SUPERMARKETS TAKE 5 OF TOP 12 SPOTS

Based on a study of 10,000 U.S consumers, Publix, Aldi and H-E-B earned the highest scores in the 2015 Temkin Experience Ratings that ranks 293 companies across 20 industries. Joining those firms in the top 12 spots are Chick-fil-A, PetSmart, Amazon.com, Trader Joe’s, USAA, credit unions, Papa John’s, Walgreens, and Hannaford’s.

While supermarket chains, fast food chains, and retailers dominate the latest annual survey by Temkin Group, Internet service providers, cable TV providers and health plans earn the dubious distinction of defining poor performance, as none of those companies earned a “good” rating.

For the second straight year, Coventry Health Care earned the lowest spot in the ratings, followed by Fox Rent A Car, Comcast (for both TV service and Internet service), Fujitsu, Health Net, Spirit Airlines, Hitachi, Dollar, BCBS of FL, Time Warner Cable, Blackboard, and Con Edison of NY.

“Customer experience drives loyalty, so it’s a growing area of focus for most businesses. Unfortunately, we still see chronically poor customer experience across TV service providers, Internet service providers, and health plans,” said Bruce Temkin, managing partner of Temkin Group.

Of the 19 industries that appeared in both the 2014 and the 2015 Temkin Experience Ratings, the scores of 14 of them declined between last year and this year. The hotel industry’s average increased the most over the past year, going up by 6.2 percentage points. Meanwhile, Internet service providers dropped the most, decreasing by 4.3 points between.

Of the 247 companies in both the 2014 and 2015 Temkin Experience Ratings, 89 firms improved their scores by at least one point. Residence Inn and US Cellular improved their scores the most, each increasing their rating by 16 percentage points from 2014. Five additional firms improved by more than 10 points: JetBlue Airlines, Hyatt, Westin, Super 8, and Marriott.

With a drop of 16 points, Subaru dealers led the 109 firms that declined by at least one point between 2014 and 2015. Five other firms dropped by 10 or more points: TD Ameritrade, Buick dealers, Audi dealers, Fujitsu, and Blue Shield of California.

In its fifth year of publication, the 2015 Temkin Experience Ratings examines customer experience across 20 industries: airlines, auto dealers, banks, computer and tablet makers, credit card issuers, fast food chains, health plans, hotel chains, insurance carriers, Internet service providers, investment firms, major appliance makers, parcel delivery services, rental car agencies, retailers, software firms, supermarket chains, TV service providers, utilities, and wireless carriers.