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Customers love the iPhone, but hate using it over AT&T’s wireless mobile network.
That is the conclusion of CFI Group’s Smartphone Satisfaction Study 2009 (free registration required), which found Apple’s iPhone “the undisputed leader in smartphone customer satisfaction,” scoring 83 out of a possible 100.
But while customers love their iPhones, in the United States, they are generally stuck using it on AT&T’s mobile network, which CFI Group rated dead last in customer satisfaction. CFI also found that despite the iPhone’s exclusive agreement with AT&T, the iPhone does not improve AT&T’s customer satisfaction in any meaningful way.
“The iPhone has been a cash cow for AT&T, but that cash comes at a cost in terms of overall satisfaction. In effect, switchers can be satisfaction saboteurs if they were not already inclined to choose AT&T,” said Doug Helmreich, program director with CFI Group.
Apple iPhone
“As for Verizon, the scales may tip if customers continue to demand smartphones that the company fails to supply. Then again, will its network hold up if it adds network-heavy smartphones? For now, its an apples to oranges comparison.”
CFI’s study top rated Verizon and T-Mobile for smartphone users, both with satisfaction scores of 79 out of 100. Verizon’s perceived advantage in coverage makes them the top rated network for customer loyalty, with 86% of current Verizon customers identifying the company as their ideal provider. Customers believe Verizon’s marketing slogans that suggest Verizon has the best nationwide network coverage of any provider. But customers recognize they pay a price for that coverage in the form of a higher monthly bill.
Customers looking for the best value with competitive pricing will find it with Sprint and T-Mobile, according to the study findings. AT&T scored among the worst values, in part because they penalize iPhone owners with a mandatory data plan customers thought was “pricey,” especially if they never had a data plan before.
The customer bashing of AT&T didn’t stop with bottom rating the network and its pricing. CFI found that half of iPhone respondents would flee AT&T for another carrier if given the chance. At least 40% of iPhone owners said they switched to AT&T only because they had to in order to purchase the iPhone, and they resented it, and the quality of service they found going forward.
Trust me, Verizon isn’t much better. They are probably most restrictive provider out there. My Samsung Rogue can’t even fart without Verizon wanting to charge me for it. Almost every application loaded on my phone is either $2.99/mo or more, trial ware, or some other fee. And since I am not going to use those services ever, they just use phone memory up since I can’t delete them. Hopefully, Bitpim will fix that.
Despite the recent partnership between Verizon and Google, Verizon will not be much different. They currently handcuff their customers and phones to force use of their services at a cost.
I’m wondering though that since the Google Android is coming to Verizon, I did read an article a while ago on how there’s already ways to jailbreak the phone. If a jailbreak does work on Verizon, I suppose that’ll make Verizon less restrictive. But yes, I would agree that if you are going for Verizon Wireless, shoot at them for network reliability and coverage with a basic phone, as their BREW software sucks and the app store doesn’t have too much going on with it. I still have our basic phones from back when we first got Verizon Wireless back… Read more »