55% of wireless users have contacted the customer service department for assistance within the past year, marking a nearly 7% decline from the most recent reporting period in July 2006, according to JD Power & Associates data. The average number of contacts necessary to resolve an inquiry by phone is 1.87, up from 1.76 in the previous reporting period. Among customers who contact their provider, 73% do so by telephone and 24% do so through their provider’s retail store. E-mail/Internet accounts for only 3% of customer contacts. The average initial reported hold time on calls to the customer service department is 3.58 minutes. In comparison, it takes an average of 8 minutes before speaking in-person to a representative at one of the provider’s retail stores. 42% of customers contact their provider with a billing-related service inquiry, with 55% of these contacts attributed to inaccurate charges. 30% of all customer care inquiries are call-quality related.