Kelly Teal, Contributing Editor

December 1, 2009

2 Min Read
Survey: AT&T Worst in Customer Service

Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) is having a good month. It seems to be winning the 3G he said-she said coverage wars and now, according to a new survey, also boasts the best customer satisfaction rates in the country.

Consumer Reports this week released the results of a new poll that contains feedback from more than 50,000 readers in 26 U.S. cities about the top four wireless service providers. AT&T Inc. (T) received the lowest rankings in 19 of those cities. Verizon came in at the top.

AT&T got poor marks for voice service and came in average for messaging, Web browsing and e-mail. The carrier’s customer service over the phone and over the Web came in at the bottom, too, along with staff knowledge and subscriber issue resolution. Overall, AT&T’s score totaled 66 points.

Verizon, on the other hand, landed a score of 75.

T-Mobile came in second, thanks mostly to responses for superior customer support. And Sprint Nextel Corp. (S), the nation’s third-largest wireless provider, scored 67 points for average service and sub-par customer support. Sprint has incurred a reputation for bad subscriber relations, though, since the Nextel takeover.

AT&T has a lot of PR work to do if it wants to refurbish its increasingly tarnished image. The exclusive iPhone carrier already has taken a hit for operating a slow 3G network – iPhone users complain of slow download speeds and spotty coverage. And Verizon has taken full advantage of that weakness in recent “There’s A Map for That” ads, for which AT&T has sued its larger rival (and, so far, lost) and launched a (really sad) TV campaign featuring actor Luke Wilson.

Despite Verizon’s apparent edge in the PR wars, though, AT&T does have an advantage, according to Consumer Reports: 98 percent of iPhone users would buy the handset again, even if it means dealing with AT&T.

Read more about:

Agents

About the Author(s)

Kelly Teal

Contributing Editor, Channel Futures

Kelly Teal has more than 20 years’ experience as a journalist, editor and analyst, with longtime expertise in the indirect channel. She worked on the Channel Partners magazine staff for 11 years. Kelly now is principal of Kreativ Energy LLC.

Free Newsletters for the Channel
Register for Your Free Newsletter Now

You May Also Like