@jbtaylor on tech

Earlier today, we heard two bits of news from the folks at J.D. Power that I'm pretty proud of.

First, J.D. Power ranked the experience customers have when they visit the retails stores of the national wireless carriers. T-Mobile was ranked first, Sprint was ranked second, AT&T was ranked third and Verizon Wireless was ranked last. It's been a remarkable rise by Sprint. Just a year ago, we were last in this rating. Now were are 19 points higher.

Then, J.D. Power announced that Sprint was among 40 companies in the U.S. that they deemed "Customer Service Champions".

According to their news release:

"Brands that receive the J.D. Power Customer Service Champions designation are among the top 5 percent of more than 800 evaluated brands, based on their performance in five key areas identified as the J.D. Power 5 Ps: People, Presentation, Price, Product and Process. J.D. Power Customer Service Champions not only excel within their respective industries, but also stand out when evaluated across multiple industries."

In addition to Sprint, U.S. Cellular and T-Mobile were named to the list. Those consumer advocates and regulatory reporters who criticize the wireless industry perhaps need to stop painting with a broad brush when they make claims that the wireless industry isn't customer friendly.

This follows on the heels of the news last month from an independent wireless study which ranked Sprint customer satisfaction number one in terms of satisfaction with calls to Customer Care. According to the survey, Sprint leads all national competitors in both call satisfaction and first call resolution, two key metrics in the overall quality of customer service.

While our team is justifiably proud at our improvement, we recognize that we have more work to do. Our Chief Service Officer Bob Johnson put it best when describing our reaction to being named on of the country's 40 "Customer Service Champions." Bob said, “We are pleased to receive this distinguished honor and proud of the hard work of our employees in enhancing every customer experience. These important interactions take place in our stores, on our website or in calls to our care centers. What makes this honor especially gratifying is that we received this distinction directly from our own customers. They recognize the consistency and high quality of service we’re committed to providing. Our steadfast focus is on customer satisfaction and it will continue to be our top priority.”

CTIA, the wireless association, has released a study which breaks down wireless taxes by state. The study ranks the states by the combined Federal, state and local taxes wireless customers pay.

The results are stunning.

Out of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, residents of only 3 states pay less than 10 percent of their wireless bill in taxes. Put differently, most all of us pay at least 10 percent of our wireless bills, not for wireless service, but for taxes.

Residents of Nebraska, Washington, New York, Florida and Illinois have it the worst. They pay more than a fifth of their wireless bill in taxes.

Let me be clear: I understand that governments need to collect taxes in order to provide services. I'm certainly not against taxes, but I think they should be distributed fairly.

By any measure, wireless service is taxed a relatively high level compared to other services. My personal view is that the politicians are hoping you won't notice.

And the truth is, you probably won't. If your state senator voted to raised taxes on your wireless service would you know?

Or more to the point, do you even know how much of your wireless service bill goes to paying taxes?

Today President Obama is in Marquette, Mich. to promote his National Wireless Initiative. He will see a demonstration of a WiMax 4G network run by Northern Michigan University and will meet with small business owners who depend on broadband to get products and services to market.

In the reaction the President's remarks, Vonya B. McCann, senior vice president – Government Affairs at Sprint issued the following statement:

“As the first national wireless carrier to offer 4G, Sprint is well positioned to help the President deliver on his goals for extending broadband to more Americans. We’re working closely with small businesses and educational institutions, like the ones the President met with today, to connect them to our networks by more than just a cell phone. Whether it’s through smart meters, digital signs, high-definition cameras, remote sensors, laptops, appliances, e-readers or connected cars, our customers are using wireless to change the way transportation, utilities, healthcare and educational institutions work.

As exciting as this wireless future is, Sprint remains concerned that by not addressing expeditiously the broken special access market, the nation’s broadband economy is put at risk.

We are committed to working with the President, Congress, and the Federal Communications Commission to help our country realize the promise of its bright broadband future.”

I don't know how I missed this earlier this month, but I'm sure glad to hear that Mr. Garber is OK. I checked with our Atlanta sales team -- we replaced his damaged phone free of charge.