T-Mobile Tops 2016 J.D. Power Customer Service Rankings

T-Mobile ranked highest for customer service performance among full-service wireless carriers, while Virgin Mobile topped the charts for customer service among noncontract providers, in J.D. Power's 2016 U.S. Wireless Customer Care Performance studies. Overall, wireless carrier customer satisfaction with self-service channels, such as online and automated response systems, "is higher than at any time, as a growing shift in demographics is impacting the service experience," J.D. Power said in a news release Thursday. According to the surveys, 49 percent of full-service customers have had a walk-in service contact in the past three months, with 43 percent having an automated response system (ARS) contact, followed by contact with a customer service representative, 42 percent had online contact and 24 percent had an ARS-only experience. ARS-only satisfaction increased 31 points -- on a 1,000-point scale -- from the previous survey, said J.D. Power. Overall customer service satisfaction among full-service wireless consumers is at 788 out of 1,000, an improvement of 7 points from the final 2015 survey, while noncontract customer satisfaction is at 738 points. The survey also found millennials are "relatively heavy users of customer service," and the first-contact resolution rate is lower among millennials across all four measured channels than among baby boomers.