The study finds that customers who are approached within 30 seconds of entering the store provide a satisfaction score that is 86 points higher (an average of 774 on a 1,000-point scale) than customers who are not greeted as quickly (688 points). Currently, only 39 percent of wireless customers report being greeted within 30 seconds of entering a retail wireless store. Customers who are not greeted in a timely manner are also 32 percent less likely to visit that store again compared with customers who are approached within 30 seconds.
The time spent waiting to speak with a qualified salesperson is also critical, as overall satisfaction declines considerably when the wait time exceeds one minute. Currently, only 28 percent of customers report speaking with a qualified sales representative within one minute of entering a retail store.
"With fewer new wireless customers entering the market, the wireless industry is becoming fiercely competitive for retailers," said Kirk Parsons, senior director of wireless services at J.D. Power and Associates. "Wireless carrier retail stores face strong competition from national electronic retail outlets such as Best Buy, Circuit City and Radio Shack, which tend to perform better in initially greeting customers in a timely manner. It's imperative that wireless carriers concentrate on setting the proper expectations and provide their customers with a timely and efficient sales transaction."
Additionally, as the amount of time spent during the wireless retail sales transaction increases, customer satisfaction declines. The average wireless retail sales transaction takes nearly one hour to complete from the time the customer enters the store to the time when final paperwork is finished and the product is received.
T-Mobile ranks highest in customer satisfaction for a fifth consecutive reporting period (tying in 2005) among major wireless carrier-owned retail stores. T-Mobile receives particularly high ratings in sales staff, store display and price/promotion. Verizon Wireless follows T-Mobile in the rankings.
The study also finds the following key retail wireless sales transaction patterns:
- Among customers who visited a retail store in the past six months, almost one-half (46%) did so to renew or change an existing wireless plan. An additional 16 percent visited the retail store as a first-time wireless customer.
- Retail satisfaction declines by 104 points among customers who report they were pressured during the sales process. The average overall satisfaction rating among customers who report experiencing no sales pressure is 739 index points, compared with 635 index points among those who say they were pressured.
