Our love-hate relationship with cell phones

Verizon Wireless and Alltell had the highest overall scores in the 20 markets Consumer Reports surveyed. But T-Mobile was close on their heels. In most cities, it matched Verizon’s customer satisfaction rates. And the editors say T-Mobile plans “generally offer more for the money than those of Verizon and Alltel.

In a few cities, such as Philadelphia and Tampa, AT&T is also in the running. Even so, Consumer Reports says it “trails the better carriers in almost all respects.”

Sprint was the clear loser, rating the lowest in all of the markets surveyed except Minneapolis-St. Paul. Customers in most cities rated Sprint worse than the competition for dropped calls, customer service, and overall satisfaction.

Sprint also rated poorly in the latest J.D Power and Associates Wireless Customer Satisfaction Index. The survey, based on responses from 22,158 wireless users was released in October. Sprint rated lowest in every region of the country.

Sprint tells me the company has been working hard to improve its network and customer service. It’s opened a new customer service center and hired more service representatives.

“We believe this will pay off in better results in future customer satisfaction surveys,” says spokesperson Roni Singleton. “We still have some challenges, but we are planning an even greater emphasis on improving the customer experience.”

My two cents
When it comes to customer service, cell companies have talked the talk but have failed to walk the walk. Finally that’s starting to change.

One-sided contracts that hold customers hostage are going away. Customers will now have the ability to vote with their wallets. Carriers that don’t provide both reliable service and responsive customer support will lose business. That’s the way a free market is supposed to work.

We are all in debt to the consumer groups and state regulators who have spent years battling the cell giants to bring true competition and fairness to the marketplace.

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