Wireline Satisfaction Rankings: AT&T, Verizon on Top, as Lumen, Cox Rise
Why are large enterprises reporting fewer issues but lower satisfaction?
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J.D. Power queried 5,061 businesses that purchased data and voice services.
The research firm asked respondents to measure the wireline experienced based on performance and reliability, cost, communications, sales/account representives, billing and customer service.
J.D. Power conducted the survey from March through May 2022.
AT&T led the largest customer size in satisfaction for the fifth straight year.
That being said, its total score shrunk from 882 in 2021 to 872 in 2022. At the same time, Verizon scored above the segment average with 865.
Cox Business improved five points, and Spectrum Business leapt up an impressive 26 points. Spectrum overtook Comcast, which stayed put at 842 points. CenturyLink/Lumen remained at the back of the pack.
The large enterprise category features businesses that employ 500 or more people.
Last year AT&T beat out Verizon in the SMB category. This time Verizon took the win.
AT&T dropped 10 points, and Cox Business overtook it. Cox Business gained an impressive 20 points.
In addition, Spectrum, Comcast and CenturyLink/Lumen also made large increases in customer satisfaction.
The medium segment contains organizations of 20 to 499 employees.
Verizon triumphed again in the small business category. But perhaps more impressive was CenturyLink’s 35-point rise. CenturyLink moved from fifth to second.
Comcast, which scored second in 2021, dropped down to fifth, just ahead of Frontier.
The small business category features business that employ less than 20 people.
Enterprise customers offered dramatically different results than their SMB and small business peers.
J.D. Power noted that small business wireline satisfaction improved by eight points year-over-year. On the other hand, large enterprise satsifaction went down.
“Each business segment is experiencing market forces differently,” said Ian Greenblatt, managing director at J.D. Power. “While satisfaction is higher this year among small business customers, large enterprise customers are less satisfied as they face a challenging business environment to get back to a pre-pandemic status.”
The contrast between customer segments turns more glaring in the light of the pain points each segment reported.
The smaller segments reported more issues in performance and reliability, despite reporting higher satisfaction. But large customers cited fewer problems and lower satisfaction.
Are the smaller customers simply grateful to have survived the pandemic?
“When problems do arise, small businesses are thankful for the support but large enterprises are exhibiting less tolerance for anything less than seamless service,” Greenblatt said. “Increased focus on personalized services, dedicated account representatives and solid communications will increase performance and reliability perceptions for all business segments.”
The contrast between customer segments turns more glaring in the light of the pain points each segment reported.
The smaller segments reported more issues in performance and reliability, despite reporting higher satisfaction. But large customers cited fewer problems and lower satisfaction.
Are the smaller customers simply grateful to have survived the pandemic?
“When problems do arise, small businesses are thankful for the support but large enterprises are exhibiting less tolerance for anything less than seamless service,” Greenblatt said. “Increased focus on personalized services, dedicated account representatives and solid communications will increase performance and reliability perceptions for all business segments.”
J.D. Power’s latest business wireline customer satisfaction scores show a different set of experiences emerging for small and large business, respectively.
The research firm’s annual survey of business customers about their telco/cableco providers showed that smaller businesses feel happier than ever about their service provider. However, large enterprises aren’t sharing that sentiment, according to J.D. Power.
AT&T continued its dominance in the large enterprise category, while Verizon won the other two customer segments. In addition, Cox Business manage to snag three podium positions.
The survey results come as more and more telcos see their value proposition shifting to network-as-a-service offerings.
Scroll through the images above to see precisely how the companies scored in the study.
Channel Futures also covered last year’s J.D. Power Business Wireline Satisfaction Study.
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