EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn.-Consumer experience research firm Vocal Laboratories reported Verizon Wireless received the highest customer service quality rating in a recent survey comparing the quality of customer service of AT&T Wireless Services Inc., Cingular Wireless L.L.C., Sprint PCS and Verizon Wireless.
The report noted Verizon Wireless received a top score of 43 and was awarded an “A” in caller satisfaction compared with Cingular’s score of 25, Sprint PCS at 14 and AT&T Wireless as minus 5.
“The four companies differed on their ability to handle customers’ questions,” Peter Leppik, chief executive officer of Vocal Laboratories explained. “Verizon Wireless successfully answered customers’ questions 87 percent of the time on the first call, while the other three companies only managed to handle between 70 percent and 73 percent of customers questions on the first call.”
Vocal Laboratories also reported that AT&T Wireless posted the highest caller frustration at 29 percent compared with 17 percent with Sprint PCS, 15 percent with Cingular and 12 percent with Verizon Wireless. Sprint PCS posted the longest average call length at seven minutes and eight seconds compared with six minutes and 41 seconds for AT&T Wireless, five minutes and 32 seconds with Cingular, and four minutes and 34 seconds with Verizon Wireless.
Vocal Laboratories noted common customer complaints across all four carriers included difficulty in connecting to an agent, long hold times and automated systems that were difficult to navigate.
“Based on our analysis of the data, Verizon Wireless came out on top of this study,” Leppik added. “The other three companies could likely see substantial operational and satisfaction improvement by emulating Verizon in this regard.”
