• Business Week, Friday, May 25, 2007 11:30 AM

For years, cable companies have been doing everything they can to steal chunks of the $60 billion of yearly revenue generated by telephone companies on voice plans for U.S. consumers. Atlanta-based Cox Communications seems to have hit upon a formula that works: beating the phone companies at customer service.

Cox outscores traditional phone providers, such as AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint Nextel, on a variety of metrics measured by J.D. Power & Associates -- from network performance and reliability to billing and cost. Customers in several regions describe Cox as their preferred provider.

Cox uses one customer-care provider, with U.S.-based centers. Rather than pushing agents to hurry customers off the phone and causing multiple call-backs, it strives to handle issues in a single call and grades reps on how well they eliminate problems. To avoid confusion, field technicians tap into the same system used by call-center reps. Cox has even started a "geek squad" to help customers with tech issues, whether they involve its gear or not.

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