Cell phone customer service improving

NEW YORK, March 4 (UPI) -- The big U.S. cell phone companies have been making steps to improve their customer support and service, analysts say.

Few industries do customer service as poorly as the cell phone industry, said Jon Anton, director of the Center for Customer-Driven Quality at Purdue University. However, as hundreds of thousands of cell phone customers leave each month, customer service is getting more attention.

Some 45 million cell phone customers -- or about 20 percent of all cell phone subscribers -- switch providers each year, market research firm Yankee Group found, the New York Times reported Saturday.

Cell phone carriers are offering more credits, introducing customer feedback initiatives and moving call center operations in-house, rather than contracting with outside contractors.