AT&T (NYSE:T) may have the Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone, but Verizon Wireless (VOD)(VZ) has the customer service reputation, and service seems to trump product.

ChangeWave polled about 4,000 people as part of its wireless Customer Satisfaction Survey and found that 50% of Verizon Wireless subscribers were “very satisfied” with their service compared to 23% for AT&T. Even worse for AT&T was that Verizon is the most popular choice among people thinking of switching carriers at 31% of those surveyed.

“In a nutshell, the survey results indicate that most Verizon customers are very satisfied and staying put, while more AT&T customers are thinking of switching to another carrier,” said ChangeWave Analyst Josh Levine.

ChangeWave’s survey also showed that just 1.9% of Verizon customers experienced a dropped call in the last 90 days, as opposed to 4.3% for AT&T. Moreover, 9% of AT&T customers in the survey reported that more than one-in-ten of their calls had been dropped in the last 90 days. Those are the worst dropped call results in the industry according to ChangeWave, and three times worse than Verizon.

The results show the nearly insurmountable task that AT&T has to repair its reputation because of problems with its 3G network. Analysts say that most of these troubles are based on the AT&T network being unable to handle the data volume created by its large pool of iPhone users.

The ChangeWave results also point to the tremendous problem AT&T Wireless would have if it lost its exclusivity for selling its flagship wireless product–the iPhone. Rumors are that Verizon will begin to sell the iPhone later this year, If that happens, AT&T’s wireless subscriber attrition rate will be spectacular.

Douglas A. McIntyre

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