AT&T, Nextel Top Wireless Customer Satisfaction Survey
By Greg Scoblete -- TWICE, 9/16/2002
BOSTON— AT&T and Nextel topped a Yankee Group survey of wireless customer opinion, based on overall satisfaction and carrier performance.
The survey asked respondents to rank carriers with at least a 3 percent share of overall subscribers. Carriers included AT&T, Verizon, Cingular, Sprint PCS, US Cellular, Nextel, Voice Stream and ALLTEL.
AT&T topped the customer satisfaction survey with an average satisfaction rating of 4.3 (1 being not at all satisfied and 5 being very satisfied). AT&T was followed closely by Verizon with an average rating of 4.3.
AT&T's performance was consistent with its performance in Yankee's 2000 survey, but it fell below average in coverage and voice/sound quality. Those metrics, the Yankee Group said, still rank highest in determining customer loyalty.
Sprint, the "clear winner" of the Yankee Group's 2000 survey, lost ground in 2002. The Yankee Group said improvements in coverage and customer service were required for the carrier to improve standing.
Nextel topped the overall carrier performance survey, coming out tops in coverage, voice quality and features. According to the Yankee Group, Nextel's differentiated Direct Connect offering, with a majority business customer base — at roughly 80 percent — and lower average churn rates contributed to its high standing in the eyes of respondents.
In a statement accompanying the survey, the Yankee Group had a number of observations concerning the WMS market. First among them is that the market is maturing. "There is little differentiation between the carriers in the eyes of the consumer and the variance in performance criteria between the carriers has narrowed," the survey stated.
The research firm noted that while "carriers are moving in the right direction with 48 percent of respondents 'very satisfied' compared with 42 percent in 2000, there is still room for improvement."
| Total Satisfaction | % "Very satisfied" | |
| AT&T | 4.33 | 51% |
| Verizon | 4.30 | 49% |
| Cingular | 4.28 | 51% |
| Sprint PCS | 4.27 | 48% |
| U.S. Cellular | 4.25 | 55% |
| Nextel | 4.22 | 47% |
| VoiceStream | 4.16 | 44% |
| ALLTEL | 4.07 | 37% |
| Carrier Average | 4.23 | 48% |
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Source: Yankee Group |
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| In-Building Coverage | Outdoor Coverage | Voice/Sound Quality | Value For Price | Feature Offerings | Customer Service | Total Performance | |
| Nextel | 3.73 | 4.27 | 4.27 | 3.70 | 4.06 | 3.78 | 3.97 |
| U.S. Cellular | 3.76 | 4.22 | 4.17 | 3.74 | 3.82 | 4.00 | 3.95 |
| Sprint PCS | 3.67 | 4.16 | 4.21 | 3.83 | 3.98 | 3.58 | 3.90 |
| AT&T | 3.67 | 4.11 | 4.07 | 3.83 | 3.87 | 3.85 | 3.90 |
| Verizon | 3.80 | 4.13 | 4.04 | 3.82 | 3.76 | 3.76 | 3.89 |
| Cingular | 3.64 | 4.09 | 3.97 | 3.81 | 3.75 | 3.75 | 3.83 |
| VoiceStream | 3.48 | 4.10 | 3.99 | 3.84 | 3.82 | 3.59 | 3.80 |
| ALLTEL | 3.71 | 4.12 | 3.97 | 3.68 | 3.56 | 3.49 | 3.76 |
| Carrier Average | 3.68 | 4.15 | 4.09 | 3.78 | 3.83 | 3.73 | 3.76 |
