T-Mobile USA again tops J.D. Power rankings

T-Mobile USA Inc. continued to dominate the J.D. Power and Associates regional survey of wireless customer satisfaction, receiving the highest ranking in all six regions of the U.S. for the fifth consecutive time-although it tied with other carriers in three of those regions. Verizon Wireless was the only other carrier to rank high in multiple regions, garnering three top placings.
T-Mobile USA had clear dominance in the Southwest, West and Northeast regions, according to J.D. Power. The carrier tied with Verizon Wireless for the highest ranking in the Mid-Atlantic region, and ended up in a three-way tie in the Southeast with Verizon Wireless and Alltel Corp. Five carriers out of six received the highest satisfaction ranking in the North Central region: T-Mobile USA, AT&T Inc., Verizon Wireless and U.S. Cellular Corp. Only Sprint Nextel Corp. did not receive the highest ranking in that region.
Overall, T-Mobile USA was given high marks for customer care, cost of service and billing, while Verizon Wireless did well in call quality and brand image. Alltel did well in the billing area, and in the competitive North Central region, AT&T performed above the average in cost of service, call quality and billing.
J.D. Power said that overall, the study found that call performance and reliability has increased in its importance to customers. It accounted for 26 percent of the overall satisfaction score in 2005 and now accounts for 32 percent of a customer’s satisfaction, tied for tops with reliability.
“Specifically, call quality issues such as echoes and timely notification of voice mail messages have received the most significant increase in importance,” J.D. Power noted. The company added that customer service has correspondingly become less important in determining customers’ satisfaction, declining from 17 percent in 2005 to 11 percent this year.
“It’s no surprise that more carriers now advertise the importance of a reliable network as they try to differentiate themselves from the competition,” said Kirk Parsons, senior director of wireless services at J.D. Power. “Wireless network quality is key in distinguishing carriers that meet and exceed the service expectations of their customers from those that do not.”
The study, conducted twice each year, examines customer satisfaction based on 42 measurements that are grouped into half a dozen key factors. In order of importance to customers, they are: call performance and reliability (32 percent); brand image (17 percent); cost of service (14 percent); service plan options (14 percent); billing (12 percent) and customer service (11 percent). The survey was based on responses from about 25,500 wireless users.
Some carriers have historically objected to the results of the J.D. Power survey because it is based upon customers’ recollections of service and network experience, rather than actual measurements of occurrences such as dropped calls.