[PRNewswire] Optimum Business ranks highest in satisfying home-based and small/midsize business customers with telecommunications data services, while Verizon ranks highest among customers in the large enterprise business segment, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2009 Major Provider Business Telecommunications Study(SM) released today.
With an index score of 654 on a 1,000-point scale, Optimum Business by Cablevision ranks highest in the home-based business segment--a new segment in the 2009 study. Optimum Business performs particularly well in performance and reliability, as well as offerings and promotions. Cox Communications (637) and EMBARQ (629) follow in the segment rankings.
Optimum Business also ranks highest in the small/midsize business segment with a score of 673, performing particularly well in four of the six factors driving satisfaction: sales representatives/account executives; billing; cost of service; and offerings and promotions. Cox Communications follows Optimum Business in the segment rankings with a score of 669, while AT&T ranks third with 632.
In the large enterprise business segment, Verizon ranks highest in customer satisfaction with a score of 694, performing particularly well in five factors: performance and reliability; sales representatives/account executives; customer service; cost of service; and offerings and promotions. Time Warner Cable follows Verizon in the segment rankings with 677.
After a sharp decline in satisfaction scores in the small/midsize and large enterprise business segments between 2007 and 2008, overall satisfaction in both segments increases in 2009, driven by improvements in the billing and customer service factors.
Comparison of Overall Satisfaction Scores by Segment, 2008-2009
Segment 2008 2009 Difference
Small/midsize business segment
average 600 627 27 points
Large enterprise business segment
average 665 672 7 points
"Providers have taken major steps to improve customer service since the 2008 study, and those investments are beginning to pay off," said Frank Perazzini, director of telecommunications at J.D. Power and Associates. "Improved service tools and better-prepared customer service representatives have improved problem resolution during the first contact to 56 percent, compared with less than 40 percent in 2008."
The study also finds a considerable decline in the percentage of small/midsize and large enterprise business customers who said they had difficulty understanding the customer service representative, which includes a lack of understanding of the problem by the customer service representative and issues with the clarity of a customer service representative's response. Among small/midsize business customers, 16 percent report having experienced this problem, compared with 23 percent in 2008. Only 13 percent of large enterprise business customers report having experienced this problem--down from 26 percent in 2008.
"The sharp decline in communication-related problems between customer service representatives and their clients is just another example of how strong internal training programs pay long-term dividends for business services providers," said Perazzini. "These results are particularly impressive considering that there were no major differences in network outage performance between 2008 and 2009."
The study measures customer satisfaction with providers of telecommunications data services, such as cable modem, DSL, T1, T3/DS3, Ethernet and frame relay. Providers are ranked in three segments: home-based businesses (companies based in a residential location with one to five employees); small/midsize businesses (companies with two to 499 employees); and large enterprise businesses (companies with 500 or more employees). Five factors are used to measure satisfaction across all three segments: performance and reliability; billing; cost of service; offerings and promotions; and customer service. A sixth factor--sales representatives/account executives--is included for small/midsize businesses and large enterprise businesses.
The 2009 Major Provider Business Telecommunications Study is based on responses from 4,252 business customers with telecommunications data services at home-based, small/midsize and large enterprise business in the United States and includes evaluation of their data service providers. The study was fielded in January and April 2009.
Customer Satisfaction Index Rankings
Home-Based Business Segment
(Based on a 1,000-point scale)
Index JDPower.com Power Circle Ratings
Provider Score For Consumers
-------- ----- -------------
Optimum Business 654 5
Cox Communications 637 4
EMBARQ 629 4
Verizon 626 4
Qwest 625 4
AT&T 617 4
Home-Based Business Major
Provider Average 601 3
Time Warner Cable 589 3
Comcast 570 2
Charter 535 2
Small/Midsize Business Segment
(Based on a 1,000-point scale)
Index JDPower.com Power Circle Ratings
Provider Score For Consumers
-------- ----- -------------
Optimum Business 673 5
Cox Communications 669 5
AT&T 632 3
Verizon 629 3
Small/Midsize Business
Major Provider Average 627 3
Comcast 621 3
Time Warner Cable 598 2
Qwest 592 2
Large Enterprise Segment
(Based on a 1,000-point scale)
Index JDPower.com Power Circle Ratings
Provider Score For Consumers
-------- ----- -------------
Verizon 694 5
Time Warner Cable 677 3
Large Enterprise Major
Provider Average 672 3
AT&T 666 3
Comcast 630 2
J.D. Power and Associates Reports: Optimum Business and Verizon Rank Highest in Satisfying Business Customers With Telecommunications Data Services
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