What is it about?
What makes telecommunications customers leave strongly negative online reviews? Is it poor network performance, ineffective customer support, or unfair business practices? This study analyzes 21,456 public customer reviews using text analysis and statistical models. The findings reveal that complaints about billing, unclear prices, and contractual conditions are more strongly associated with negative evaluations than technical network problems or customer support issues. Although service reliability remains important, customers appear particularly sensitive to perceived unfairness and a lack of transparency in their relationships with telecom providers.
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Why is it important?
Telecommunications companies invest heavily in network performance, but technical improvements alone may not resolve customer dissatisfaction. Our research identifies opportunities to improve billing transparency, contractual communication, complaint resolution, and customer trust. These findings can help managers prioritize service improvements and develop measurable indicators of organizational quality beyond traditional technical performance metrics.
Perspectives
A technically reliable service is not necessarily perceived as a good service. Our findings suggest that customers also evaluate how fairly and transparently companies treat them. Understanding this distinction can help organizations move from a technology-centered approach to a more comprehensive model of customer experience and service quality.
Dr. Ricardo Teruel-Gutiérrez
Universidad Politecnica de Cartagena
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Business practices vs. technical quality: What drives negative reviews in telecom, Quality Management Journal, July 2026, Taylor & Francis,
DOI: 10.1080/10686967.2026.2696237.
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