Verizon isn't resting on its (modest) laurels

When Verizon Communications Inc. officials look at national customer satisfaction ratings, they have a tongue-in-cheek term to describe their position relative to industry peers - "queen of the pigs."

Time Warner Cable Inc., AT&T Inc., Cox Communications, Charter Communications, Comcast Corp., and Verizon have had poor reputations for solving customer problems for years. But Verizon rates higher than the average telecommunications giant and is near the top of the industry sector.

"Being the best of the worst is not good enough for us," Miguel Quiroga, Verizon's executive director of customer experience, said in a recent interview at the company's call center on the 900 block of Race Street. "Every company in this space is dealing with this problem, and we want to be a leader," he added. "We can do that. But the question is how long it will take."

Verizon believes that by pleasing more customers regularly, it can reduce churn, or subscribers dropping its service, and gain a competitive advantage over Comcast and other rivals.

But can it be done? American Customer Satisfaction Index, the independent Michigan group that surveys tens of thousands of Americans each year for their perceptions on brands, says telecom has the lowest satisfaction ratings of any industry. Experts believe the low rating stems from a lack of focus on customer service in the industry and minimal competition for cable-TV, satellite-TV, and phone services.

DirecTV and AT&T's U-verse brand had the highest customer satisfaction for pay-TV services, based on the index. The two companies tied with numerical ratings of 69 out of 100. (As a point of comparison, the highest rated of all companies for satisfaction, Mercedes-Benz, scored an 88.)

Verizon scored with the second-best numerical rating in the telecom sector with 68 out of 100 for pay-TV services. For delivering Internet services, Verizon - which markets itself as FiOS - had the highest numerical rating in the sector with 71.

Comcast, at 60, and Time Warner Cable, at 56, had the lowest ratings for pay-TV services. Comcast and Time Warner Cable also rated at the bottom for Internet, 57 and 54 respectively. Comcast has proposed acquiring Time Warner Cable for $45 billion. The Justice Department and Federal Communications Commission are reviewing the deal. A decision is not expected until May or June.

The index noted that all telecom companies had declines in their customer satisfaction between 2013 and 2014 for TV services - for FiOS, the rating fell 7 percent. The overall sector's rating fell for Internet services, too, though Verizon's rating was unchanged between 2013 and 2014.

Steve Beck, managing partner at the consulting firm cg42, which has studied customer satisfaction in the telecom industry, said former telephone companies such as Verizon and AT&T seem to take customer service "a little more seriously than the cable companies." But he added that the improvements were "shades of gray. Could Verizon claim to not be as bad? Sure. But," Beck asked, echoing Quiroga's observation, "is that good enough?"

Quiroga said Verizon was committed to improving. The company has focused on customer-service processes, using data more effectively, and training employees. Verizon also is synchronizing data so that customer-service representatives online or on phones can access the same subscriber data, and that subscriber information is available across its call centers.

One of those call centers is the Bell Atlantic building in Chinatown, which looks as if it could withstand aerial bombings. On the fifth floor, 63 call-center reps, or consultants, each answer 40 to 50 calls a day from customers.

Verizon officials have updated their technology with a "mobile coach tool" - which allows a supervisor to walk the call-center floor and monitor call traffic in real time and help reps.

Verizon staffers have a new tool, "rep guidance," that drills deeply into subscriber data. Using it, Verizon call-service reps know how regularly subscribers watch individual cable channels in their homes. This way, if subscribers want to buy a cheaper TV bundle, the rep can tell them whether they will lose channels popular with them.

Subscribers can be angry and frustrated when they call. Staying calm is the rule, the reps say.

"You have to understand that the customer is not lashing out at you," said Nichole Nikolic, 44, of Levittown, who has worked for Verizon for seven years. "You can't take it personal."

Customer service satisfaction for pay-TV services based on an index of 100. The highest rating was 69, the lowest was 56:

DirecTV 69

AT&T's U-verse brand 69

Verizon 68

Comcast 60

Time Warner Cable 56EndText