AT&T would tell you that surveys are not an accurate method to rate customer satisfaction, but that's probably because they come in at or near the bottom of all of them. First it was Consumer Reports rating overall customer satisfaction and now it's J.D. Power and Associates with customer care. In both instances, coincidentally, it was Verizon Wireless that took the top spot.

The survey involved over 9,500 participants and focused on three specific areas: "telephone calls with live customer service representatives and/or automatic response systems (ARS); face-to-face visits to local retail wireless stores; and visiting the Web site of their wireless carrier."

In the end, J.D. Power found that extended warranties and unlimited service plans were sticking points with customers, as is the ability to solve problems on the first try without excessive hold times on the phone. Overall, carriers are improving in those areas with 77% of calls to customer service representatives being resolved in one contact, compared to just 66% as reported in last year. Hold times have also improved from an average of 6.58 minutes to 5.16 minutes.

Rating on a 1,000 point scale, Verizon came in with an index score of 753, narrowly beating out T-Mobile at 752. AT&T and Sprint rounded out the list with 733 and 721 respectively. That's all well and good, but smartphone owners need to keep more than just surveys in mind when they shop around for carriers. Take a look at our handy guide to determine which of the four offerings is right for you.