H-E-B tops 2014 Temkin Experience Ratings

WABAN, Mass. — Based on a study of 10,000 U.S consumers, H-E-B, Trader Joe's, Chick-fil-A and Publix earned the highest scores in the 2014 Temkin Experience Ratings, ranking 268 companies across 19 industries. Joining those firms in the top 14 spots are Aldi, Food Lion, Sonic Drive-In, credit unions, Dairy Queen, Kroger, Piggly Wiggly, Regions, Sam's Club and Starbucks.

In this year's ratings, 37% of companies earned "good" or "excellent" scores, while 25% are rated as "poor" or "very poor." Companies with at least a "good" rating stayed flat over 2013, but have grown by 21 percentage-points since 2011. Led by credit card issuers with an average increase of 4.1 points, 15 of the 19 industries earned a higher rating in 2014 than they did in 2013. Only four industries declined over the previous year: Parcel delivery services, retailers, rental car agencies and hotel chains.

"Customer experience is improving overall, but we still see some pockets of chronically poor experience, especially with TV service, Internet service and health plans," stated Bruce Temkin, managing partner of Temkin Group.

Of the 243 companies that are included in both the 2013 and 2014 Temkin Experience Ratings, 48% of the firms increased by one point or more while 32% declined by at least one point.

In its fourth year of publication, the 2013 Temkin Experience Ratings examines customer experience across 19 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, software firms, TV service providers and wireless carriers.

The Temkin Experience Ratings evaluates three areas of customer experience: functional (can customers do what they want to do?), accessible (how easy is it to work with the company?) and emotional (how do consumers feel about their interactions?).