[April 28, 2016] |
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Canadian Wireless Customers Take Charge with Self-Service Online Tools for Problem Resolution; Satisfaction Rises, Says J.D. Power Study
Wireless customers in Canada, notably Millennials (born 1982-1994), are
increasingly taking a hands-on approach to resolving issues with their
carrier by contacting customer service online and using chat tools, a
shift in customer care preferences that has helped improve satisfaction,
according to the J.D. Power 2016 Canadian Wireless Customer Care Study,SM
released today.
The study measures wireless customers' perceptions of their carrier's
performance in the estimated $22 billion1 wireless market.
Satisfaction is measured across four factors (listed in order of
importance): phone customer service representative (CSR); in-store
service; online service; and phone automated response system (ARS). In
2016, overall wireless customer care satisfaction rises to 738 from 715
in 2015 on a 1,000-point scale.
Online Service Tools Surpass Traditional Phone (News - Alert) As wireless
carriers face a maturing and potentially saturated market, customer
service differentiation continues to be top of mind. According to the
study, wireless customers are moving away from traditional phone
contacts and instead adopting a self-service approach to resolving
issues with their carrier by using online tools as their go-to method
for contacting customer care. One-third (33%) of care contacts are
conducted online (including carrier website and chat function), a
sizeable increase from 28% in 2015. In terms of contact frequency, the
online channel now surpasses each phone channel (ARS; ARS, then CSR; and
CSR only).
Millennials Prefer to Self-Serve, Others Likely to Follow The
migration toward online channels is being driven by Millennials'
preference for self-service, which allows them to deal with issues
whenever it's convenient for them. Millennials, often digitally
connected, are much more likely to have had a contact in a
self-service-enabled channel than customers in the other generations.
Four in ten (40%) Millennials contacted customer care online during the
previous 6 months, compared with 29% of other customers. Millennials
also show their preference for self-service by using the ARS only
channel at a much higher rate than other customers (14% vs. 6%,
respectively). Among Millennials who contact their carrier online, the
incidence of those who use the chat feature has risen considerably from
2015 (51% vs. 45%, respectively) as has the rate of visiting a user
forum (19% vs. 14%).
"Wireless carriers need to embrace the shift to online self-service
across all customer segments to provide a gratifying experience that
matches customer behaviours," said Adrian Chung, director at J.D.
Power. "While Millennials have initially led the migration,
customers across all generational groups are also being exposed to
self-service tools with companies outside of telecom to resolve customer
service issues in a timely and efficient manner. The task for carriers
is to create awareness, educate customers and communicate the benefits
of using these digital channels."
Millennials Contact Customer Care Twice as Often as Boomers Millennials
contact customer service with relatively high frequency. As they become
a larger share of the customer base, customer service becomes an
increasingly important aspect of the overall customer experience. In
Canada, Millennials made an average of 4.9 customer care contacts during
the previous 6 months, compared with 2.5 contacts made by Boomers (born
1946-1964). A similar finding is reported in the J.D. Power Millennials
Insight Report: The Customer Experience PerspectiveSM
released in the United States earlier this year. Among U.S. wireless
customers, Millennials are also frequent users, having made an average
of 1.7 care contacts in a 3-month period, compared with 0.5 contacts
made by Boomers.
Following are some additional findings of the 2016 study:
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Efficient Problem Resolution Impacts Satisfaction: For
customers using the online channel, there is a 220-point gap in
satisfaction between customers whose most recent question was answered
online and those whose question was not (760 vs. 540, respectively).
This key performance indicator (KPI) is met 80% of the time.
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Time Matters in Problem Resolution: Satisfaction is 830 when it
takes less than 5 minutes to resolve a problem online, compared with
677 when it takes 10 minutes or more for resolution-a 153-point
difference. Satisfaction is also impacted when more Web pages must be
viewed to resolve an issue (780 for one page vs. 654 for four or more
pages).
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Satisfaction Influences Customer Loyalty: On average, 47% of
delighted customers (overall satisfaction scores of 900 or higher) say
they "definitely will not" switch to another carrier, while just 12%
of displeased customers (scores of 549 or lower) say the same.
Wireless Carrier Rankings Koodo Mobile ranks highest
in customer care satisfaction with a score of 798. Koodo Mobile performs
particularly well in the in-store service and online service factors. Videotron (News - Alert)
(790) ranks second, followed by SaskTel (785).
Overall Customer Satisfaction Index Scores (Based on a
1,000-point scale)
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J.D. Power.com Power Circle RatingsTM For Consumers
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Koodo Mobile
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798
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5
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Videotron
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790
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5
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SaskTel
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785
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4
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TELUS (News - Alert) Mobility
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771
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4
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Virgin Mobile
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764
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4
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Fido
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747
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3
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Industry Average
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738
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3
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WIND Mobile
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720
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3
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Rogers Wireless
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707
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2
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Bell Mobility
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706
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2
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Note: Included in the study but not ranked due to market share is MTS
The 2016 Canadian Wireless Customer Care Study is based on responses
from more than 5,500 wireless customers. The study was fielded in August
- September 2015 (Wave 1) and March 2016 (Wave 2).
Award- Eligible Canadian Wireless Carriers Included in the Study
Company Name
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CEO Name
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Company Address
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Bell Mobility
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George Cope
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Toronto ON (News - Alert)
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Fido
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Guy Laurence
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Toronto ON
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Koodo Mobile
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Darren Entwistle (News - Alert)
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Vancouver BC
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Rogers Wireless
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Guy Laurence
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Toronto ON
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SaskTel
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Ron Styles
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Regina SK
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TELUS Mobility
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Darren Entwistle
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Vancouver BC
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Videotron
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Manon Brouillette
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Montreal QC
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Virgin Mobile
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George Cope
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Toronto ON
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WIND Mobile
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Alek Krstajic
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Toronto ON
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Note: Bell Canada (BCE Inc.) owns Bell Mobility and Virgin Mobile;
Rogers Communications Inc. owns Rogers Wireless and Fido; TELUS
Corporation owns TELUS Mobility and Koodo Mobile.
For information about the 2016 Canadian Wireless Customer Care Study,
visit http://canada.jdpower.com/industry/telecom-ca
See the online press release at http://www.jdpower.com/press-releases/2016-canadian-wireless-customer-care-study
For more information about the Millennials Insight Report: The Customer
Experience Perspective, visit http://www.jdpower.com/Millennials
About J.D. Power and Advertising/Promotional Rules http://www.jdpower.com/about-us/press-release-info
1 Source: Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications
Commission http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/publications/reports/policymonitoring/2015/cmr5.htm
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160428005377/en/
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