VZW tops latest J.D. Power customer care study

Verizon Wireless ranked highest in J.D. Power and Associates’ 2008 Wireless Customer Care Performance study. The results, which normally find T-Mobile USA Inc. on top, included more than 11,000 respondents and were based on three areas, including telephone calls with a service representative and/or automated response system (ARS), visits to a retail wireless store, and via the Internet. Customers were especially impressed with Verizon Wireless’s ability to resolve a problem in one contact.
What drives most customers crazy – waiting on hold – has begrudgingly increased overall. The industry-wide average amount of time spent on hold with a customer service rep this year hit 4.4 minutes, up 34% from the previous survey. In addition 49% of wireless customers called in for help, up from 47% reported six months ago. J.D. Power attribute the extra minute on hold to the complexity of new handsets and services.
“As customers try new and increasingly complex wireless phone services and products – such as playing MP3 files, capturing still pictures or video or downloading ringtones – they are more likely to call their provider for support,” said Kirk Parsons, senior director of wireless services at J.D. Power and Associates. “Customer care centers and service representatives are under pressure to handle the increase in inquiries, while still trying to understand and resolve the customer’s issue on the initial contact.”
Customer service is a big issue for all carriers and most have recently tried to incorporate and encourage more “do-it-yourself” options for customers, but it doesn’t seem to have been received. This year’s study also found that within the customers who reach out to customer service, 75% do it over the phone, 24% visit the store and only 1% turn to e-mail/Internet help, a method carriers had hoped customers would adopt.
Verizon Wireless posted a score of 103 in the study, closely followed by its future sibling Alltel Communications L.L.C. with a score of 102. T-Mobile USA snagged third place with a score of 100 and AT&T Mobility was in fourth with 97, just above the industry average of 96. Sprint Nextel Corp. was the only carrier in the survey to score below the industry average, posting a score of 79.