Wireless Carriers Reach Record High Satisfaction with Large Enterprise Customers but Miss the Mark with Very Small Business Customers, J.D. Power Finds
T-Mobile Ranks Highest in All Three Segments for Third Consecutive Year
COSTA MESA, Calif., Oct. 10, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Telecom companies continue to have a difficult time getting the very small business customer service satisfaction formula right, even as they drive significant improvement among large business customers. It's a trend that J.D. Power first noted in its 2019 U.S. Business Wireline Study, released this past July, and it continues in the J.D. Power 2019 U.S. Business Wireless Satisfaction StudySM, released today.
"The growing gap in customer service satisfaction between large enterprise customers and very small business customers is a missed opportunity for wireless carriers," said Ian Greenblatt, Technology, Media & Telecom Practice Lead at J.D. Power. "The small business customer segment presents unique challenges because these companies are more reliant on their wireless carriers to solve tech issues and are disproportionally affected when problems arise. In fact, negative customer service contacts take a far greater toll on the satisfaction of very small business customers than on large enterprise customers. Carriers that get the small business formula right will see significant improvements in retention and advocacy."
Following are some of the key findings of the 2019 study:
- Satisfaction gap between large and small business customer satisfaction: The overall customer satisfaction score for large enterprise wireless customers is 842 (on a 1,000-point scale), an increase of 29 points from 2017. Meanwhile, the overall satisfaction score for small/medium businesses is 817, down 14 points from 2018, and the score for very small businesses is 788, up 13 points from a year ago.
- Customer service is problem area for very small businesses: Satisfaction with the wireless carrier customer service function has increased 47 points during the past three years among enterprise customers, reaching a high of 868 in this year's study. During that same period, very small business satisfaction with customer service is up just 9 points to 770, representing a gap of 98 points.
- Analyzing very small business customer experience: Very small businesses are far less likely to receive dedicated customer service from their carrier and, as a result, they experience significantly higher rates of transfers (51% vs. 33% for large enterprise customers); higher rates of difficulty understanding customer service representatives (21% vs. 11% for large enterprise customers); and wait on hold for customer service an average of 1.86 minutes longer than large enterprise customers.
Study Rankings
Large Enterprise
T-Mobile (868) ranks highest in the large enterprise segment for a third consecutive year. AT&T (849) ranks second and Verizon Wireless (836) ranks third.
Small/Medium Business
T-Mobile (844) ranks highest in the small/medium business segment for a third consecutive year. Sprint (830) ranks second and Verizon Wireless (819) ranks third.
Very Small Business
T-Mobile (843) ranks highest in the very small business segment for the third consecutive year. Verizon Wireless (807) ranks second and AT&T (762) ranks third.
The 2019 U.S. Business Wireless Satisfaction Study measures satisfaction across six factors: performance and reliability; customer service; sales representatives and account executive; billing; cost of service; and offerings and promotions. Overall satisfaction is measured among three key segments: large enterprise (500 or more employees); small/midsize (20-499 employees); very small business (1-19 employees).
The study is based on responses from 2,797 business decision-makers for wireless services in the United States and includes evaluations of their wireless carriers. The study was fielded in July-August 2019.
For more information about the U.S. Business Wireless Satisfaction Study visit
https://www.jdpower.com/business/resource/us-business-wireless-customer-satisfaction-study.
See the online press release at http://www.jdpower.com/pr-id/2019188.
J.D. Power is a global leader in consumer insights, advisory services and data and analytics. These capabilities enable J.D. Power to help its clients drive customer satisfaction, growth and profitability. Established in 1968, J.D. Power has offices serving North America, South America, Asia Pacific and Europe.
Media Relations Contacts
Geno Effler, J.D. Power; Costa Mesa, Calif.; 714-621-6224; [email protected]
John Roderick; St. James, N.Y.; 631-584-2200; [email protected]
About J.D. Power and Advertising/Promotional Rules: www.jdpower.com/business/about-us/press-release-info
SOURCE J.D. Power
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