April 20, 2012

Consumers Are Most Likely to Forgive USAA, Hyatt, Chick-fil-A and Costco Because Of Their Customer-Service Records, According to New Research — But Much Less Likely To Forgive Chrysler, US Airways, Comcast and BofA

Temkin Group this week announced the release of its 2012 Temkin Forgiveness Ratings that rates how likely consumers are to forgive 206 large companies across 18 industries if they deliver a poor experience. The research, which is based on a survey of 10,000 U.S. consumers in January 2012, shows that consumers are most likely to forgive USAA, Hyatt, credit unions, H.E.B., Hy-Vee, Dollar Rent A Car, Chick-fil-A, Publix, Costco and Amazon. At the other end of the spectrum, consumers were least likely to forgive Citigroup, Charter Communications, HSBC, Chrysler dealers, EarthLink, Bank of America, Comcast, Quest and US Airways. "Forgiveness is a valuable asset that you earn by consistently meeting customers' needs, but many companies don't have enough forgiveness stored up to recover from their miscues," said Bruce Temkin, author of the research and managing partner of Temkin Group, in a news release. The report examined industry averages and found that grocery chains have earned the most forgiveness from consumers followed by retailers, appliance makers and parcel delivery services. But consumers are not very likely to forgive mistakes by credit card issuers, Internet service providers and TV service providers. Temkin Group also analyzed changes in Temkin Forgiveness Ratings between 2011 and 2012. The research shows that consumers are more forgiving this year than they were last year. Led by banks and insurance carriers, all 12 industries that were in both the 2011 and 2012 ratings showed improvement. Additionally, the research examined how individual companies are rated relative to their industry peers — USAA holds the top two spots, outpacing its credit card and banking peers by more than 30 percentage points in the Temkin Forgiveness Ratings. USAA also outpaces the insurance industry by more than 20 percentage points. Credit unions, Hyatt, US Cellular, Dollar Rent A Car, Chick-fil-A and Bright House Networks are also more than 15 percentage points above their industry averages. Five companies fell 15 or more percentage points below their industry's average ratings: Chrysler dealers, Citigroup, Travelers, Charter Communications and RadioShack.

The 2012 Temkin Forgiveness Ratings cover the following 18 industries: Airlines, appliance makers, auto dealers, banks, car rental agencies, computer makers, credit card issuers, fast food chains, grocery chains, health plans, hotel chains, insurance carriers, Internet service providers, investment firms, parcel delivery services, retailers, TV service providers, and wireless carriers.

Sixty-eight of the 139 companies that were in the 2011 and 2012 Temkin Forgiveness Ratings earned double-digit improvements and four companies improved by more than 25 percentage points: TD Ameritrade, Lenovo, USAA and credit unions. Ten companies lost ground over the last year with the biggest drops coming for Citigroup, Continental Airlines, Travelers, Sears, Holiday Inn Express and The Hartford.