Wireless customers are more satisfied with their cellular service this year than last, according to the latest subscriber survey by J.D. Power and Associates. T-Mobile USA Inc. continues to rank best in customer satisfaction across the country due to strong performance in service plan options, cost and billing; in the six U.S. regions used by the survey, the industry’s smallest nationwide operator tied in five regions with Verizon Wireless, which won out in terms of call quality.
Overall customer satisfaction is judged by six factors: call performance, customer service, service plan options, brand image, cost of service and billing. Customer satisfaction improved about 3 percent from 2005.
“Over the past three years, overall satisfaction has fluctuated significantly as changes in the industry, such as the recent carrier mergers, have influenced the customer experience,” J.D. Power noted, adding that customer satisfaction seems to have increased in response to aggressive marketing of new services and more pricing options.
“It’s encouraging to see that industry-wide service improvements, especially expanded service offerings and aggressive service plan pricing, have resulted in more positive overall wireless service experiences,” said Kirk Parsons, senior director of wireless services at J.D. Power and Associates. But he noted that higher customer expectations are likely to go along with the new services now offered by the carriers.
In the six regions of the U.S., the rankings breakdown was: T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless tied for the top spot in the Northeast region, the Mid-Atlantic region, the West and the Southeast. T-Mobile USA was the clear winner in the Southwest region. The North Central region was the most competitive, with underdog U.S. Cellular Corp. again showing that it could compete with the national carriers in a three-way tie for highest customer satisfaction with T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless. Both U.S. Cellular and Verizon Wireless “performed particularly well in call quality,” according to J.D. Power and Associates.
