AT&T Customer Service Improved, Sprint Decreased, Verizon 60% Satisfied

The most recent Vocalabs' surveys found that AT&T customer service is improving with the highest overall customer satisfaction while T-Mobile and Sprint satisfaction declined.

In telephone interviews conducted immediately following a customer service call during the three months ending September 30, 2011:

  • 66% of AT&T customers surveyed were “Very Satisfied” with the experience, up from 56% in the prior period
  •  55% percent of T-Mobile and 60% of Verizon customers who were similarly satisfied.
  • 53% of Sprint customers gave the experience their top rating, down from 64%.

Sprint made impressive service gains during 2010, moving from the bottom of Vocalabs’ rankings in 2009 to being statistically tied for first place in many key metrics. These gains have largely disappeared in 2011, however, with some of Sprint’s key scores in the September quarter at or below the levels of the beginning of 2010. The most significant change in the three months ending September 2011 is the large 11-point drop in Call Satisfaction for
Sprint.

T-Mobile, which had been making significant improvements in the automated part of customer service calls, saw that
improvement reverse this quarter. Among customers who reported self-service problems at T-Mobile, we saw a substantial
increase in reports of difficulty reaching a person, which may be underlying this shift.

About This Research
The National Customer Service Survey (NCSS) tracks customer service quality in several industries, using telephone interviews conducted with a customer immediately after a customer service experience. Statistics  are based on 7,356 surveys completed between July 2009 and September 2011.

Download executive summary of the report.