• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, March 4, 2010

Looks like there's more to T-Mobile than just a pretty face. Beyond the allure of celebrity pitchwoman Catherine Zeta-Jones, T-Mobile is relying on good in-store service to pull in new customers. The smallest of the four U.S. major carriers was rated tops in wireless retail customer satisfaction by J.D. Power and Associates for the second time in the last 12 months.

T-Mobile USA edged out Verizon Wireless by a point, 723 to 722, in the market research firm's 1,000-point scoring system. AT&T and Sprint-Nextel weren't much further back -- at 712 and 711, respectively. The satisfaction ratings for carrier stores are based on four criteria: sales staff (49%); price and promotion (27%); store facility (14%); and display (10%). T-Mobile scored especially well on the first two factors.

Growing smartphone sales are keeping retail staff on their toes. Nearly 40% of those who went to a wireless store in the last six months to replace or upgrade a phone, switch carriers or sign up for first-time wireless service now own smartphones, according to the study. Smartphone owners are also 27% more likely to visit their carrier's retail facility to inquire about a problem with their phone than are those with traditional handsets.

"In general, wireless carriers are succeeding in adapting to the quickly evolving landscape by ensuring their sales representatives are highly knowledgeable about newer offerings such as smartphones and the high-speed data plans they utilize," said Kirk Parsons, senior director of wireless services at J.D. Power and Associates, in a statement.

T-Mobile scored especially well in the two most important retail categories, sales staff and price and promotion. That's not too surprising -- considering that T-Mobile, along with Sprint, is viewed as the more value-oriented options for wireless service. Sprint, for instance, just brought back CEO Dan Hesse as its TV spokesman to pitch the operator's $70-a-month plan for unlimited voice, text and data.

But solid retail service and heavy marketing haven't been enough to keep T-Mobile from leaking subscribers, with a net loss of 77,000 in the third quarter. Parent Deutsche Telekom is reportedly considering spinning off T-Mobile to help improve its fortunes.

Looking at how narrow the range of retail scores of the four the major carriers are -- 711 to 723 -- the ratings suggest they are really all about even. So T-Mobile is holding its own in that regard, but on-the-ground service isn't giving it a big advantage over its rivals.