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Cell Phones Miss the Mark in the USA
In the USA, the Consumer Reports annual cell phone report shows that consumers have experienced chronic, major problems with service, billing, and complaint handling with every national wireless carrier.
The survey, conducted last September and based on the experiences of over 39,000 ConsumerReports.org subscribers in 17 American cities, indicates that overall levels of satisfaction for wireless service remain lower than for most other services that the organisation rates. The report also shows that Consumer Reports' overall satisfaction index has only nudged one point, from 65 to 66 points, since the annual survey was begun three years ago.
Although Verizon topped the Consumer Reports Ratings in each city, as it did in the previous two surveys, the service was not problem-free. In most of the 17 cities, T-Mobile came in a close second. Some other highlights from the survey include:- Thirty-five percent of respondents were seriously considering a switch of carrier. Most of those who had already switched said they were after better service.
- Nearly 70% of those who use a cell phone frequently had at least one dropped call in the week before the survey. Nearly 60% said they had a bad connection.
- Only 40% said the company's response to a billing inquiry was very helpful.
- Only 31% said the company's response to a service inquiry was very helpful.
According to Jim Guest, president of Consumers Union (non-profit publisher of Consumer Reports), 'Our survey findings are particularly troubling in the context of the recent spate of mergers within the wireless industry, which we believe will lead to decreased competition and increased prices. Consolidation is not a panacea to the service and customer satisfaction problems that continue to plague the industry. In the case of the Cingular and AT&T, both companies had problems with overloaded circuits. We don't see how a merger could improve that.'
For the first time ever, Consumer Reports asked subscribers about their shopping experiences. Respondents complained of the challenges associated with shopping for a wireless plan. At least 83% had some trouble shopping for a wireless phone service and 52% complained that they had to sign up for a long contract to get the best price on a phone. When trying to compare plans from competing carriers, 48% said it was hard, and 43% also found it difficult to figure out the true cost of the service.
Phone service over the Internet, properly known as Voice over Internet Protocol or VoIP, is now being offered by just about every major telecommunications and cable TV company. Although Consumer Reports' first-ever tests of VoIP show that there are some advantages, consumers still have a lot to consider before giving up their landline. Consumer Reports found that consumers who spend US$60/month for local and long-distance may save money with VoIP, but:- Installation difficulties, voice quality, and incoming call problems put VoIP behind landlines.
- VoIP does not provide reliable access to 911 in an emergency.
The publisher's home page can be found at www.ConsumerReports.org
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