The American Customer Satisfaction Index has released their latest Wireless Service and Cellular Telephone Report for 2018-2019. The report shows that America’s favorite wireless carrier is T-Mobile. Verizon comes in second with some pretty high marks, with AT&T third and Sprint fourth.
The report also talks about American’s favorite smartphones, which the Galaxy Note9 won that honor, to no surprise.
Mobile carriers had a high score of 75 out of 100. This is up 1.4-percent from last year, but as expected, it is still far behind many other industries that ACSI also measures. That includes banks and property insurance which are both at 81 and financial advisors at 80.
ACSI’s managing director, David VanAmburg stated that “customers have very high expectations of their smartphones and the service provided to those phones. Providers are still struggling to meet those expectations and that’s definitely dampening how satisfied customers are.”
This makes plenty of sense. After all, we are spending nearly a grand on a new smartphone these days, and paying upwards of $100 per month for service to that smartphone. Making it one of the more expensive things that we use every single day. For most people, it’s one of the higher bills that they pay every year too. Americans want to get their money’s worth out of their smartphone – which is also why we are keeping our smartphones for longer, these days.
When it comes to smartphone brands, Samsung and Apple are tied for first place at 81. This also makes sense, since they are also the biggest smartphone makers in the world right now. Behind those two is a company that might be a surprise, Motorola at 80, followed by LG at 78.
As mentioned, America’s favorite smartphone is the Galaxy Note9 with a score of 86. According to users that were surveyed by ACSI, they “appreciate the powerful Android model with its large screen and broad capabilities.” The iPhone X didn’t do so well, struggling to outscore Apple’s older models and some mid-range Android smartphones. ACSI hinted that price may be an issue for Apple right now.
The Samsung Galaxy J7, Galaxy S9, Galaxy S9+, Apple iPhone 6S Plus and iPhone 7 Plus all scored at 82. Just a point behind the iPhone X, which isn’t even Apple’s newest iPhone. The iPhone XS was not even mentioned in this report.
Some of this data may be a bit surprising. But seeing T-Mobile at the top shouldn’t be. In the past few years, it has made a renewed focus on customer service, which also improves customer satisfaction. When customers know that their carrier will resolve issues and do it quickly, it makes them happier, and more likely to stick around. Sprint coming in last place is also not a surprise, but that is definitely something that should worry T-Mobile and Deutsche Telekom as it looks to acquire the struggling carrier.
The Galaxy Note9 being America’s favorite phone is a bit of a bigger surprise. Given the fact that the Galaxy S10 lineup is now available, with a cheaper price and better screens, cameras.