Cell phones and smart phones

How satisfied are you with your wireless provider? Your answer may indicate your age.

When J.D. Power polled consumers about their wireless customer experience, they found that what it calls “pre-boomers” have more complaints about their wireless service than baby boomers, with the number of issues increasing as consumers get younger, with Gen Z reporting the most.

One possible explanation could be that Gen Z uses their phones a lot more than older generations. According to the J.D. Power survey, Gen Z averages 300 minutes a day on their phones while boomers use their devices much less.

“Younger generations, particularly Gen Z, are very demanding of their wireless networks,” said Carl Lepper, senior director of technology, media and telecom at J.D. Power. “Not only do they heavily rely on their devices, but they also stream and game at higher rates than older generations and have less tolerance for data-related issues. As wireless users get younger, network speed and reliability must remain at the forefront for providers to retain and attract customers." 

When it comes to reported problems with service, AT&T and Verizon Wireless ranked the highest in a tie for fewest problems in the Mid-Atlantic and North Central regions, each with nine problems per (PP) 100 uses.

Verizon Wireless ranked highest in the Northeast region with eight PP100. T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless ranked highest in a tie in the Southeast region, each with nine PP100. Verizon Wireless ranked highest in the Southwest region with 10 PP100 and ranked highest in the West region with 10 PP100.

What ConsumerAffairs reviewers say

When it comes to ConsumerAffairs reviewers, none of the “Big Three” providers poll particularly well. Verizon has an overall rating of 1.3-Stars, with 1-Star reviews accounting for 88% of all reviews.

T-Mobile also manages only an average of 1.3-Star reviews. Complaints range from coverage to service.

AT&T does slightly better, averaging 1.4-Stars with our reviewers. Eighty-seven percent of its reviews are 1-Star.

It may sound like a carnival act, but new research shows that if someone knows your age, they can probably predict whether or not you’ve ever dropped and broken your cell phone.

Most of that onus is squarely on the shoulders of Americans under age 44, Recon Analytics found in a consumer study done in partnership with AT&T.

Out of those who self-admitted their oopses, 77% were between ages 18-29. Seventy-four percent of consumers between the ages 30 and 44 also fit into that category.

When it comes to furthering the fault-finding, those people in those demographics admitted that they had dropped their phone in the toilet or bathtub, thrown it against the wall, or were just a complete oaf and dropped their phone while removing it from their purse or pocket.

“Most people are clumsy,” Roger Entner, founder and analyst at Recon Analytics, told ConsumerAffairs. He said that for something people can spend as much as $1,000 on, they sure don’t take care of it.

But, does this mean you should get phone insurance?

With an estimated 1.5 phones being lost, stolen, or damaged every second, is the situation important enough that consumers should have phone insurance to protect against lost or stolen devices, accidental damage from handling physical or liquid damage, and out-of-warranty malfunctions?

Maybe.

If you paid good money for your phone and if having to repair or replace it would be very expensive for you, then it’s a “yes” if you can afford it, Todd Stern at The Money Manual told ConsumerAffairs.

Entner agrees. “If you’ve dropped your phone more than one time a year, insurance makes sense. On the other hand, phone insurance isn’t cheap. The younger you are, the more careless you are with your device which means that device insurance pays off,” he said.

Plus, if you’ve got small kids who handle your phone – or you could use some peace of mind – the extra protection could come in handy.

“As the mom of three young kids, I can tell you first hand - a smartphone is never out of arm’s reach for this generation,” Emily Wiper, vice president and general manager of AT&T New England, told ConsumerAffairs.

“Phones aren’t just a mechanism enabling traditional connection, they’re mobile research devices, calculators, and entertainment screens. One in four people lose or damage their device every year and that number is growing with a smartphone in exponentially more hands!”  

What should consumers look for – and how to get a good deal – on phone insurance

Stern agreed with Wiper, saying that at a minimum, consumers should look for an insurance plan that covers damage, lost phones, and theft. And if consumers take part in the insurance that the major carriers offer, they might get a wide number of devices covered under one umbrella.

For example, Wiper noted that AT&T’s plan covers connected laptops, tablets, and smartwatches – and all that does with those devices like battery chargers and SIM cards. 

Stern said that consumers might be surprised to find phone insurance might be already built into things they’d never even think about. He recommends that phone owners ask their credit card providers if there’s phone damage insurance that’s part of their arrangement.

One he pointed to was the Chase Freedom Flex card which provides a maximum of $800 per claim, with a limit of two claims per 12-month period, and a $50 deductible per claim.

“The catch is that you must use that credit card to pay your monthly phone bill,” he said.

There are other places consumers should look, too – especially renters.

“A lot of people don’t realize it, but many renters insurance policies will cover a cell phone under certain circumstances,” Sean Burgess, Lemonade's chief claims officer, told ConsumerAffairs.

“While theft is probably the most common, your phone is also covered for things like vandalism, fire, or other damages—even if you’re traveling abroad. If you’ve simply lost or misplaced your phone, however, your insurance policy isn’t likely to cover it.” 

Consumer complaints about customer service have generally been rising across nearly all industries since the pandemic but wireless providers may have finally flipped the script. At least, that’s the finding of a new study.

J.D. Power’s 2023 U.S. Wireless Customer Care Study (Vol.1) found that more wireless providers have improved how they deal with customers, including reducing the time it takes to resolve a problem. On J.D. Power’s customer satisfaction scale, wireless providers have improved their standing by 14 points.

“After a period of fighting through staffing challenges and investing heavily in more dynamic, advanced tool-enabled digital customer support solutions, wireless providers are now reaping the dividends of that hard work in the form of faster customer care resolution and more satisfied customers,” said Ian Greenblatt, managing director of technology, media & telecom at J.D. Power. 

“It is particularly noteworthy that we’re seeing consistent improvement in both digital/automated and live channels via interaction with in-store and phone-based representatives. It is clear from the data that the top-performing wireless providers take a systemic, channel-coordinated approach to customer care and problem resolution.”

Praise for people

ConsumerAffairs has noted more positive reviews of wireless providers in the last 12 months.

Back in late November, Roxanne, of Mound, Minn., had nice things to say about the staff at a T-Mobile store in Chaska, Minn.

“Thank you to Erin, Nick and Josh…for making our Black Friday shopping experience that we were dreading so absolutely fabulous!” Roxanne wrote in a ConsumerAffairs review. “They each had the patience to answer all of our questions, explain what we needed to do and when, and even giving us a follow-up call.”

Hartney, of Mason, Ohio also credited the AT&T staff she encountered for making her experience a positive one.

‘Made my day’

“I had an issue with my husband's phone and called customer service feeling frustrated but was greeted by this wonderful young man named Torron!” Hartley told us. “He had such great energy and a positive attitude that it just made my day better!”

According to J.D. Power’s rankings, T-Mobile had the best showing among major providers  with a score of 829 on a 1,000 point scale. Metro by T-Mobile ranked highest in the mobile virtual network operators segment with a score of 832, followed by Cricket (830) and Boost Mobile (825).

Consumer Cellular ranked highest in the value mobile virtual network operators segment for the 14th consecutive volume with a score of 869, followed closely by Mint Mobile, with a score of 864.