Though many consumers have switched exclusively to mobile phones, landlines remain critical for numerous businesses. Yet there is a growing satisfaction gap between large business customers and small business customers, according to a new business telecom satisfaction report from J.D. Power.
In the J.D. Power report released today, AT&T ranked highest with a score of 844 on a 1,000-point scale in the largest enterprise segment, with Verizon (833) ranking second and CenturyLink (806) ranking third.
For the small/medium business segment, Verizon ranked highest with a score of 813. AT&T (812) ranked second and Cox (789) ranked third. In the very small business segment, Verizon ranked highest with a score of 762. Cox (756) ranked second and Comcast (739) ranked third.
“Very small business customers who have had issues with their business lines view their provider as less trustworthy and reliable, but if you look at the large enterprise segment, that is not the case,” said Ian Greenblatt, J.D. Power, in a prepared statement. “Smaller business customers may be less profitable, but if wireline companies can address the opportunities in very small business customer service, they will see an increase in satisfaction and, ultimately, retention.”
The J.D. Power study is derived from the responses of 3,424 customers who contacted their carrier’s customer care department within the past three months. The study evaluates business wireline experiences across 6 different factors: performance and reliability, cost of service, communications, sales representatives and account executives, billing, and customer service, according toJ.D. Power
