Each carrier was given a certain number of Power Circle ratings.

The winner? None other than T-Mobile, who has taken the first-place honor for the six years running, with five Power Circles.

The ultimate loser? ...you probably guessed this one - Sprint Nextel, with 2 Power Circles. The company's "drop customers who call customer service too often" strategy probably contributed just a little bit to its position on the rankings. To its credit, the wireless carrier at least acknowledges that "customer service is a challenge for us." Nothing like the truth!

Three carriers were rated "average", each with (also) three Power Circle ratings - Alltel, AT&T, and Verizon Wireless. Interesting. I always thought that Verizon was a cut above, due to a lower "churn rate" (customer defections) compared to the competition.

The survey, which used responses from 10,500 wireless companies, also found that over 50% of customers calling about monthly charges had some kind of billing mistake. And that the average wait time was about 3 minutes.

Source: "Sprint Nextel: Last in Customer Service" - BusinessWeek

Tags: alltel, at&t, sprint, tmobile, verizon

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