Rating the Top Customer Service Providers for 2007
If you want to find out which businesses reached the pinnacle of delivering a superior customer service experience to their customers this year, look no further than the RealPeopleRatings.com nationwide survey released today by market research firm Corporate Research International (CRI). The study breaks businesses out by industry and names CRI's customer service elite for 2007.
Winners for 2007 include (by industry):
- Fast Food Restaurants: SUBWAY;
- Full Service Restaurants: Olive Garden;
- Pizza Restaurants: Cici's Pizza;
- Convenience Stores: BP;
- Department Stores: Nordstrom;
- Shoe Stores: Stride Rite;
- Home Improvement Stores: Ace Hardware;
- Office Supply Stores: Staples;
- Supermarkets: Publix;
- Sporting Goods Stores: Dick's Sporting Goods;
- Drug Stores: Walgreens;
- Electronics Stores: RadioShack;
- Hotels: Marriott; and
- Airlines: Southwest.
For a complete list of rankings and scores, visit www.realpeopleratings.com.
RealPeopleRatings.com is a quarterly consumer perception survey conducted by CRI, a specialist in mystery shopping and customer satisfaction surveys. On average, more than 2,500 panelists participated in each quarterly online opinion poll. Respondents rated their overall perception of each business' customer service on a scale of 1-10, with 10 highest, encompassing the entire service experience from call centers to company Web sites. The results from each quarter were then averaged together to derive the 2007 winners.
The results and rankings are a viable indicator for businesses in all industries to find out where they stand with their customers. "These results contribute to companies achieving a complete, 360 degree view of how customers perceive their business," says Mike Mallett, CEO of CRI. "Business owners can stay ahead of their competition by having the most up-to-date information available about their customer service."
The value of having current, updated figures is the reason why CRI decided to launch RealPeopleRatings.com in 2005. "CRI started the RealPeopleRatings as a way for businesses to measure their customer satisfaction levels throughout the year," explains Brad Holdgreve, vice president of CRI. "Most businesses rely on the ACSI [American Customer Satisfaction Index] that is released only once a year. Our study gives them a tool to see where they stand and to give them a measuring stick of where they will stand once the ACSI is released."
While these figures are available free for anyone who wishes to view them, Holdgreve does not see RealPeopleRatings.com's nationwide survey results as a tool for customers--yet. "I'm not sure how much consumers pay attention to these figures," he says. "However, if they were to read about these rankings, it may sway their decision to buy or not to buy from a certain business based on their rankings. For example, if they are traveling and looking for a place to eat, they would know which fast food restaurants rank the highest or lowest in drive-thru speed."
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