Survey Sez: Cellular Subs Demand More Customer Care TelecomWeb Wireless customers who have problems or issues with their service are more likely now to contact their current providers than they were in the past, and the incidences of users dialing their carriers for customer care are at an all-time high.
According to the J.D. Power and Associates most recent semi-annual study on the subject, now in its fourth year, the average incidence rate has climbed steadily since measurement began in 2000, when the figure stood at 47 percent. The study found that 59 percent of wireless customers contact their service providers within a 12 month period - the highest level since 2000 and up from last year's 54 percent. According to the "2006 Wireless Customer Care Performance Study-Volume 2," released today, a key factor contributing to the increase not only is the rise of new wireless services and products, but also the complexity of using those products. "As customers capture still pictures or video, download ringtones, play MP3 files and even watch TV clips on their wireless phones, they are increasingly likely to call their provider for support," the group says. "This puts pressure on the provider's customer-care centers and service representatives to not only handle the increase in customer inquiries, but to also understand the issue or problem and attempt to get the inquiry resolved in a timely manner." And Kirk Parsons, senior director of wireless services at J.D. Power, predicts the incident trend will continue to rise as more wireless companies encourage customers to try new services. "The downside is that carriers run the risk of decreasing customer satisfaction and losing customers to other carriers," he adds. "Since future switching levels are 50-percent higher among customers who need to contact their carrier to get the inquiry resolved than those who do not, the challenge for wireless providers is to provide contact channels that can offer an informative and efficient experience for their customers." J.D. Power also says T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless ranked highest in a tie among the five largest wireless service providers "in creating a positive experience for customers who contact their provider for service or assistance." Both providers reportedly perform particularly well across all factors, especially in the areas of customer- service representatives, hold times and resolving inquiries with one contact, according to the study. Alltel, Cingular Wireless and Sprint Nextel - in that order - follow T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless in the rankings. The J.D. Powers report card includes three point-of-contact methods: telephone calls with a service representative and/or automated response system; at a retail wireless stores; and online. It was based on responses from more than 11,430 wireless customers who contacted customer care within the past year, with surveys performed in January and March 2006. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Duane Whittingham (N9SSN) - Producer Tom and Darryl Radio Shows & Saturday Morning Confusion Heard on C-Band Analog Satellite (W0KIE) - Telstar 6 Ch 1 - 6.2/6.8 WTND-LP Macomb 106.3, WQNA FM, WBCQ 7415 kHz & the Internet. Heard Fridays 9pm ET, Sundays 12am ET and Tuesdays 2am ET (Folk) An Independent Freeform Eclectic Radio Show. http://www.tomanddarryl.org http://www.wtnd.us Reply with a "Thank you" if you liked this post. _____________________________ MEDIANEWS mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
