, that is not based on facts, but on responses to their survey. If you go to the next page where they actually tested and rated handsets, the ATT handsets overall perform better on the voice quality section (among others) than any other carrier. (I would post an image from CR, but I don’t want to get sued. 🙂 )
So how can they be worst in quality on one page, and the best on the next? The answer is that what should really be listed as the third worst company is ATT’s marketing company. Verizon’s ads have worked. No two ways about it. They have convinced the general public that they have a better signal in more places that ATT. And therefore, anytime you take a survey of how folks feel about their carrier the ATT folks will be more bitter than the Verizon – even if they get the exact same service. And most people do not have the luxury of carrying to devices on two carriers side by side. Yes – the saturation due to the iPhone was a black eye – but even apple did not predict they would sell that well. Go back and look at the guidance they gave quarter over quarter when they first came out, Their best estimates were way lower than reality. And most of the time, when a real test is performed, you will find that ATT is on par, or better, than most carriers. But just like mother-in-laws have gotten a bad rap, so has ATT. OK – nothing is as bad as my mother-in-law, but you get my drift.
Anyone else raise an eyebrow at:
“Despite rave reviews for the new Windows Mobile…”
?
Yeah, ATT may have great handsets but I haven’t been too much of a fan of their customer service. Anyways I’m not going to say much on that here, except that this rating seems to have a lot to do with perception.
As for Nokia – SUPER surprising but their reasoning makes sense. The most interesting part though is that theyve ended up on this list even though they’re not a significant handset manufacturer in this country. They haven’t been…ever. But from an investment standpoint, it makes sense. They’re the definition of too late to the party lol.
I think investors are bitter over Nokia because they’re historically not an American-centric company.