T-Mobile Earns Highest Wireless Customer Satisfaction Rankings - Third Straight Time

[EdwardP]

T-Mobile has once again earned highest wireless customer satisfaction ratings from J.D. Power and Associates. Third time in a row.

The story is here.

[bobolito]

wow...I would've never thought.....

[Fire14]

Customer Satisfaction With Wireless Rising

Overall customer satisfaction with US wireless service providers has increased significantly from 2005 as customers react to new service offerings and aggressive pricing strategies, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2006 U.S. Wireless Regional Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) Study. The study measures customer satisfaction based on 42 specific service-related measures grouped into six key factors that impact overall wireless carrier performance. They are (in order of importance): call performance and reliability (26%); customer service (17%); service plan options (17%); brand image (14%); cost of service (14%); and billing (12%). Carriers are ranked across six regions in the United States: Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, North Central, Southwest and West.

Over the past three-year period, overall satisfaction has fluctuated significantly as changes in the industry, such as the recent carrier mergers, have influenced the customer experience. The study finds satisfaction has improved 3 percent from 2005, with particular improvements in the areas where the industry has been aggressively marketing new services and offering more attractive pricing options. For example, the service plan options and cost of service factors receive the largest increase in satisfaction ratings from 2005.

"It's encouraging to see that industry-wide service improvements, especially expanded service offerings and aggressive service plan pricing have resulted in more positive overall wireless service experiences," said Kirk Parsons, senior director of wireless services at J.D. Power and Associates. "However, consumer expectations will continue to rise as cell phone users increasingly rely on the communication functions of their cell phones beyond voice calling."

T-Mobile ranks highest in all six regions (including five ties), performing particularly well in service plan options, cost of service and billing.

Verizon Wireless ranks highest in ties in five regions: Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, North Central and West. Verizon Wireless's main strengths are in the areas of call quality and brand image dimensions.

U.S. Cellular ranks highest in a tie with Verizon and T-Mobile in the North Central region.


Study results by region are:

Northeast Region: T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless rank highest in a tie. T-Mobile performs particularly well in the areas of customer service, service plan options, cost of service and billing. Verizon Wireless receives strong ratings in call quality.

Mid-Atlantic Region: Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile rank highest in a tie. Verizon Wireless receives the highest ratings from customers in call quality and brand image. T-Mobile performs particularly well in the cost of service factor.

Southeast Region: T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless rank highest in a tie. T-Mobile performs well in service plan options, cost of service and billing. Verizon Wireless performs well in the area of call quality.

North Central Region: T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular and Verizon Wireless each rank highest in customer satisfaction in a three-way tie in the most competitive region included in the study. T-Mobile receives the highest ratings from customers in cost of service, service plan options and billing, while both U.S. Cellular and Verizon Wireless perform particularly well in call quality.

Southwest Region: T-Mobile ranks highest with strong ratings in customer service, service plan options, cost of service and billing.

West Region: T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless rank highest in a tie. T-Mobile performs particularly well in cost of service and Verizon Wireless performs well in call quality.

[bobolito]

Let's highlight each company's strengths and weaknesses:

T-MOBILE:
Northeast Region: T-Mobile performs particularly well in the areas of customer service, service plan options, cost of service and billing.

Mid-Atlantic Region: T-Mobile performs particularly well in the cost of service factor.

Southeast Region: T-Mobile performs well in service plan options, cost of service and billing.

North Central Region: T-Mobile receives the highest ratings from customers in cost of service, service plan options and billing.

Southwest Region: T-Mobile ranks highest with strong ratings in customer service, service plan options, cost of service and billing.

West Region: T-Mobile performs particularly well in cost of service.

As you can clearly see, T-Mobile's strength is customer service and cheap prices. Nothing is said about coverage or call quality....hmmm




VERIZON WIRELESS:
Northeast Region: Verizon Wireless receives strong ratings in call quality.

Mid-Atlantic Region: Verizon Wireless receives the highest ratings from customers in call quality and brand image.

Southeast Region: Verizon Wireless performs well in the area of call quality.

North Central Region: Verizon Wireless perform particularly well in call quality.

Southwest Region: No information about Verizon was posted.

West Region: Verizon Wireless performs well in call quality.

As you can see here, all Verizon's got is call quality, which is strongly tied to coverage. Nothing is said about how expensive they are.

They seem to emphasize that T-Mobile and Verizon are like black and white: one's got what the other is missing. In my opinion, people prefer the best of both worlds, so I guess if you want the best of both worlds you have to pick another carrier, not one that excels in one point and is weak in the other.

[walkguru]

Originally Posted by bobolito Let's highlight each company's strengths and weaknesses: [SIZE="1"]T-MOBILE: Southwest Region: T-Mobile ranks highest with strong ratings in customer service, service plan options, cost of service and billing. [SIZE="1"]VERIZON WIRELESS: Southwest Region: No information about Verizon was posted. As you can see here, all Verizon's got is call quality, which is strongly tied to coverage. Nothing is said about how expensive they are. They seem to emphasize that T-Mobile and Verizon are like black and white: one's got what the other is missing. In my opinion, people prefer the best of both worlds, so I guess if you want the best of both worlds you have to pick another carrier, not one that excels in one point and is weak in the other.

not to be picking on anybody, but no verision where i live.

[EdwardP]

In response to Bobo's highlights:

Verizon gets a D- for call quality in my area. Two or three bars of signal (out of seven) if not in very close proximity to a Verizon cellsite.

T-Mobile gets an A+ for call quality in my area. Literally everywhere that I have taken my T-Mobile phones (both past and present), they have displayed full signal (four or seven bars, depending on phone model).

[bobolito]

I just noticed something: In the Northeast, it says "Verizon Wireless receives strong ratings in call quality". It doesn't say they got the HIGHEST ratings. So if that's the case, then it shows who they are partial to.

[Matt]

Where's Larry's comment?

[Andy]

Originally Posted by walkguru not to be picking on anybody, but no verision where i live.

I think you ment to say VERIZON.

[spezi]

Originally Posted by bobolito In my opinion, people prefer the best of both worlds, so I guess if you want the best of both worlds you have to pick another carrier, not one that excels in one point and is weak in the other.

You mean, you would pick one that excels in neither category?
This logic is flawed: just because a carrier excels in one category, it does not necessarily mean that in the others it is worse than (all) the competition - maybe just one competitor is doing better in tha respect.

[bobolito]

Originally Posted by spezi You mean, you would pick one that excels in neither category? This logic is flawed: just because a carrier excels in one category, it does not necessarily mean that in the others it is worse than (all) the competition - maybe just one competitor is doing better in tha respect.

That's precisely my point. These press releases take advantage of public's natural perception that being at the top means that everyone else is horrible. Of course, the reality is different. When you look at the numbers you see that the difference between the highest score and the lowest score isn't that great. So that means that by picking a service that is not top in either category may actually fit your needs better. Let's say if you pick the second best service in one category, you are actually getting a service that is nearly as good as the top notch service in that category, but in other categores they may actually be better than the other carriers even though they are not top. In the end, it all averages out. A wireless service is not just about coverage, or pricing, or customer service, or any one particular thing. It is a combination of services.

[larry]

Originally Posted by Matt Where's Larry's comment?

How often are they doing theses surveys now? 18 times a year?

[mflem4118]

Well deserved... I can speak for those of us who provide that service. We are here for the customers!