Cellphone Firms Responding to Signals of Dissatisfaction

[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: James S. Granelli]
A Consumer Reports magazine survey released Monday ranked cellphone consumers' satisfaction level with carriers below that of health maintenance organizations and cable TV companies. Rather than rely solely on efforts to widen coverage, improve reception and curtail dropped calls, cellphone companies are explaining the fine print in contracts, offering more generous return policies or adjusting their calling plans to reduce exorbitant overage charges. Building a better reputation is all the more important as fiercely competitive companies face a saturated market that forces them to chase one another's customers. Whether the efforts are paying off is unclear. Some private surveys suggest they aren't, but statistics compiled by the Federal Communications Commission indicate that they may be. The number of complaints to the federal agency dropped 16% in the first nine months this year from the same period last year. And the number of gripes about billing and rates -- by far the biggest single category -- fell 13%. A recent study by marketing information firm J.D. Power & Associates found that overall satisfaction with wireless service providers dropped 10% during 2004, the biggest year-over-year change since it began studying such performance in 1995. Unlike the FCC statistics, J.D. Power's report surveys consumer attitudes nationwide, said company analyst Kirk Parsons. "Normally, the FCC only gets people who are really mad, so the complaints are not like a general consumer study and are not representative of the country as a whole," he said.
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-nicefones6dec06,1,179713.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-business
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