IPSWICH, Mass.—The Consumer Respect Group, which examines how companies treat online customers, has found that the telecom industry—particularly traditional landline and wireless companies—does a better-than-average job of interacting with customers through the Internet.
The study looked at indicators such as site usability, companies’ willingness to engage in one-on-one communication to answer customer questions, and whether sites can be trusted with personal data. Wireless companies in particular scored high in the area of communicating with customers and did well on site support for older machines, slow connection speeds and users with various disabilities. The CRG noted that 78 percent of wireless companies provide “good self-help Web functionality,” but said that only seven percent of mobile virtual network operators did so.
However, wireless did poorly when it came to personal information.
“Overall, 22 percent of companies still market personal information outside their companies without explicit permission of the customer,” the report concluded. “This rises to 33 percent for wireless companies.”
According to the survey, Verizon Wireless topped the overall list with an index score of 8.5. Other wireless carriers on the list included T-Mobile USA Inc. in third place with an index score of 7.1 and Sprint Nextel Corp. in forth with 7.0. The telecom industry averaged a score of 5.9 on the CRG’s scale.
“Telecommunications companies have paid attention to site usability,” said Terry Golesworthy, president of the group. “It is also refreshing to see online communications and e-mail taken seriously as vital to customer acquisition and retention. Conversely, too many companies have taken liberties with the increased amounts of information that can be, and is, collected.”
