The latest American Customer Satisfaction Index study shows that satisfaction in wireless carriers has decreased for all carriers except for Sprint, and it shows greater dissatisfaction with phone makers.
Sprint and Verizon tied as the top carriers, while T-Mobile and AT&T dropped in customer satisfaction. Motorola leads in device makers.
Customer satisfaction with wireless telephone service decreased 1.4% to
an ACSI score of 71, but remains much stronger than it was prior to
2010.
Verizon Wireless decreased 1% for a second
straight year, falling to 72 to tie Sprint Nextel, which continued its
upward trend, rising 3% following consecutive double-digit gains. In
three years, Sprint has emerged from 15 points below the
second worst in the category to claim a share of the industry lead.
AT&T and T-Mobile showed a
larger customer satisfaction decline in customer service.
T-Mobile fell 4% to an ACSI score of 70, matching a 5-year low, while
AT&T descended by 4% to 66, its worst score since 2006 - the year
before the launch of the iPhone.
"It is common to find a reduction in customer satisfaction after
mergers, but it is rare for customer satisfaction to drop ahead of a
merger," said Fornell. "Assuming the deal is approved, it remains to be
seen if a much larger AT&T can regain the strength of its customer
relationships."
Customer satisfaction with cell phone devices also
dipped slightly, down 1.3% to 75, with Motorola (+1% to 77) beating out Samsung and last-place Nokia (-4% to 73).
The aggregate of smaller wireless providers, such as TracFone and
U.S. Cellular, continues to lead the category, up 1% to an ACSI score of
77.
Isn't it wonderfully ironic how well tracfone have done. Like Sprint, they've turned the tables, and are coming up tops. Who would've said five years ago? But the super irony, is that more than 65% of tracfones subscribers are constantly making use of AT&T's network. So it's not the network causing AT&T's worries - maybe just customer service.
Still kudos to tracfone who provide seniors with a phone that costs less than $15, and give phones, and airtime to the under privileged.