Zogby Analytics surveyed 1002 adults in the US about the quality of customer service at 155 of America's best-known companies in 18 industries. The surveyed industries were: airline, auto, banking, 'big box' retailing, cable/satellite TV, credit card industry, delivery service, department store industry, grocery store industry, health insurance, hotel industry, mobile telephone industry, online industry, property insurance, restaurants, retail, technology and the app-based industry.
Respondents were asked to evaluate customer service quality as 'excellent', 'good', 'fair', or 'poor'. For clarity, we combined 'excellent' and 'good' into a positive and 'fair' and 'poor' into a negative rating for customer service. Respondents were also asked what facet of customer service matters most to them, as well as to indicate what bothers them the most about the big banks and cable TV companies.
Of the 155 companies, 115 were familiar to at least 500 valid respondents. Only these companies were included in our lists.
The companies with the highest share of negative ratings made up the Customer Service Hall of Shame; those with the most positive ratings made up the Customer Service Hall of Fame. Here are the 2020 results:
Hall of Shame
1 DISH Network (56/44)
2-3 Wells Fargo (59/41)
2-3 DIRECTV (59/41)
4 Spectrum (60/40)
5 Sprint Nextel (61/39)
6 AT&T U-verse (62/38)
7 Super 8 (63/37)
8-9 Comcast (64/36)
8-9 Days Inn (64/36)
10 United Airlines (65/35)
Hall of Fame
1 Amazon (88/12)
2 FedEx (82/18)
3 Bed Bath and Beyond (81/19)
4-7 Apple (80/20)
4-7 Uber (80/20)
4-7 AutoZone (80/20)
4-7 Barnes and Noble (80/20)
8-14 Google (79/21)
8-14 YouTube (79/21)
8-14 Netflix (79/21)
8-14 UPS (79/21)
8-14 Hilton (79/21)
8-14 Chick-fil-A (79/21)
8-14 Trader Joe's (79/21)
Once again, Amazon topped the list. Some other companies, such as Apple, FedEx and Google have also previously appeared in the "Hall of Fame". The "Hall of Shame" is also in line with previous years with DISH Network, DIRECTV, Sprint Nextel and Comcast again occupying some of the top spots.
Not all industries are created equal. Cable providers had the lowest customer service scores - Verizon Communications had the best score with a 65/35 positive/negative ratio. Big banks, airline companies, budget hotels and health insurance companies also had relatively low ratings. In contrast, online companies, delivery services, technology and app companies had the highest customer service ratings. This is similar to the pattern observed in previous years.
Rates that are too high (29%) is by far the biggest negative of cable TV companies. In the case of big banks, surveyed customers are most bothered by high fees (19%), poor service or unfair fees for small customers (17%) and unclear or surprise fees (14%).
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Zogby Analytics Poll Methodology
US Adults
9/25/20 - 9/27/20
Zogby Analytics conducted an online survey of 1002 adults in the US.
Using internal and trusted interactive partner resources, thousands of adults were randomly invited to participate in this interactive survey. Each invitation is password coded and secure so that one respondent can only access the survey one time.
Using information based on census data, voter registration figures, CIA fact books and exit polls, we use complex weighting techniques to best represent the demographics of the population being surveyed. Weighted variables may include age, race, gender, region, party, education, and religion.
Based on a confidence interval of 95%, the margin of error for 1010 is +/- 3.1 percentage points. This means that all other things being equal, the identical survey repeated will have results within the margin of error 95 times out of 100.
Subsets of the data have a larger margin of error than the whole data set. As a rule we do not rely on the validity of very small subsets of the data especially sets smaller than 50-75 respondents. At that subset we can make estimations based on the data, but in these cases the data is more qualitative than quantitative.
Additional factors can create error, such as question wording and question order.
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About Zogby Analytics:
Zogby Analytics is respected nationally and internationally for its opinion research capabilities. Since 1984, Zogby has empowered clients with powerful information and knowledge critical for making informed strategic decisions.
The firm conducts multi-phased opinion research engagements for banking and financial services institutions, insurance companies, hospitals and medical centers, retailers and developers, religious institutions, cultural organizations, colleges and universities, IT companies and Federal agencies. Zogby's dedication and commitment to excellence and accuracy are reflected in its state-of-the-art opinion research capabilities and objective analysis and consultation.