Cell Carrier Report Card: Who Provides The Best Customer Service?

Choosing a cell phone carrier is based on a complex number of factors. Do they have good coverage in your area? Good coverage where you travel most? Maybe one carrier has the phone you want or another is offering the lowest price for the services you need. But how often do you consider customer service when making your decision?

“Most consumers consider customer service an afterthought when choosing a carrier,” said Carl Howe, director of research for Yankee Group, which recently conducted a survey on cellular customer satisfaction. “They don’t think up front about going with a carrier that has really great customer service; most consumers hope to never call.”

Sadly, hope doesn’t always keep devices working in perfect order. The more you rely on your phone, the more you need great service if something goes wrong. So, who provides the best?

We decided to test the friendliness, knowledge, and timeliness of the big four wireless carriers: AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon Wireless. We called customer service twice during the week—once at midday and once during rush hour. We also visited two stores per carrier in New York City. Finally, we tried to find solutions to our problems using each carrier’s Web site and online features. We always had a BlackBerry from each carrier handy for the tests, and asked the following questions:

• “Can you help me set up a personal e-mail account on my phone?”
• “Can I tether my phone to my computer for use as a modem?”
• “How do I install Slacker Radio or Pandora on my BlackBerry?”

Only one of the four scored an A — to find out which one, check out the Cell Carrier Customer Service Showdown. I’ll give you a hint, though: it’s not the carrier with the highest customer satisfaction rating.