Effective Multi-Channel Communication Now Key to Telecom Service Technician Satisfaction, J.D. Power Finds

COSTA MESA, Calif., March 21, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- It's not enough for a telecom service technician to simply show up on time, exchange pleasantries and fix the problem. According to the J.D. Power 2019 U.S. Telecom In-Home Service Technician Study,^SM released today, telecom providers that deliver stand-out levels of customer satisfaction are executing a well-choreographed, multi-channel communications campaign that incorporates web, mobile and social media, in addition to traditional phone and in-home service call interactions.

"Service technicians are critical front-line ambassadors for their brand, but securing high customer satisfaction with the service experience requires a lot more than just a capable technician," said Ian Greenblatt, Managing Director at J.D. Power. "The brands that are most effectively managing the in-home service customer experience are communicating in advance with customers across multiple communications platforms. They make it easy to request service, accurately project the technician arrival time and follow up to address outstanding issues. Doing all of this well requires an enterprise-wide commitment to service."

Following are key findings of the 2019 study:

• Perception of punctuality increases with advance alerts: Overall satisfaction is much lower among customers whose technician arrived early or late (750 on a 1,000-point scale) than when their technician arrived on time (874). Customers who receive a notification are much more likely to say their technician arrived on time than those who did not receive a notification (92% vs. 73%, respectively). Overall satisfaction increases 86 points when customers are contacted on the day of the appointment prior to the technician arriving.
• Scheduling via phone is common, but not very satisfying: The most common means of scheduling service is via the phone (83%). However, when it comes to ease of scheduling an appointment, satisfaction is lowest among those who do so via the phone (765). Notably, scheduling an appointment through a provider's website or mobile app results in the highest scheduling satisfaction with scores of 85 and 831, respectively.
• Use of mobile apps for service notification drives satisfaction: When it comes to receiving service notifications, customers who use their provider's mobile app are considerably more satisfied with their scheduling experience (876) than those using e-mail (836); text message (809); phone representative (799); or automated phone system (795). Despite these high levels of customer satisfaction, just 5% of customers receive notifications via mobile app and 11% receive them via e-mail. The phone remains the most common means of receiving notifications (86%).
• Follow-up matters: Overall satisfaction with the service experience increases 74 points when the provider contacts the customer after the onsite technician visit to make sure everything is running smoothly. Likewise, when the onsite technician offers to schedule a follow-up visit to fix any outstanding issues, overall satisfaction increases by 90 points.

DISH Network ranks highest in telecommunications in-home service technician satisfaction with a score of 889. Spectrum (867) ranks second and AT&T/DIRECTV (865) ranks third. The industry average is 859.

The 2019 U.S. Telecom In-Home Service Technician Study evaluates customer perceptions of onsite service technician visits for installation and post-install service of residential wireline products, which include high-speed data, phone and TV services. The study is based on six single-attribute factors: quality of work; timeliness of completing work; knowledge of technician; courtesy of technician; professionalism of technician; and scheduling an appointment.

The study was fielded in December 2018-January 2019, for which 4,391 responses were received. To be eligible to participate, respondents needed to have had an in-home telecom service technician visit in the past six months.

For more information about the 2019 U.S. Telecom In-Home Service Technician Study, visit
https://www.jdpower.com/business/resource/us-telecom-home-service-technician-study.

See the online press release at http://www.jdpower.com/pr-id/2019046.

J.D. Power is a global leader in consumer insights, advisory services and data and analytics. These capabilities enable J.D. Power to help its clients drive customer satisfaction, growth and profitability. Established in 1968, J.D. Power has offices serving North America, South America, Asia Pacific and Europe.

Media Relations Contacts
Geno Effler, J.D. Power; Costa Mesa, Calif.; 714-621-6224; [email protected]
John Roderick; St. James, N.Y.; 631-584-2200; [email protected]

About J.D. Power and Advertising/Promotional Rules: www.jdpower.com/business/about-us/press-release-info

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SOURCE J.D. Power

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