BT Retail boss, Pierre Danon, is keen to take a pop at the competition given half a chance.

In an interview in the Times today he acknowledged that BT's customer satisfaction wasn't up to scratch - and then said it was no better or worse than rivals including NTL, Telewest and Energis.

"Today we deliver customer satisfaction, both in business and in personal, exactly at parity with the NTL, Energis and Cable & Wirelesses of this world - no better and no worse," he said.

Charming. So effectively, he's saying BT's rivals are just as shoddy as BT.

El Reg wondered if rival operators would let such a slur pass them by without comment so we called a couple of them to see what they had to say.

Sadly, for NTL, no one there could be arsed to return a call so maybe BT has got a point about this particular cableco.

Telewest, on the other hand, declined to say whether they were offended by the comment but said: "We are investing in our customers, are committed to providing excellent service support, and to delivering a range of innovative services."

Energis also declined to comment directly on Danon's remarks.

Instead, a very helpful spokeswoman for the company pointed out that the telco sponsored the Daily Telegraph/Energis Customer Service Awards each year to "recognise and reward organisations from both the public and private sectors for their commitment to delivering excellent customer service".

The awards are designed to encourage other organisations to aim for the highest standards in customer care.

The closing date for entries this was last Friday and according to the most recent information available, BT's application was not among the 200 or so companies who had bothered to take part. Maybe it's in the post. Or late. Or maybe the dog ate it? ®