Facebook fails customer satisfaction survey

Poll says social media website is abut as pleasing as filing taxes

Published July 20, 2010 4:21PM (EDT)

FILE -- In this August 27, 2009 file photo, the social networking site Facebook login webpage is seen on a computer screen in Ottawa, Can. A German data protection official said Wednesday, July 7, 2010, he launched legal proceedings against Facebook, which he accused of illegally accessing and saving personal data of people who don't use the social networking site. (AP Photo.The Canadian Press, Adrian Wyld, file)  (AP)
FILE -- In this August 27, 2009 file photo, the social networking site Facebook login webpage is seen on a computer screen in Ottawa, Can. A German data protection official said Wednesday, July 7, 2010, he launched legal proceedings against Facebook, which he accused of illegally accessing and saving personal data of people who don't use the social networking site. (AP Photo.The Canadian Press, Adrian Wyld, file) (AP)

The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) came out today and Facebook, everyone's favorite social media website, scored an abysmal 64 out of 100.  How bad is that score?  A 64 puts Facebook alongside airline, tax-filing and cable company websites in terms of customer satisfaction.  Anyone with Comcast will tell you this is not good.

The numbers are surprising since Facebook is by far the most popular social network on the Internet,  approaching the 500 million mark in total users.  Everyone has one, from networking businessmen to parents wanting to stay connect to their kids. Oh yeah, and about 99 percent of all teenagers gladly waste their entire summer days udpating their status.  Facebook users spend an average of seven hours a month perusing the site.

So, why the bad rating?

Larry Freed, president and CEO of ForeSee Results, which partnered with ACSI on the survey, says, "Privacy concerns, frequent changes to the Web site, and commercialization and advertising adversely affect the consumer experience."

But Facebook can take some solace in finishing ahead of rival Myspace -- by 1 point -- but it's still light years behind Foxnews.com (82 out of 100) and Google, which scored an 80.

The ACSI was founded at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business, and is based on annual interviews with about 70,000 customers.


By Chris Le

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