Sprint Takes Crown in J.D. Power Purchase Experience Survey; T-Mobile Dead Last

Sprint Takes Crown in J.D. Power Purchase Experience Survey; T-Mobile Dead Last
By Todd Haselton on August 9, 2012 in Wireless

J.D. Power and Associates released its 2012 U.S. Full-Service Wireless Purchase Experience Study, Volume 2 on Thursday, which revealed that Sprint scored the highest in overall purchase experience. Sprint’s score fell in at 775/1,000 and was followed by the full-service average (764), Verizon Wireless (763), AT&T (761) and T-Mobile (752). The scores are based on six factors, including the carrier’s website, phone sales representative experience, store sales representative experience, the store facility, cost of service and the carrier’s offerings and promotions.

J.D. Power and Associates said that the increased satisfaction among customers overall was attributed to sales efficiency in each wireless store. The company found that the highest satisfaction was among customers who completed their transactions inside a retail store. In fact, the wait from the time a customer enters a store to when he or she begins speaking to a representative decreased almost a full minute from last year, down to 7.5 minutes. The average transaction time, however, is still 54 minutes. That’s down just a minute from six months ago.

“Customers who make purchases in retail stores have the opportunity to touch handsets and accessories and see the pricing associated with each, something not possible over the phone or on the Web,” J.D. Power and Associates senior director of wireless services Kirk Parsons explained. “In addition, carriers have invested heavily in the retail store environment in merchandising, store upgrades and staff training to make the overall sales experience more enjoyable and efficient.”

Wireless consumers are still going to wireless stores, as opposed to making purchases online. The survey said 64% of full-service customers went to a retail store, 18% used a phone and 18% made a purchase online.

The survey included 8,047 wireless customers in the United States.

Sprint Takes Crown in J.D. Power Purchase Experience Survey; T-Mobile Dead Last | TechnoBuffalo