Several users wrote in to direct our attention to a new survey by the Temkin Group that ranked 143 companies on customer loyalty—based on recent customer experiences with the companies. At the very top of the list sits Amazon, followed by a number of big box retailers including Kohl’s, Costco, and Lowe’s. Meanwhile the bottom of the list, alongside banks and insurance companies, sits most of the nation’s cable companies, including Charter and Time Warner Cable. Comcast resides at the very bottom at position 143.
Bruce Temkin explains to Forbes why some companies fare worse than others—noting that many executives still see customer service as an afterthought—layered on top of the final product offering if they have the time, resources, and money.
“Many executives think of customer experience management as the icing on the cake of their business; believing they can slap on some good experience and everything will get better,” says Temkin. “But customer experience improvement requires broad cultural and operational changes as part of a multi-year journey.”
Temkin oddly doesn’t point out that many customers often don’t have a choice of carrier, at least when it comes to broadband services. The analyst does single out long-term contracts, which Temkin says don’t help matters. “Customer lock-in dampens signals,” he says. “It’s no surprise that Internet service companies, TV service companies and health plans are at the bottom of the customer experience list—rather than earn loyalty on an ongoing basis, they often try and lock in customers through contracts..(allowing) them to ignore the underlying discontent with their customers.
Both Charter and Comcast have made significant noise about improved customer service in recent years—though cable customer satisfaction has been sour for many consumers for so long—it has clearly proven hard for cable companies to shake off their negative reputations. The full rankings break companies down by both customer experience and customer loyalty—with companies like AT&T and Qwest not faring much better than their cable counterparts.