SaskTel and Koodo Mobile customers are the most satisfied in Canada, says J.D Power

The most “satisfied” wireless customers in Canada are with SaskTel and Koodo Mobile. This news comes from J.D Power and Associates latest report called the “2012 Canadian Wireless Total Ownership Experience Study.”

The report is based on a 1,000-point scale system and surveyed 14,000 mobile phone customers in Canada between October 2011 and March 2012. The study focusses on the carriers service, mobile phone and retail experience, plus the term “Satisfaction” is based on 7 factors: network quality; cost of service; account management; offerings and promotions; customer service; handset; and sales process. The wireless carrier ranking were broken down into two categories: full-service and stand-alone carriers.

SaskTel that came out on top for the full-service carriers with a score of 699, followed by TELUS with 693 and Rogers with 668. The average full-service score was 678. Koodo topped the list of stand-alone carriers with a score of 752 (biggest score in the total survey), followed by PC Mobile with 730 and Virgin Mobile with 725. Overall, satisfaction is up 37 points, scoring 685, “primarily due to significant satisfaction increases in cost of service, as well as in account management and offerings and promotions.”

J.D. Powers also reports similar results that other studies have found, specifically when it comes to handset choices. Wireless customers who have a smartphone say that Apple and Samsung are becoming their choice of device, both increasing in market share (Apple 30% and Samsung 13%). Unfortunately RIM’s BlackBerry devices drop from 42% to 33% this year.

Other cool stats from the report indicate that:
– The average monthly spend remains steady at nearly $70
– Average Canadian send and receive 26 texts in a 48-hour span, up from 19.5 in 2011
– Average Canadian conducts 9 incoming/outgoing calls in a 48-hour span, down from 10 in 2011
– Average Canadian has used the same device for more than 20 months, up from 18 months in 2011
– Average Canadian has experience a hold time of 6.7 minutes before speaking to a representative
– Average Canadian spends $3.20 per month on apps
– Average Canadian uses 3.7 apps per week
– Average Canadian chooses text messages as the preferred communication means

Adrian Chung of J.D. Power stated “Carriers have clearly responded to this mainstreaming and increased competition by providing more cost-effective offerings that demonstrate superior value for both full-service and stand-alone customers.” There was no word on where the new entrants lined up, such as WIND Mobile, Mobilicity, Public Mobile or Videotron. Would have been nice to see a complete listing.