Verizon, Boost lead customer-care satisfaction in J.D. Power survey

Contract customers are more satisfied with their customer care than no-contract or prepaid customers, according to a new study from J.D. Power and Associates. Among contract customers, Verizon Wireless (VZ) scored best, while Boost Mobile, a division of Sprint Nextel Corp. (S), fared best among no-contract customers.
On a scale of 1,000 points among contract customers, Verizon Wireless scored 770 points; T-Mobile USA Inc. (DTEGY) scored 766; the industry average score came in at 762 points; Sprint Nextel scored 752 points and AT&T Mobility (T) scored 751 points. Among non-contract providers, Boost scored 763 points; Tracfone scored 706 points; MetroPCS Communications Inc. scored 703 points; Leap Wireless International Inc. scored 699 points; Virgin Mobile scored 681 points and Net10 scored 549 points.
The semi-annual survey, now in its ninth year, scores carriers on calls with customer service representatives and automated voice response systems, in-store visits and access online.
“It is not unexpected that hold times are shorter for contract customers, since full-service providers generally have access to existing account information that helps identify the customer immediately once contact is made,” said Kirk Parsons, senior director of wireless services at J.D. Power and Associates. “There is also a disparity between the contract and non-contract segments in terms of the quality of the experience with the service representative. In particular, non-contract customers are considerably less satisfied than are contract customers in the areas of knowledge about plans; personal concern for customers; and apathy towards customers.”
Parsons noted that customer care should be personalized regardless of whether a customer is under contract, especially because non-contract customers switch operators at 2.5 times the rate of contract customers.