T-Mobile USA Inc. ranked highest among the seven largest wireless service providers in customer-care performance, beating out Verizon Wireless, Alltel Corp. and Nextel Communications Inc., which all performed above average, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2004 Wireless Customer Care Performance Study.
The study’s rankings were based on 7,469 wireless users’ experiences with service representatives, automated response systems and processing issues, such as problem resolution efficiency and hold-time duration.
J.D. Power noted that T-Mobile USA’s index score of 103 was “significantly higher than all other carriers included in the study,” and that the carrier performed particularly well in the ARS and hold-time duration rankings.
Overall, J.D. Power noted customer care satisfaction for the wireless industry dropped 7 percent from its 2003 study with the largest declines occurring in ARS, and more specifically with too many prompts/instructions while navigating through menu selections and the lack of ability to talk to a live service representative when needed. The company also found that average hold times increased year over year by a minute to 6.4 minutes with the average contact time jumping more than two minutes to 13.3 minutes.
“As more value-added services are offered and tried by consumers, the number of contacts needed to resolve a customer complaint or issue has increased,” said Kirk Parsons, senior director of wireless services at J.D. Power. “Since churn levels triple among those who rate their wireless carrier below average in customer care, the challenge for wireless providers is to offer an easy and efficient customer care transaction experience.”
