Cable operators managed to crack the top five of a recent J.D. Power telecom technician satisfaction survey, with Charter Communications’ Spectrum brand placing second behind Dish Network.

The survey -- the J.D. Power 2019 U.S. Telecom In-Home Service Technician Study -- looked at a wide range of satisfaction touch points, including ease of making appointments, the use of social media, the web and apps for follow-up and others.

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“It’s not enough for a telecom service technician to simply show up on time, exchange pleasantries and fix the problem,” J.D. Power said in a press release, adding that providers with “stand-out levels of customer satisfaction are executing a well-choreographed, multi-channel communications campaign that incorporates web, mobile and social media, in addition to traditional phone and in-home service call interactions.”

Dish Network finished first in the rankings with a score of 889 points out of a possible 1,000. Charter placed second with a score of 867 and AT&T/DirecTV was a close third with a score of 865 points.

According to the study, some of the key components of a good score was punctuality -- overall satisfaction was lower (750 points) for providers that arrived early or late to appointments vs. those that appeared on time (874 points). Customers also valued the ease of making appointments. While the phone was the most common way to schedule an appointment (83% of those surveyed did it that way) it was the least satisfying (765 points). Scheduling via web site or mobile app scored highest (845 and 831, respectively).

Customers that received service notifications via their mobile app also were more satisfied (876) than those that received notifications through email (836), text message (809), phone representative (799), or automated phone message (795). J.D. Power added that only 5% of customers receive notifications via mobile app and 11% receive them via e-mail. The phone remains the most common means of receiving notifications (86%).

J.D. Power noted that follow-ups after service calls go a long way to improving overall satisfaction. According to the study, overall satisfaction increases by 74 points when the provider contacts the customer after a tech visit to ensure everything is running smoothly. When the tech offers to schedule a follow-up visit to fix any outstanding issues, overall satisfaction increases by 90 points.

“Service technicians are critical front-line ambassadors for their brand, but securing high customer satisfaction with the service experience requires a lot more than just a capable technician,” said J.D. Power managing director Ian Greenblatt said in a press release. “The brands that are most effectively managing the in-home service customer experience are communicating in advance with customers across multiple communications platforms. They make it easy to request service, accurately project the technician arrival time and follow up to address outstanding issues. Doing all of this well requires an enterprise-wide commitment to service.”

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Even as the FCC was unveiling chairman Tom Wheeler's proposal to bring competition to the set-top market by "unlocking" cable boxes and making the information available to competitors who want to wed traditional and online video content (an AllVid-like proposal), the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, American Cable Association, Motion Picture Association of America, and a host of others were unveiling the Future of TV Coalition to beat the commission to the consumer video choice punch.

The coalition, co-chaired by Alfred Liggins of TV One and Nomi Bergman of Bright House, will celebrate and promote what its 47 members say is the already thriving innovation in video experience options to provide even more choices.

Look for it to be making that point loudly to the FCC as the commission collects comments on the chairman's proposal, which was premised on the assertion that the video access device market instead needed a competitive boost because choices were few and prices high, with consumers "chained to their set-top boxes because cable and satellite operators have locked up the market."

"The ‘AllVid’ proposal is a brazen money grab by Big Tech companies that would do severe damage to the programming ecosystem, and in particular, niche and minority-focused networks," said Liggins in a statement. "Everyone who cares about quality, diverse television should let the FCC know that AllVid is a harmful non-starter.”

As NCTA argued in comments warning the FCC off an AllVid approach, the coalition said Wednesday (Jan. 27) that such an approach would allow a handful of tech companies to "replace innovation with government regulation." It said that AllVid "would force programmers and TV providers to dismantle their shows and services for these companies to repackage, reuse, and exploit without negotiating for the rights like everybody else in the market does today. AllVid would not give viewers access to any new programming or content that isn’t already available in their homes and would not replace or lower their existing television bills."

FCC officials speaking on background say their proposal would not force the disaggregation of TV content, would respect existing MVPD contracts with programmers and their subs, and would not require anyone to get a competing device if they were satisfied with their current box.

But they also signaled that they think it is necessary to "unlock" the MVPD's hold on video access devices.

Other members of the new coalition include AT&T/DirecTV and DISH.