DailyTech - AT&T's "Winning" Streak: Rated Worst in Customer Satisfaction Three Years Running

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Gadgets AT&T's "Winning" Streak: Rated Worst in Customer Satisfaction Three Years Running
Shane McGlaun (Blog) - November 29, 2012 11:12 AM

10 comment(s) - last by dsquare86.. on Nov 30 at 6:21 PM

However, AT&T's 4G network ranked best by Consumer Reports

Each year, Consumer Reports ranks all manner of U.S. wireless carriers based on customer satisfaction in a number of different categories. AT&T ranked dead last in the customer satisfaction survey for the third year in a row. It was hit with the worst rankings for any major carrier in value, voice quality, and customer support.

However, the wireless carrier was ranked at the top of Consumer Reports' 4G network ratings. AT&T's customers complained of the least 4G-related problems of subscribers on any of the services.

Verizon Wireless has the largest 4G-LTE network in the United States with service in over 400 markets. AT&T's coverage is much smaller serving only 100 markets, while Sprint is much further down the list with only 40 4G LTE markets in the US.

Verizon once again took the top spot in overall rankings for major carriers in the U.S., outscoring second-place Sprint by six points in the Consumer Reports survey. T-Mobile landed in third place with AT&T a bit behind.

It's also interesting that smaller regional carriers including Consumer Cellular, US Cellular, and Credo all ranked ahead of the large national carriers in the Consumer Reports survey. Even prepaid carriers such as TracFone and Straight Talk scored better than the major nationals.

Source: CNN

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Yes, AT&T sucks

By Florinator on 11/29/2012 11:54:37 AM , Rating: 3

I can attest to that... My experience: Microsoft, which is a software company, delivered my pre-ordered Surface by 9:30 AM on the launch day, coming from some town in China, in two days! I pre-ordered a Nokia Lumia 920 from AT&T and they shipped it 5 days AFTER the launch date, from 200 miles away. And they couldn't fulfill my entire order in one go, I had to wait a few more days for a certain accessory I had ordered.

AT&T, if you can't get "shipping phones" right, what can you get right???

RE: Yes, AT&T sucks

By othercents on 11/29/2012 12:07:09 PM , Rating: 2

Is that an AT&T issue or a Nokia issue? Keep in mind that for the Surface Microsoft is the hardware vendor, while for the Lumia Nokia is the hardware vendor. This is either a point of AT&T overselling stock, Nokia not delivering what they said they would provide, or Nokia delivering late.

I have had good experiences with preorders from AT&T, but those instances were with Samsung instead of Nokia.

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RE: Yes, AT&T sucks

By retrospooty on 11/29/2012 12:23:15 PM , Rating: 2

Its an AT&T issue. Phones are generally bought, stored, and managed by the carrier.

Anyhow, inventory is the least of AT&T cutomer sat problems. Most telecom cust service sucks all around, but AT&T service sucks in most places as well.

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RE: Yes, AT&T sucks

By dgingerich on 11/29/2012 4:24:51 PM , Rating: 2

I can certainly agree with you. I just quit AT&T in June to move to T-mobile. Sure, the internet connection is slower, but it's better to have better customer service. My experiences with Verizon are such that I wouldn't put them first. T-mobile has been better, but not perfect.

It's funny, I moved to T-mobile, taking my parents' advice, just before they moved to Verizon to use the same plan as my older sister. (They're "joining in" with my sister's family plan for $10/month.)

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RE: Yes, AT&T sucks

By Omega215D on 11/29/2012 5:37:40 PM , Rating: 2

Really? I thought T-Mobile is using 42Mbit HSDPA+ now.

In my experience T-Mobile is a great value option (it was my first cell provider back in high school) but I do get what I pay for with Verizon with reliable coverage almost everywhere I go, even in the backwoods of some rally stages. AT&T is pretty hit or miss considering what I pay every month for it. Not sure what Sprint is doing but they better improve their network and catch up quickly as a lot of competition is a good thing.

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RE: Yes, AT&T sucks

By dgingerich on 11/29/2012 6:09:50 PM , Rating: 3

For me: At home in Denver, AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-mobile are all fine. At work in Englewood, AT&T (oddly, our company cell phones) and T-mobile are horrible for signal strength, phone calls are iffy, and internet is totally impossible; Verizon is completely gone; Sprint has good signal for anything. At my parents' house in Pueblo West, AT&T and Sprint are totally gone, Verizon and T-mobile are good for both internet and voice. At my sister's place in Aurora, AT&T is very low, Verizon, Sprint, and T-mobile are good. At Lutheran Medical Center (a place where I did a short project recently) AT&T and Verizon suck, Sprint and T-mobile are good.

Notice a pattern? In the Denver area, I've had huge problems with AT&T signal coverage, spotty problems with Verizon and Sprint, and some minor problems with T-mobile. I've been through them all over the last 15 years, and I still have devices with 3 of the 4. (Personal cell: T-mobile, company cell: AT&T, Kindle 2: Sprint.) I'm fairly well qualified to judge this these days.

Signal coverage isn't as much of a factor, though. Every time I switched, it was because of customer service issues, and, yes, AT&T is the absolute worst these days. This changes so much, though, it's hard to factor. In the case of my most recent switch, I switched from AT&T to T-mobile, breaking my contract early even, specifically be cause the CEO is an ass. He is an arrogant idiot, and he certainly doesn't deserve to be running a company.

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