J.D. Power: Verizon is best carrier for iPhone users, worst for everyone else
Happy with your iPhone's service? That could be because you're on Verizon, whose iPhone customers reported the highest satisfaction in J.D. Power's latest survey. However, when combined with any other mainstream handset, Verizon actually ranked dead last in overall customer satisfaction -- yielding the top three spots to AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile, respectively. To be fair, a Consumer Reports survey said the exact opposite about Verizon just five months ago, so it's best to take these things with some seasoning.
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J.D. Power Reports:
Both Apple and Samsung Lead in Overall Satisfaction Performance among the U.S. Wireless Tier 1 Carriers, Excelling in All Smartphone Experience Factors
Apple Smartphone Devices Rank Highest among Customers of AT&T and Verizon Wireless Carriers; Samsung Ranks Highest among Sprint and T-Mobile Customers
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.: 17 October 2013 -- Apple and Samsung are the only smartphone brands to achieve overall satisfaction scores that are at or above the study average in all four performance factors, according to the J.D. Power 2013 U.S. Wireless Smartphone Satisfaction StudySM--Volume 2 released today.
KEY FINDINGS
- Overall satisfaction with smartphone devices is highest among AT&T customers (843), followed by Sprint (835); T-Mobile (825); and Verizon Wireless (825) customers1.
- Among Apple smartphone owners, satisfaction with their overall experience is highest among Verizon Wireless customers (861). Among Samsung smartphone owners, satisfaction is highest among Sprint customers (853).
- Smartphone models that perform particularly well across all four U.S. wireless Tier 1 carriers[1] include (by OEM in alphabetical order): Apple iPhone 5; Blackberry Z10; Nokia Lumia 920 and Samsung Galaxy Note II.
- The primary reasons for purchasing a smartphone device differ by carrier. Sprint customers are more likely to purchase their smartphone device because of phone features, while T-Mobile customers are more likely to select their smartphone due to price.
- Overall customer satisfaction among smartphone owners is 833 on a 1,000-point scale.
"It's very interesting to see that satisfaction performance differs by smartphone brand across Tier 1 carriers," said Kirk Parsons, senior director of telecommunications services at J.D. Power. "This indicates that carrier services and how these carriers position specific features and services on their devices influence the experience customers have with their smartphone device."
The 2013 U.S. Wireless Smartphone Satisfaction Study--Volume 2 is based on experiences evaluated by 16,421 smartphone customers who have owned their current smartphone device less than one year and who are customers of the four Tier 1 carriers. The study was fielded between February and August 2013. The study measures customer satisfaction in four factors: performance (33%); physical design (23%); features (22%); and ease of operation (22%).
1 Ranking calculations have changed from previous studies and is now based on Tier 1 carrier customer base instead of by overall OEM smartphone brand.
[1] A Tier 1 carrier includes the four national wireless providers in the U.S. including AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless.
