• February 5, 2009

J.D. Power and Associates says that wireless carriers that are good at moving customers from automated systems to live service reps during service calls have better customer-service ratings than those that handle the process less efficiently.

The firm's "2009 Wireless Customer Care Performance Study" reports on how well providers do in telephone calls with a service representative and/or automated response system (ARS); visits to a retail wireless store; and on the Web.

The study found that 64% of customer care contacts are handled through the telephone channel. More than one-half of customers who make a phone call for service are initially prompted by an automated response system and then transferred to a live service representative. But wireless customers who experience this process are less satisfied, on average, than customers who are able to resolve their problem by using only the automated response system or who are directly connected to a service representative.

T-Mobile ranks highest in wireless customer care performance, followed by Verizon Wireless and Alltel.

The study also found that customers who visit the carrier's retail store for service inquiries report waiting an average of seven minutes before speaking with a representative, and spend about 25 minutes overall in the store. T-Mobile customers report spending fewer than 19 minutes in stores to resolve their issues.

And 53% percent of wireless customers have contacted the customer care service center for assistance within the past year.--Karl Greenberg