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J.D. Power and Associates Reports: Optimum Business by Cablevision and Verizon Rank Highest in Satisfying Business Customers With Telecommunications Voice Services

Posted on: Wednesday, 15 July 2009, 08:59 CDT

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif., July 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Optimum Business by Cablevision ranks highest in satisfying small/midsize and home-based business customers with local telephone services, while Verizon ranks highest among customers in the large enterprise business segment, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2009 Major Provider Business Telecommunications Voice Services Study(SM) released today.

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The study measures customer satisfaction with providers of local telephone services. Providers are ranked in three segments: home-based businesses (companies based in a residential location with one to five employees); small/midsize businesses (companies with two to 499 employees); and large enterprise businesses (companies with 500 or more employees). Five factors are used to measure satisfaction across all three segments: performance and reliability; billing; cost of service; offerings and promotions; and customer service. A sixth factor--sales representatives/account executives--is included for small/midsize businesses and large enterprise businesses.

Optimum Business ranks highest in the small/midsize business segment with a score of 701 on a 1,000-point scale and performs particularly well across all six factors driving satisfaction. AT&T follows Optimum Business in the segment rankings with a score of 652, while Qwest ranks third with 631.

In the home-based business segment, Optimum Business by Cablevision also ranks highest with a score of 680. Optimum Business performs particularly well in cost of service; offerings and promotions; billing; and customer service. Verizon (649) and AT&T (642) follow in the segment rankings.

Verizon ranks highest in the large enterprise business segment with a score of 684 and performs particularly well in five factors: performance and reliability; sales representatives/account executives; billing; cost of service; and offerings and promotions. AT&T follows Verizon with 659.

After a decline in satisfaction scores in the small/midsize and large enterprise business segments between 2007 and 2008, overall satisfaction among small/midsize businesses has increased considerably in 2009. Conversely, scores among businesses in the large enterprise segment have remained flat.

Comparison of Overall Satisfaction Scores by Segment, 2008-2009(1) Segment 2008 2009 Difference Small/midsize business segment average 621 640 19 points Large enterprise business segment average 664 662 -2 points (1)Note: The home-based business segment was not included in the 2008 study.

"In 2008, the economic situation in the United States was a key factor in driving 39 percent of small/midsize and large enterprise businesses to contact their provider with billing questions and concerns much more frequently," said Frank Perazzini, director of telecommunications at J.D. Power and Associates. "By proactively addressing billing concerns and moving customers to more competitive pricing plans, the industry was able to improve cost of service and billing scores, despite the general industry challenges."

The study also finds a considerable increase in the percentage of customer problems and issues that are resolved during the first contact with a customer service representative. In 2008, only 37 percent of customer service inquiries made by businesses in the small/midsize business segment were resolved during the initial contact. For the large enterprise segment, this rate was 43 percent in 2008. In 2009, 57 percent of inquiries are resolved in the first contact across all segments in the study.

The 2009 Major Provider Business Telecommunications Voice Services Study is based on responses from 3,304 business customers with telecommunications voice services at home-based, small/midsize and large enterprise businesses in the United States and includes evaluation of their data service providers. The study was fielded in January and April 2009.

Customer Satisfaction Index Ranking: (Based on a 1,000-point scale)

Small/Midsize Business Segment Provider Overall Satisfaction Power Circle Rating Score Optimum Business 701 5 AT&T 652 4 Small/Midsize Business Segment Average 640 3 Qwest 631 3 Verizon 625 3 EMBARQ 608 2 Home-Based Business Segment Provider Overall Satisfaction Power Circle Rating Score Optimum Business 680 5 Verizon 649 4 AT&T 642 3 Home-Based Business Segment Average 639 3 EMBARQ 628 3 Qwest 625 2 Comcast 621 2 Time Warner Cable 617 2 Large Enterprise Business Provider Overall Satisfaction Power Circle Rating Score Verizon 684 5 Large Enterprise Segment Average 662 3 AT&T 659 3 EMBARQ 631 2 Qwest 626 2

About J.D. Power and Associates

Headquartered in Westlake Village, Calif., J.D. Power and Associates is a global marketing information services company operating in key business sectors including market research, forecasting, performance improvement, Web intelligence and customer satisfaction. The company's quality and satisfaction measurements are based on responses from millions of consumers annually. For more information on car reviews and ratings, car insurance, health insurance, cell phone ratings, and more, please visit JDPower.com. J.D. Power and Associates is a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies.

About The McGraw-Hill Companies

Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP) is a leading global information services provider meeting worldwide needs in the financial services, education and business information markets through leading brands such as Standard & Poor's, McGraw-Hill Education, BusinessWeek and J.D. Power and Associates. The Corporation has more than 280 offices in 40 countries. Sales in 2008 were $6.4 billion. Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com.

J.D. Power and Associates Media Relations Contacts:

John Tews; Troy, Mich.; (248) 312-4119; media.relations@jdpa.com

Syvetril Perryman; Westlake Village, Calif.; (805) 418-8103; media.relations@jdpa.com

No advertising or other promotional use can be made of the information in this release without the express prior written consent of J.D. Power and Associates. www.jdpower.com/corporate

SOURCE J.D. Power and Associates

Source: PR Newswire

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