Are you one of those people who will happily discuss how terrible stores like Kmart are and why nothing that AT&T has ever done in their miserable history is dope, cool, or chill? Well, then your Friday has been made: This year’s list of best and worst companies (based on customer experience) has finally validated all of your vitriol! Especially if it was directed at Comcast.
The list, published by Temkin, is the result of large-scale research regarding which companies consumers trust and which they never will, regardless of how many free cable channels you promise them. Before we get to the companies that are the worst, however, let’s take a quick look at how the researchers came to their conclusions:
The Temkin Experience Ratings are based on consumer feedback of their recent interactions with companies. We asked consumers to rate three components of the experience, Success, Effort, and Emotion, on a 7-point scale. For each component, we take the percentage of consumers that gave a rating of 6 or 7 and subtract the percentage that gave a rating of 1, 2, or 3. This results in a “net goodness” rating for each of the three components. The overall Temkin Experience Rating is an average of the three “net goodness” percentages.
Sounds legit. But what sounds even more legit is the fact that the companies that consumers are not-so-into (that’s a nice way of saying “hope to never do business with again”) are exactly what you’d expect. Spirit Airlines, for instance, is dead last when it comes to airlines. And Citibank drags behind all other monolithic money-storing organizations when it comes to banking preferences. And, unsurprisingly, if not sadly (because who doesn’t love a Dr. Pepper milkshake?), Burger King somehow ended up lagging behind all other fast food brands, which is kind of unfair because at least the home of the Whopper wasn’t giving people all over the country E.coli.
Speaking of bugs and other horrifying things, Motel 6 was rated most hated hotel chain, Sprint was voted worst wireless company, and Vons took home the giant frozen turkey for being the least desirable supermarket to shop at. The worst retailer in the country? That one was a bit of a surprise, considering that most of us thought that RadioShack had closed up shop and left town years ago.
The biggest loser, however, and deservedly so, is that company that refused to cancel a man’s service after his entire house burned down and recently charged a family boatloads of money for adult films they never ordered. That’s right, it’s Comcast! The company — often the only choice for Internet in your area — not only received the worst ratings for Internet service, but also for TV service. Let’s hope all the money they’re sinking into bettering customer service will get them a higher spot next year.
Check out the full list here and then rage, rage against the dying of the light about the companies you swear should have been voted the worst, but weren’t.
