Do BT customers get satisfaction?

BT has hit back at a major survey which suggested only 34 percent of its home broadband users are "very satisfied" with the service.

The survey, carried out by the consumer advocacy group Which in April, covered a variety of broadband offers and found Zen Internet, Global and Waitrose to be the best-rated by customers.

Larger Internet service providers (ISPs) did not fare as well — only a quarter of AOL's customers were "very satisfied", as were just a fifth of NTL's subscribers. Which conducted the survey by questioning 15,693 of its members about their ISPs' speed, reliability, service, support and ease of setup.

But BT has pointed to its own monthly survey of 1,500 BT Total Broadband subscribers, which found that 52 percent were very or extremely happy in April.

BT also noted that 70 percent of the surveyed customers (including those who said they were merely satisfied) were willing to recommend BT Total Broadband to others.

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"If you combine this with the recent Epitiro study it is kind of at odds with the Which results," BT's spokesperson told ZDNet UK on Monday.

BT also suggested that the Which results were "maybe something to do with the fact that they're surveying Which members — maybe that represents a different demographic".

The Epitiro study, which dealt with ISP performance but did not include any references to customer satisfaction, came under criticism for its methodology, particularly its selection of ISPs for rating.

Another survey, released in May, preceded Which's current report in giving BT and NTL a bad rating for customer service.