Customer Care Ratings

T-Mobile Tops JD Power’s 2007 Customer Care Study --

Wireless Provider Performance Declines Significantly When Customer Care Issues Are Handled by a Computerized Response System

According to the J.D. Power and Associates 2007 Wireless Customer Care Performance Study realeased in January 2007, customer service issues that are handled by a computer automated response system (ARS) on the telephone generate significantly lower customer care ratings when compared with issues handled by a live representative.

The semi-annual study provides a detailed report card on wireless provider customer care performance based on customer experiences with three point-of-contact methods: telephone calls with a service representative and/or automated response system (ARS); visits to a retail wireless store; and online Internet connection. Within each contact method, processing issues such as problem resolution efficiency and hold-time duration are also measured.

For a fifth consecutive reporting period, T-Mobile ranks highest among the five largest wireless service providers by creating a positive experience among customers who contact the carrier for service or assistance. With an index score of 107 points, T-Mobile performs well across all factors that determine overall satisfaction, particularly in the ARS and retail contact channels, and in the overall hold-time duration on the phone. Verizon Wireless (101) and Alltel (99), respectively, follow T-Mobile in the rankings.

Source: J.D. Power and Associates 2007 Wireless Customer Care Performance Study

The study also finds several key wireless customer care patterns:

• More than one-half (55%) of wireless users have contacted the customer service department for assistance within the past year, marking a nearly 7 percent decline from the most recent reporting period (July 2006).
   
• The average number of contacts necessary to resolve an inquiry by phone is 1.87—up from 1.76 in the previous reporting period.
   
• Among customers who contact their provider, 73 percent do so by telephone and 24 percent do so through their provider’s retail store. E-mail/Internet accounts for only 3 percent of customer contacts.
  The average initial reported hold time on calls to the customer service department is 3.58 minutes. In comparison, it takes an average of 8 minutes before speaking in-person to a representative at one of the provider’s retail stores.
   
• More than four in 10 customers (42%) contact their provider with a billing-related service inquiry, with 55 percent of these contacts attributed to inaccurate charges. Additionally, 30 percent of all customer care inquiries are call-quality related.