Californians Award Verizon High Marks for Customer Service

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- More than 92 percent of customers who have had a recent transaction with Verizon California rate the company's service as outstanding, very good or satisfactory, according to the most recent customer satisfaction survey.

Survey results for the first five months of 2002 continue an upward trend for Verizon customer satisfaction in California over the past four years. The high marks for service and improvements include feedback from both business and residential customers collected on behalf of Verizon by an independent research firm. The survey results were included in testimony presented to the California Public Utilities Commission today as part of an ongoing review of the state's telecommunications regulations.

"We have worked hard to deliver excellent service and these results prove that we are succeeding," said Verizon Pacific Region President Tim McCallion. "We are striving to make progress every day by improving customer satisfaction and we are confident that future surveys will continue to reflect this upward trend."

The surveys are conducted by Little Rock, Ark.-based Market Insights for Verizon's Customer Measurement Services (CMS) organization. Researchers contacted a statistical sample of customers shortly after they had engaged in a transaction with the company.

In addition to measuring its customers' perception of its service, Verizon tracks its actual performance. These figures bear out the findings of the customer satisfaction surveys. For example, the number of trouble reports that Verizon receives annually has declined from 3.4 reports per 100 lines in service in 1986 to 0.8 reports per 100 lines in 2001. That trend continued through the first three months of 2002, with a decline to 0.7 reports per 100 lines in service.

The PUC's current New Regulatory Framework rules, introduced in 1990, provide incentives for Verizon to make these improvements.

In the 12 years that the New Regulatory Framework has been in place, it has also provided Verizon's customers with $1.6 billion in rate reductions and encouraged the company to spend more than $6 billion on network upgrades that result in greater reliability, greater capacity and a broader choice of products and services.

"The New Regulatory Framework has been a tremendous success for Verizon's customers," McCallion said. "Service has improved, rates have dropped and customer choice has expanded."

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) is one of the world's leading providers of communications services. Verizon companies are the largest providers of wireline and wireless communications in the United States, with 132.1 million access line equivalents and 29.4 million wireless customers. Verizon is also the largest directory publisher in the world. With more than $67 billion in annual revenues and approximately 247,000 employees, Verizon's global presence extends to more than 40 countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia and the Pacific. For more information on Verizon, visit www.verizon.com.

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