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AT&T Customer Service Ahead of Sprint, Verizon and T-Mobile

- By - Source : Vocalabs

AT&T's customer services has a terrible reputation, but in may be, in fact, not as bad as it is made out to be.

A new survey released by Vocalabs ranks AT&T's customer service for its wireless business higher than the services provided by Sprint, Verizon and T-Mobile.

Based on data collected between July 2009 an December 2011, the market research firm determined that the share of customers who rated their customer service experiences as "very satisfied" climbed from 65 to 69 percent with AT&T and increased from 59 to 60 percent with Verizon. However the numbers fell from 71 to 59 percent with Sprint and from 65 to 48 percent with T-Mobile.

T-Mobile's data reveals four sequential quarters of declining customer service satisfaction, Vocalabs said. The firm speculated that the decline could be a result of the failed merger with AT&T and "deep organizational distraction and difficulty focusing on the customer experience." The independent survey was based on data collected from mobile phone customers who provided their feedback to Vocalabs immediately after a call with their carrier.

Customer satisfaction with agents is notably higher than with the entire call: AT&T achieve a 81 percent rate, followed by Verizon with 80 percent, T-Mobile with 74 percent and Sprint with 70 percent. Not surprisingly, the automated portions are rated substantially lower: The "best" automated is provided by AT&T with 47 percent approval rate, followed by Verizon with 40 percent, Sprint with 35 percent and T-Mobile with 33 percent. The problem resolution rate was similar across the board: AT&T leads with 66 percent. Verizon reached 64 percent, T-Mobile 63 percent and Sprint 61 percent.

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burnley14 02/03/2012 12:11 PM
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Way to turn a frown upside down, AT&T.

sykozis 02/03/2012 12:35 PM
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It's amazing that according to Vocalabs, AT&T has been #1 in customer service....yet according to other studies they've been #4 for the last few years...

DroKing 02/03/2012 12:53 PM
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*sniff sniff* Whats that Im smelling?

wildkitten 02/03/2012 12:55 PM
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Customer service in just about every industry is horrendous. Poorly trained people who essentially read from scripts, confusing mazes of automation before you can get to a real person. Often times hitting 0 no longer gets you someone like it used to.

The company that implements good customer service will end up making a lot of money.

house70 02/03/2012 1:30 AM
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I don't have an issue with their customer service, I have an issue with their data plans pricing.
But again, that goes for every national provider.

Anonymous 02/03/2012 1:30 AM
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They are smoking some good shit.

fb39ca4 02/03/2012 1:31 AM
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??? D: ???

josh jones 02/03/2012 1:46 AM
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This article is a complete contradiction.
i want what this person is smoking lol:)

joeman99 02/03/2012 2:16 AM
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Isn't that like being named the prettiest gargoyle?

srtdodge 02/03/2012 2:46 AM
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Well this info is wrong. once again ranks Verizon tops in customer care performance, with a rating of 762 on a 1,000-point scale. http://www.dslreports.com/shownews [...] vey-118191

Aragorn 02/03/2012 3:18 AM
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I have had several positive experiences in the years I have been with AT&T (since 1998) and no bad ones. My Mother, Brother and Sister all tried verizon and ended paying the cancellation fees to get back to AT&T after a few months each (I give my sister some credit for sticking it out for 8 months with them, that was tough).

coldtortilla 02/03/2012 3:27 AM
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I wonder who sponsored the company that paid for these surveys? ........at&t anyone?

JOSHSKORN 02/03/2012 4:55 AM
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I hated being on Sprint because the "service" sucked. We're talking maybe 4 or so years ago. Since then, I got on Verizon, and now the "customer service" absolutely blows, at the expense that I actually have FiOS. now and really good "service".

Anonymous 02/03/2012 6:23 AM
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Wait...something isn't right here. So Vocalabs is saying that previous to this survey (June 2009) that the ranking was #1) Sprint, #2) AT&T [tie] and #2) T-Mobile [tie], then #4) Verizon.

Umm, I don't think so. Everyone knows Verizon was in 1st and AT&T was dead last.

Way to shoot down your own integrity, Vocalabs! I hope whatever AT&T paid you, it was worth it.

JermsMalibu 02/03/2012 7:14 AM
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Ummmm....yea, I'm going to call BS on AT&T having the best customer service. I left them a year and a half ago because when they messed up a bill and I talked to them, a customer support manager refused to fix it and told me that I don't matter to them since they have millions of other customers. So yea, I dropped them and have been with Verizon since and whenever I've called them, they've been plenty helpful.

vanwazltoff 02/03/2012 11:10 AM
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ehh its costumer service, who cares? if your too dumb to figure something out than you shouldn't have it in the first place. i really only care about data speeds, plan prices and device selection, reliability is also a plus

lamorpa 02/03/2012 2:16 PM
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For those who arbitrarily choose believe one set of studies and just as arbitrarily discount another set, the answer will be what they want it to be. Translations: Haters hate because the want to hate.

leper84 02/03/2012 3:05 PM
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lamorpa :
For those who arbitrarily choose believe one set of studies and just as arbitrarily discount another set, the answer will be what they want it to be. Translations: Haters hate because the want to hate.



Haters hate cause we've been screwed over by AT&T through every interaction.....

lamorpa 02/03/2012 3:16 PM
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leper84 :
Haters hate cause we've been screwed over by AT&T through every interaction.....


I had Cellular One through Cingular through AT&T for over 15 years. Never had bad service or a problem they didn't fix right away and compensate me for my trouble. I'm not sure what kind of effort it takes to get "screwed over," but it hasn't happened to me. Probably saved more than $4K over the years compared to the cost of (admittedly better coverage in rural areas) Verizon.

fractalsphere 02/03/2012 4:51 PM
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My experience totally disagrees with this. I was with Cingular when AT&T took them over, and my customer service experience rapidly went downhill, as well as the service and pricing.

Finally ran screaming to Sprint and their customer service people are much better and more accommodating than AT&Ts ever were.

lamorpa 02/03/2012 5:03 PM
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[citation][nom]fractalsphere[/nom...ran screaming to Sprint...[/citation]
Sprint coverage is pretty much city and urban. Very spotty for the vast majority of suburban user. They're a specialty carrier.

jacekring 02/03/2012 7:21 PM
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Customer: "I am very unhappy with the reliability of your service, I can't get reception anywhere!"
AT&T Customer Support, "We apologize for your medical condition, please allow us to send you a free ounce of medical marijuana for your eye sight so you can see your reception bar better."

RADIO_ACTIVE 02/04/2012 12:31 PM
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All providers suck IMO. They are all ripping us off, just like every cable provider is as well..............

RADIO_ACTIVE 02/04/2012 12:33 PM
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fractalsphere :
My experience totally disagrees with this. I was with Cingular when AT&T took them over, and my customer service experience rapidly went downhill, as well as the service and pricing.Finally ran screaming to Sprint and their customer service people are much better and more accommodating than AT&Ts ever were.


I miss Cingular :(

lamorpa 02/06/2012 5:10 PM
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vanwazltoff :
[E]hh[,] it[']s costumer service[.] [W]ho cares? [I]f you[']r[e] too dumb to figure something out[,] th[e]n you shouldn't have it in the first place.


Talking about too dumb...