Two out of five consumers are unhappy with the customer service from their utility provider according to a new survey released this week.

The research found most consumers rated customer service as the second most important factor in choosing a supplier – behind price in first – but three in ten said it was the most important thing to them. 12% said they had switched their utilities because of poor customer service.

The survey of more than 2,000 people suggested old habits die hard as landline was the most popular way to contact a supplier, with two thirds (66%) saying they used it to get in touch. Online was the second most popular choice with half (50%) of consumers using it and mobile phones came third with 22%. A fraction (5%) said they used live chat to reach their provider.

Most said they use multiple ways to get in contact with 92% saying they regularly used more than one channel of communication.

Mike Hughes, European MD at customer service software firm [24]7 which conducted the poll said: “Utility firms hold enough data on their customers to understand and predict customer intent and enable them to move seamlessly across a variety of channels.”

This can have problems of its own though, as one in five said they had been frustrated when their supplier did not know who they are or what their issue was despite getting in touch via another channel.