Sprint Receives Customer Service Champion Award from J.D. Power
Sprint has just announced that they’ve been recognized as J.D. Power’s 2011 Customer Service Champion in what seems to be a week of accolades for carriers. (T-Mobile was awarded the highest ranking in retail customer saatisfaction – yet again – today.)
It’s a great turn-around for a company who was notorious for bad customer service earlier in the previous decade. It seems most things have taken a turn for the better, though, after Dan Hesse was appointed CEO. Under his direction, we saw the company transform into the serious competitor they are today.
Hesse has stated from the beginning that his number one priority would be to turn that customer service ship around and put it back on its proper path, and with today’s award he can say that he accomplished his goal. Read on for full press details.
Distinction from the voices of Sprint’s most important critics – its customers – comes one week after Sprint announces 12 consecutive quarters of improvement
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (BUSINESS WIRE), February 17, 2011 – Last week Sprint (NYSE: S) announced its 12th consecutive quarter of improvement in customer satisfaction and first call resolution¹. Today, the company was recognized at the J.D. Power and Associates Customer Service Roundtable in Las Vegas as a J.D. Power 2011 Customer Service Champion – one of only 40 companies to have earned this distinction.
Sprint and the other companies recognized as J.D. Power 2011 Customer Service Champions, represent the highest-performing companies that deliver service excellence to U.S. customers – both within their respective industries and across all industries measured.
“We are pleased to receive this distinguished honor and proud of the hard work of our employees in enhancing every customer experience,” said Bob Johnson, chief service officer for Sprint. “These important interactions take place in our stores, on our website or in calls to our care centers. What makes this honor especially gratifying is that we received this distinction directly from our own customers. They recognize the consistency and high quality of service we’re committed to providing. Our steadfast focus is on customer satisfaction and it will continue to be our top priority.”
To receive this elite honor, companies must not only excel within their own industries, but also must stand out among leading brands evaluated by J.D. Power in 20 major industries. J.D. Power evaluated more than 800 brands. Companies were identified based on customer feedback, opinions, and perceptions gathered primarily from J.D. Power’s syndicated research and through supplemental research.
“For three years now, we have said the customer experience is among our company’s top priorities,” said Johnson. “That’s why we’ve invested our time and effort to ensure we’re answering customers’ calls faster, resolving service issues on the first call and eliminating the reasons customers contact us with service issues in the first place. We’ve also focused on offering consumer-friendly services such as Ready Now in our retail stores and pricing plans unmatched by anyone else in the industry that provide both value and simplicity.”
In addition to the J.D. Power and Associates honor today, a recent survey from Vocalabs, which tracks the quality of support customers receive from their providers, noted Sprint as the wireless industry leader in call satisfaction. According to the survey, Sprint leads all national competitors in both call satisfaction and first call resolution, two key metrics in the overall quality of customer service.
¹According to data from Advanis on customers experiencing care from Oct. 1, 2010 through Dec. 31, 2010.