[August 09, 2012]

Sprint Earns J.D. Power and Associates' Top Ranking - For Third Straight Time - for Purchase Experience Among Full-Service Wireless Carriers

J.D. Power and Associates today announced that Sprint (News - Alert) (Sprint (NYSE: S) ranked highest among full-service wireless providers in its 2012 U.S. Full-Service Wireless Purchase Experience Study^SM, Volume 2. The Wireless Purchase Experience Study evaluates the wireless purchase experience of customers using any one of three contact channels: phone calls with sales representatives; visits to a retail wireless store; and on the Web.

Overall customer satisfaction with both full-service and non-contract branded carriers is based on six factors (in order of importance): store sales representative; website; phone sales representative; store facility; offerings and promotions; and cost of service.

This marks the third consecutive time Sprint ranked highest in overall customer purchase experience satisfaction among major full-service wireless carriers. Sprint achieved a score of 775 and performed particularly well in the offerings and promotions and cost of service factors.

In announcing the results, J.D. Power noted that improvements within (a wireless company's) retail store are translating into loyalty, as 39 percent of full-service wireless customers say they "definitely will" revisit the same store, compared with 35 percent a year ago.

"The study shows a direct correlation between an efficient sales transaction process and improving satisfaction with the overall retail experience," according to J.D. Power. "Customers who make purchases in retail stores have the opportunity to touch handsets and accessories and see the pricing associated with each, something not possible over the phone or on the Web. In addition, carriers have invested heavily in the retail store environment in merchandising, store upgrades and staff training to make the overall sales experience more enjoyable and efficient."

Wireless Purchase Experience Study Results demonstrate Sprint's sharpened focus on retail experience improvement -- from improved service and repair care to better merchandising and more accessory availability. Improvements to the Ready Now program, for example, represent one wa that Sprint is concentrating on making the in-store wireless purchase process simpler for customers. With Ready Now, Sprint retail associates work one-on-one with customers to personalize their phone, set up all of its features, and demonstrate how it works before they leave the store. With the continued growth of smartphones, Sprint believed it was increasingly important to take the time to explain to customers how to get more from their wireless devices.

Among other purchase experience improvements, Sprint has:

• improved integration of sales channels, giving customers a simpler path from selecting their phones online to picking them up in store.
• increased the number of in-store accessories and device add-ons to extend the possibilities of Sprint devices for customers.
• added more tools that better enable Sprint retail store employees to ensure new customers understand the features of their device and how they will be billed right at the point-of-sale.
• improved in-store, full-service triage and repair to reduce the need to send phones out for repair.
• begun adding solutions kiosks in stores to help customers - especially businesses - find and develop customized solutions alongside expertly trained consultants from Sprint.

"This is the culmination of a lot of hard work by our retail employees, Web sales teams, telesales group and many others in Sprint's Sales and Distribution organization," said Jaime Jones, Sprint senior vice president, Consumer Sales. "Our commitment all along has been to deliver the best customer experience, the most complete portfolio of products and merchandise, and Ready Now-type customer service from the most talented, best-trained people in the business."

About J.D. Power and Associates

With headquarters in Westlake Village, Calif., J.D. Power and Associates is a global marketing information services company providing performance improvement, social media and customer satisfaction insights and solutions. The company's quality and satisfaction measurements are based on responses from millions of consumers annually. For more information on car reviews and ratings, car insurance, health insurance, cell phone ratings, and more, please visit JDPower.com. J.D. Power and Associates is a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies.

About Sprint Nextel (News - Alert)

Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel served more than 56 million customers at the end of the second quarter of 2012 and is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including the first wireless 4G service from a national carrier in the United States; offering industry-leading mobile data services, leading prepaid brands including Virgin Mobile (News - Alert) USA, Boost Mobile, and Assurance Wireless; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. The American Customer Satisfaction Index rated Sprint No. 1 among all national carriers in customer satisfaction and most improved, across all 47 industries, during the last four years. Newsweek ranked Sprint No. 3 in its 2011 Green Rankings, listing it as one of the nation's greenest companies, the highest of any telecommunications company. You can learn more and visit Sprint at www.sprint.com or www.facebook.com/sprint and www.twitter.com/sprint.

[ Back To Insurance Technology's Homepage ]