AT&T Mobility ranked best in purchase experience for full-service carriers, according to a new study by J.D. Power. The firm conducted two studies that also found sales representatives play a key role in the satisfaction of smartphone and tablet buyers.
The studies measured six factors to decide which full-service and non-contract carriers provide the best customer experience, which included satisfaction with store sales representatives; company websites and store facilities as well as the company’s offerings and promotions; cost of service and phone sales representative support. Satisfaction was calculated on a 1,000-point scale.
AT&T Mobility ranked significantly better than Verizon Wireless with a score of 802 compared to 784. Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile, both prepaid divisions of Sprint, tied for the best rank among non-contract carriers with a score of 795.
J.D. Power said it used information gathered from phone calls with sales representatives, visits to retail wireless stores and online purchases to evaluate the overall wireless purchase experience of customers.
Tablet demos rank high on J.D. Power wireless study
The studies found purchase experience satisfaction for tablet customers was substantially higher (149 points) when the representative explains or demonstrates how the product works. Sales representatives explained the operation of tablets more often than smartphones, leading to greater customer satisfaction with the tablets than the smartphones.
“Wireless carriers need to understand the importance and value of the role sales reps play in providing product information to tablet and smartphone shoppers, in particular, due to the high cost of tablets, shoppers take great care and time when assessing their options,” explained Kirk Parsons, senior director of telecom service practice for J.D. Power.
Demonstration of the operation of a tablet also created a greater opportunity for carriers to build loyalty; 36% of customers who received a demonstration said they “definitely will not” switch their carrier compared to 24% who were not offered a demonstration.
Other key findings included: 66% of customers purchased a tablet at a retail store, compared with 73% of smartphone customers; and overall purchase experience satisfaction is 28 points higher when customers purchase their tablet in a carrier-owned store vs. a non-carrier store.
Finally, overall satisfaction with the purchase experience is slightly higher among full-service carriers than non-contract carriers, 790 vs. 778, respectively.
This is the 12th year the semiannual studies have been conducted. The full-service study is based on responses from 10,246 customers. The noncontract performance study is based on 5,498 customer responses.
The studies took place from July through December 2014.
