Fans Would Trade Super Bowl Victory to Avoid Service Problem: Verizon Connect

Fans of the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams may be stocking their fridges and buying their game-day gear for the Feb. 3 Super Bowl match-up in Atlanta but one in four sports fans say they would rather have a working furnace, flowing pipes, and operational cable TV than watch their team win it all, according to a Verizon Connect survey.

The telematics provider found that fans would give up many other of life's pleasures, including binge-watching their favorite movies or TV shows (33%); a favorite indulgence such as alcohol or chocolate (27%); birthday presents (19%); their next day off from work or school (18%); their next vacation (16%); and time spent with their families (15%).

Among the survey respondents, Millennials (26%) were most likely to sacrifice a day off than have an unexpected service issue.

The survey also measured concern about how a service issue could affect other events such as a wedding (39% were most concerned); Labor Day of the Fourth of July (36%); birthdays (28%); seasonal parties for Halloweed or St. Patrick's Day (24%); and religious gatherings (21%). Events that ranked below work functions included Mother's Day (14%); Valentine's Day (8%); amd Father's Day (8%).

When asked which feature would be most important on a service provider mobile app, 65% of respondents cited viewing their service provider's estimated time of arrival and 32% seeing their provider's live location on a map. Consumers also listed notifications of job status (54%), viewing online billing (44%), rating and reviewing their service provider (41%), appointment rescheduling (34%) and the ability to make on-the-spot payments (30%) as important features of a service provider mobile app.

"In today's connected world, we have gotten used to instant gratification," said Jay Jaffin, chief marketing officer at Verizon Connect. "We want live notifications from all our on-demand services — from food delivery to ride-sharing. Our research revealed consumers are also holding service providers to similar standards."

The Verizon Connect survey was conducted by Wakefield Research among 1,000 U.S. adults, ages 18 and older, from Nov. 5-8 using an email invitation and online survey. Quotas were set to ensure reliable and accurate representation of the U.S. adult population 18 and older.