J.D. Power Ranks Cox, Qwest Tops In Business-Customer Satisfaction
Consumers Ranked Providers In Six Key Categories
By Linda Moss -- Multichannel News, 6/19/2008 12:00:00 PM
Cox Communications and Qwest ranked highest in satisfying small/midsize and large enterprise business customers, respectively, with telecommunications data services, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Major Provider Business Telecommunications Study released Thursday.
The study measured customer satisfaction with providers of telecommunications data services, such as cable modem, DSL, T1, T3/DS3, ethernet and frame relay. Providers are ranked in two segments: small/midsize businesses (or companies with two to 499 employees) and large enterprise businesses (or companies with 500 or more employees).
Six key factors are used to measure satisfaction: performance and reliability; sales representatives/account executives; billing; cost of service; offerings and promotions; and customer service. Cox led the small/midsize business segment, performing particularly well in five of six factors: performance and reliability; sales representatives/account executives; billing; cost of service; and customer service.
Verizon was next after Cox in the segment rankings, followed by Time Warner Cable, Comcast, AT&T and Qwest.
“Businesses rely on data services to link to critical information sources, key suppliers, remote work sites and customers,” said Kristine Faulkner, vice president of product development and management for Cox Business. “Cox remains focused on delivering a broad portfolio of reliable solutions that enable businesses to operate more effectively. We are pleased that our efforts to serve as the preferred and trusted provider of businesses are indicated in the latest J.D. Power and Associates study.”
In the large enterprise business segment, Qwest ranked highest in customer satisfaction, receiving highest ratings from customers in five of six factors: performance and reliability; sales representatives/account executive; billing; cost of service; and offerings and promotions. Following top-ranked Quest were Verizon, AT&T and Comcast.
The study found that more small and midsize businesses are spending less on telecommunications data services than they were in 2007. About 81% of small and midsize businesses are spending less than $1,000 per month for data services, compared with 76 % a year ago.
In addition, the number of small/midsize businesses that intend to bundle telecommunication services has increased to 50%–up from 48% in the 2007 study.
