J.D. Power: The 30-second window critical to carrier retail success

First impressions really do count in wireless, and retail store staff had better be quick on their feet, according to the most recent customer satisfaction survey by J.D. Power and Associates. The firm found that wireless customers want to be greeted within their first 30 seconds at a cellular retail store.
The study, which analyzed the experiences of customers who recently purchased phones at wireless retail locations, found that customers wait an average of five minutes before being greeted and their “overall satisfaction declines considerably if the wait time exceeds 30 seconds,” J.D. Power concluded. “Customers who are approached within 30 seconds of entering the store provide a satisfaction score that is 86 points higher . than customers who are not greeted as quickly. Currently, only 39% of wireless customers report being greeted within 30 seconds of entering a retail wireless store.”
Customers who aren’t greeted quickly also are 32% less likely to visit that store again, compared with customers who went to a store where someone approached them within the 30-second window, according to the survey.
“Wireless carrier retail stores face strong competition from national electronic retail outlets such as Best Buy, Circuit City and RadioShack, which tend to perform better in initially greeting customers in a timely manner,” said Kirk Parsons, senior director of wireless service at J.D. Power and Associates. “It’s imperative that wireless carriers concentrate on setting the proper expectations and provide their customers with a timely and efficient sales transaction.”
Four aspects factored into wireless retail satisfaction, each weighted differently: sales staff (51%), store display (17%), store facility (16%) and price/promotion (16%).
The industry average was a score of 716 on J.D. Power’s 1,000-point scale. T-Mobile USA Inc. ranked highest in retail satisfaction for the fifth time with a score of 737 (performing particularly well in staff, store display and price/promotion), followed by Verizon Wireless with a score of 726. Alltel Corp., AT&T Mobility and Sprint Nextel Corp. fell below the industry average with scores of 714, 708 and 680, respectively.