Telemark Services, Manchester, UK, announced today the publication of its 15th world-wide study on customer satisfaction entitled Voice of the Customer: Benchmarking Satisfaction: Managed Data Network Services. This independent, off-the-shelf, comparative study of the core international service providers - AT&T, BT, Cable & Wireless, Equant, Infonet, MCI, and NTT - offers readers a truly independent perspective into the perceived performances of operators across 32 service attributes from 'bid to bill' and overall.
Service attributes are ranked in priority order to users allowing operators to see at a glance what matters most. The top 3 importance criteria are: Network Reliability, Fault Reporting Process and Secure Data Transfer.
These are grouped into a category named 'Indispensable to Customers' where NTT's aggregate rating of 'Excellent' takes 'Best in Class' compared to rivals. AT&T, BT and Infonet also achieve an 'Excellent' in 'Indispensable to Customers' which shows just how high the standard has now become on the three essential requirements. NTT's improvement in 19 service attributes is particularly noteworthy because its satisfaction ratings were already at a relatively high level. Clustered around technical and operational areas, NTT's level of improvement exceeds that of any carrier in any previous report to date.
Infonet was rated 'Best in Class' for Overall Customer Satisfaction, derived from the aggregate of all the 32 attributes, reflecting that users think Infonet is the best performing international service provider of MDNS. Its consistent brand image appears to have given it the edge for performance stability over the numerous rival operators who have reshaped and reinvented themselves several times in the space of as many years.
Equant is rated 'Best in Class' for 8 service attributes: Secure Data Transfer Installation Not Disrupting, Ability to Meet Customers' Requirements, International Performance, Operational Guarantees, Technical Support, International Installations and Billing at Cost Centre. It obtained the highest number of 'Best in Class' Awards compared to its rivals. Though the differences between operators are narrowing as standards increase across the board, it is a significant achievement that Equant is seen as 'the best there is' in so many specific areas.
BT achieved 7 Telemark Gold Awards for Outstanding Customer Satisfaction. Such Awards reflect exceptional levels of customer satisfaction.
The analysis also shows trends over time and AT&T appears to be communicating effectively to their clients regarding new products and services where their satisfaction level here almost equals the expectation. Users stated that it felt good working with AT&T, ensuring an Award for 'Best in Class' in the Overall 'stated' category.
With three Telemark Gold Awards for Support in Local Language, Installation Guarantees and No hidden Extras in Bills, together with eight major improvements, MCI is holding its own following the transition period, post chapter 11.
The results are based on a telephone survey with 360 data network managers and executives from 27 countries.
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