Verizon grabs #1 spot in J.D. Power mobile satisfaction rating

For the first time in four years, T-Mobile is not at the top of J.D. Power's survey on wireless carrier customer service satisfaction. The bragging rights for 2008 now go to Verizon.

The rankings concern how well and how quickly carriers resolve customer service calls, not the quality of phone service. (So all those complaints about dropped calls and poor coverage don't apply here.)

J.D. Power's ranking system this year gives Verizon 103 points, mini-major Alltel a 102 score, and T-Mobile close behind with 100. AT&T earned a 97 rating and perennial laggard Sprint Nextel got a 79. (The minimum score you can get is a 70.)

Putting aside Sprint's sad, last-place finish, what's going on here? Is Verizon getting better, T-Mobile getting worse, or everyone simply getting better at dealing with customer service issues? It's probably not the latter: J.D. Power notes that due to the increasing complexity of wireless handsets, the average customer now spends longer on the phone making support calls than ever before. Longer calls mean longer waits for help: The average customer will spend 4.4 minutes on hold with his wireless carrier each year, up a third since 2003, and about half of all customers will have to call for help at some point.

If there's overall good news on the service front, it involves the number of calls it takes to resolve issues: Last year the average was 1.91 calls required to take care of a customer problem, but this year that number has plummeted to 1.76 calls per issue. Keeping customers from having to call you for help at all may be best, but keeping them from having to call back is pretty good, too.

LINK: Verizon Wireless seizes top spot from T-Mobile in J. D. Power rankings