Overall
satisfaction among prepaid wireless customers who subscribe to
flat-rate plans with unlimited minutes is considerably higher than that
of customers who subscribe to per-minute price plans, primarily due to
cost advantages associated with flat-rate plans, according to the J.D.
Power and Associates 2008 U.S. Wireless Prepaid Customer Satisfaction
Study.
Now in its
third year, the study measures customer satisfaction with current
prepaid wireless service across seven key factors. In order of
importance, they are: call quality (24%); company image (19%); cost of
service (17%); account management (15%); initial activation (11%);
service plan options (8%); and customer service (6%).
The
study finds that overall satisfaction among prepaid wireless customers
that subscribe to flat-rate pricing plans with unlimited minutes is 764
on a 1,000-point scale, which is considerably higher than that of
subscribers of traditional per-minute pricing plans (717, on average).
This gap in satisfaction is primarily driven by differences in the cost
of service, as well as by the benefit of unlimited minutes available in
flat-rate plans. In particular, unlimited-plan customers report higher
satisfaction levels with the amount of airtime minutes offered for the
price paid, the overall cost-per-minute charges and the cost per
transaction to refill minutes in their account.
“Prepaid
customers are clearly responding favorably to these unique service plan
options, as they provide a cost-effective alternative to traditional
price-per-minute plans that are typically offered and allow customers
freedom from worrying about being charged extra fees for making too
many calls within a given time period,” said Kirk Parsons, senior
director of wireless services at J.D. Power and Associates. “Although
plans with unlimited minutes typically have geographic restrictions for
placing and receiving wireless calls, they still fulfill customer
expectations and tend to meet a specific service need better than other
wireless plans. In fact, 46 percent of unlimited plan customers have
completely replaced their traditional landline phone with wireless
service, compared with only 13 percent of traditional pay-as-you-go
customers.”
The study also finds that satisfaction
ratings for the initial activation process also vary greatly between
customers that subscribe to, flat-rate prepaid plans with unlimited
minutes and subscribers of traditional, per-minute plans.
Specifically, customer satisfaction scores with plans that have
unlimited minutes average 862, compared with only 756 among traditional
prepaid calling plans. The ease of initially subscribing to the plan
and activating the phone are the two areas driving the gap in
satisfaction.
MetroPCS ranks highest in prepaid wireless
satisfaction for the first time since the inception of the study and
performs particularly well in five out of seven factors that drive
overall satisfaction: cost of service, account management, initial
activation, brand image, and service plan options. Also ranking above
the industry average are TracFone, Cricket, Virgin Mobile and T-Mobile
To Go, respectively.
“In particular, MetroPCS differentiates
itself from the competition in areas related to the cost of service,
account management and service functions,” said Parsons. “From initial
account setup and activation to account management tools and variety of
pricing plans available, MetroPCS provides its customers with important
elements that positively impact their daily service experiences.”
The study also finds the following key prepaid wireless usage patterns:
- Prepaid
users spend $40 on average when purchasing additional airtime—an
increase of $2 from 2007. In comparison, the average monthly service
cost for postpaid customers in 2008 is $76. - Prepaid customers report using 233 minutes per month. Conversely, postpaid customers average 543 minutes per month.
- Approximately
63 percent of prepaid phones that are prepackaged with minutes are
purchased from retail stores, while an additional 20 percent of
customers report purchasing a prepackaged phone via the Internet.
Approximately 17 percent of customers purchase activated minute cards
separately from their cell phones. - Twenty-six percent of
prepaid customers refill minutes approximately once per month, marking
a decrease from 29 percent in 2007. An additional 14 percent refill
their plan minutes at least twice a month.
The 2008
Wireless Prepaid Customer Satisfaction Study is based on responses from
3,316 wireless customers who currently subscribe to prepaid service
plans. Findings are based on a continuous fielding period between
February and May 2008. For more information on customer satisfaction
with wireless service, cell phone call quality, wireless retail sales, cell phone handsets, and business wireless service, please visit JDPower.com.