Kirk Parsons Wire Quotations

It's encouraging to see that industry-wide service improvements, especially expanded service offerings and aggressive service plan pricing have resulted in more positive overall wireless service experiences. However, consumer expectations will continue to rise as cell phone users increasingly rely on the communication functions of their cell phones beyond voice calling.

Given the number of major changes consumers have experienced over the past couple of years, the gap between customer expectations and actual service experience tends to widen as uncertainty from mergers greatly influences consumer perceptions. Case in point is the impact major market dynamics plays in future switching intent. Between 2004 and 2005, there has been a 5 percent increase in the intent to switch wireless carriers in the next 12 months -- a reverse from the past two years, where future switching intent remained stable.

They're out there selling the product, saying 'Here's the latest handset,' and pushing the latest services, and when you do that, you raise expectations. Customers expect it to be simple, which, technically, wireless isn't. Wireless is a very technical application and technology. It's not an exact science. It really takes a lot to deliver that call. But the industry hasn't done a very good job of explaining that side of the story.

It's clear that wireless providers have made great strides in improving the quality of calls, especially in those areas that impact customer churn the most, such as calls that are dropped or disconnected. With an increasingly competitive environment and an increase in the number of services used in conjunction with a cell phone, carriers that offer superior network quality will improve their likelihood of attracting new customers and will increase customer retention. In fact, improving network quality is a beneficial financial incentive for wireless carriers, as customers experiencing at least one call quality problem are three times more likely to indicate they 'definitely will' switch carriers in the future.

As more wireless companies encourage customers to try new services, it's becomes more difficult for the customer service representatives to be fully trained and kept apprised on the latest products being introduced. The downside is the carrier runs the risk of decreasing customer satisfaction and losing customers to other carriers. Since future switching levels are three times as high among customers who need to re-contact the carrier two or more times to get the inquiry resolved, the challenge for wireless providers is to provide contact channels that can offer an informative and efficient experience for their customers.