FCC report: Qwest is No. 1 for customer service

Qwest Communications today announced that the FCC's Automated Reporting Management Information System report for 2001 indicates that Qwest's overall customer service is superior to that of 11 other major U.S. local service providers.

The carrier finished first in three categories, including shortest average installation intervals for residential customers. Qwest also finished second in two categories, including shortest residential repeat repair intervals. In addition, it finished third in residential out-of-service repair intervals and finished in the top half of 15 of 16 categories, a 36% improvement over 2000.

Qwest also released data for the 14 states in which it provides local service and said that the results were “the best in as many as seven years in key areas” for residential and small business customers. It reported that it met on time nearly 99% of the more than 5 million installation commitments it made in first quarter 2002. In addition, more than 96% of repair commitments were met on time in this period.

The carrier also said it repaired 91% of service outages in less than 24 hours, a 3% improvement year over year. The data also indicated that the number of customers who had been waiting more than 30 days for the installation of their first telephone line--as of March 31, 2002--was the lowest for any quarter on record.

While pleased with the results, Afshin Mohebbi, Qwest's president and chief operating officer, said in a statement the carrier wouldn't rest on its laurels. "Our focus will not change. We're going to keep working to provide the best service in the country."

--Glenn Bischoff, Senior News Writer