FRANKTOWN, Colo., Nov 11, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) --
Over the past eighteen months, user-paid directory assistance (DA) providers performed at levels that are almost as high as statistically possible. This makes the United States' DA service "the best of the best."

There are three components that drive the accuracy of DA: the automated front-end systems, the operators and the databases. According to the Fall, 2008 National Directory Assistance Performance Index^SM, an independent analysis published semi-annually by The Paisley Group, Ltd. (PGL), automated systems are performing at 98.7% accuracy, operators at 99.0% accuracy and databases at 95.7% accuracy. This results in 94.3% of all calls being handled accurately. The margin of error is +/- 2.6%.

Using a "mystery caller" approach, the Index tracks:

-- Customer Fulfillment^SM , the definitive directory assistance quality standard that, by measuring speech recognition and operator and database accuracy, evaluates how often DA callers receive a correct listing report;
-- Customer Care^SM, the success operators demonstrate in balancing customer advocacy, practice adherence and call-handling efficiency, and
-- "Passed Calls," the hallmark of directory assistance quality, combines Customer Fulfillment^SM and Customer Care^SM to measure how often DA users receive a correct report and are treated in a competent, courteous and professional manner.

For the first time, the Index tracks Free DA as a market segment; this will continue to be tracked in future Indexes.

ILEC Quality Stable

This Index measured AT&T, Qwest and Verizon in the ILEC segment. Verizon's overall Customer Fulfillment^SM was "Best in Class" for this segment at 93.7%. This included a database accuracy of 96.0% and an operator accuracy of 98.7%. Close on the heels of Verizon (and within the error of estimation) was Qwest with a database accuracy of 96.0% and operator accuracy of 98.3%.

Qwest was the clear leader in Customer Care^SM, up to 96.7% from 92.9% in the Spring of 2008.

In the critical area of Passed Calls, Qwest again came out on top among the ILECs with 90.7% Passed Calls, up from 86.0% in the Spring, 2008 Index. The segment average was 82.0%, up from 79.0% in the Spring. Qwest also met the rigorous standards required for calls to be considered lagniapped calls 16.3% of the time, the highest percentage in the industry. These are calls that are not only accurate but also are handled by operators who exceed every expectation in call-handling, courtesy and voice delivery - operators who connect with callers on a personal level.

Third Party DA Providers Continue to Lead in Passed Calls

The Customer Fulfillment^SM of Third Party providers averaged 95.0% with a margin of error 2.5%. They performed significantly better than the ILECs in the area of Customer Care^SM, averaging 95.3% to the ILECs' segment average of 87.3%. TELUS was the best in Customer Care^SM at 96.7%. kgbUSA and Verizon LiveSource tied at 94.7%.

The average percentage of Passed Calls for the Third Party segment was 90.7% compared to the ILEC average of 82.0%. TELUS was the leader in Passed Calls at 92.0%.

Wireless Carrier Segment Parallels Third Party Providers

The quality of wireless DA service is also very good. The Customer Fulfillment^SM scores were clustered in the 93.0% to 95.7% range with a margin of error of around 2.5%. Customer Care^SM averaged 95.7% for wireless carriers with Sprint PCS and T-Mobile neck and neck at 96.7% and 96.3% respectively. The margin of error is about 2.0%.

The average Passed Calls for the Wireless segment was 90.7% with T-Mobile leading with 91.3% Passed Calls. The margin of error is about 3.2%.

Free DA Service Varies with Provider and Type of Service

If Free DA service has operator backup, there is a much better chance that the caller will receive the correct report for their target request. AT&T's free service, 1-800-YELLOWPAGES, provided accurate information (for the requested party) 88.3% of the time. The Free DA segment average for Customer Fulfillment^SM of eligible calls was 80.8%. Eligible calls exclude residential searches for the providers who do not offer residential listings. Customer Care^SM averaged 72.5% for this segment, a far cry from the numbers seen in the Paid DA segments. Microsoft's TellMe lead Customer Care^SM at 77.1% with a 5.4% margin of error. Goog411 and Jingle also fell within this range at 75.1% and 74.3% respectively.

The Free DA segment included requests by name and by category. The Average Customer Fulfillment^SM for Name Searches was 78.0%. AT&T and Verizon's free services tied for first in this measurement, at 88.7% each with a margin of error of about 5.0%. Both providers offer operator backup. In Customer Fulfillment^SM for Category Searches, Goog411 stood out at 95.8% with a margin of error of 4.0%. This is the only measurement in the Free DA segment that is comparable with results in the Paid DA segments.

The average percentage of Passed Calls for the Free DA segment was 55.6%. Jingle had the highest percentage of Passed Calls in this segment at 62.7%.

Customer Care^SM and DA Automation Are Not Mutually Exclusive

Qwest Communications continues to show the industry that excellent Customer Care^SM is possible with automated DA service. Not only was Qwest's Care the highest in the ILEC and Automated segments at 96.7%, but it was also significantly higher than the industry average of 92.0%.

Of all reports provided by DA speech recognition systems (where the database is accurate), 98.7% are accurate. These are calls where the speech recognition system has a high degree of confidence that it has located the caller's request and gives the number without forwarding the caller to an operator. On an industry level, accurate reports are given by live operators 99.0% of the time.

The automated segment average for Customer Fulfillment^SM was 93.7% with a margin of error of around 2.8%. Customer Care^SM averaged 90.0% for all carriers using full automation with Qwest and Sprint Long Distance scoring top marks at 96.7% and 91.3% respectively. The margin of error is about 3.4%. The average Passed Calls for the automated segment was 85.3% with Qwest leading the way at 90.7% Passed Calls. The margin of error is about 4.0%.

About the Paisley Group, Ltd.

The Paisley Group, Ltd. is the leading independent auditor of directory assistance, toll assistance and relay services. They measure the accuracy of automated systems, databases and operators as well as the ability of operators and systems to provide Customer Care^SM as defined by a number of objective measurements that are specific to the specialized telecom "operator services" business. Paisley is also a premiere provider of consulting services that optimize system, operator and database performance. Through extensive communications with users via focus groups and customer surveys, Paisley has defined a set of quality measurements that include the "voice of the customer." The company designs robust measurement models and provides meaningful and statistically significant data to assist clients and the industry-at-large in maintaining excellence at all levels.

For additional information, contact:
Jeff Rudolph, President & CEO
The Paisley Group, Ltd.
P.O. Box 564, Franktown CO. 80116-0564
Phone 303-688-1666
jrudolph@thepaisleygroup.com

SOURCE: Paisley Group Ltd.