Cox, Verizon win business customer service awards

J.D. Power and Associates ranked Cox Communications and Verizon as the best ISPs at satisfying business customers. Cox was selected for its support of companies with less than 500 employees, while Verizon won the award for companies with 500 or more employees.

J.D. Power and Associates released its 2006 Major Provider Business Telecommunications Data Services Study in April. This is the sixth year that J.D. Power and Associates has conducted this study.

The J.D. Power and Associates study measures customer satisfaction with such data services as cable modem, DSL, T-1, T-3/DS3, Ethernet and frame relay. Seven factors were used to measure satisfaction: performance and reliability; billing; cost of service; sales representatives; company image; offerings and promotions; and customer service.

Verizon, which includes previous MCI customers, was ranked highest in six out of seven factors use to measure customer satisfaction. Cox also received the highest marks in six out of seven factors

Business customers care more about company image when choosing a telecommunications provider than they did a year ago, according to the J.D. Power and Associates study. Company image was one of the most important factors affecting customer satisfaction in 2006 along with performance/reliability and sales representatives. This is a change from a year ago, when company image was ranked last in the survey

“As mergers and acquisitions among telecom companies reshape the industry, business customers are increasingly concerned about the long-term stability or image of their data service provider,” Steve Kirkeby, executive director of telecommunications and technology at J.D. Power and Associates said in a statement. Kirkeby says customers care more about the image of their ISP than cost or customer service.

J.D. Power and Associates surveyed 6,254 business customers from small, midsize and enterprise businesses.