Real People Rate Customer Service

Adrienne KraftLisa McCreedy

&Gonzalo Masias

Corporate Research International

Customer Perception Survey• Results released October 18th, 2006

• Purpose: to reveal to businesses the importance of brand image and customer perception

• Survey is run through RealPeopleRatings.com ™

Corporate Research International

• Firm specializing in mystery shopping and customer satisfaction surveys

RealPeopleRatings.com

• Launched in 2005 by corporate research international• The company sends the quarterly surveys as online

opinion polls to its pool of panelists• 6,253 panelists participated in this quarter’s survey• Survey conducted between Oct.2 and Oct.15, 2006• Tool for companies to gauge how they’re being

perceived by the public• Serves as a checklist to determine new ways to

improve customer service• Helps businesses stay ahead of their competition

Ratings

• Respondents rated their perception of each business’ customer service on a scale of 1-10

• 10 = highest

• If the respondent had no experience with the business the panelist did not enter a score.

Category Winners

• Fast food#1 Subway#2 Quiznos#3 Sonic

• Restaurants#1 Olive Garden#2 Outback #3Texas Roadhouse

Category Winners

• Convenience Stores

#1 BP #2 Chevron/Texaco #3 Shell

• Department Stores

#1 Nordstrom #2 Saks Fifth

Avenue #3 Bloomingdales

Category Winners

• Home Improvement Stores

#1 Ace Hardware#2 True Value#3 Lowe’s

• Supermarkets

#1 Publix#2 Kroger#3 Safeway

Category Winners

• Drug Stores#1 Walgreens#2 CVS/Pharmacy#3 Rite Aid

• Electronics Stores

#1 Best Buy#2 Radio Shack#3 Circuit City

Category Winners

• Airlines#1 Southwest#2 Jet Blue#3 American

• Hotels#1 Marriott#2 Hyatt#3 Hilton

Category Winners

• Banks#1 Credit Unions#2 Washington

Mutual#3 Wachovia

Survey Methodology

• Respondents:1)represent all regions of the country2)completed only one survey each3)Spanned all ages, incomes, education,&

ethnicities

• Scores reflect the mean score, the most reliable way to describe the “center of gravity” of a distribution of scores.

The mean is the average sum of each score divided by the total number of observations.

Are you Surprised by any of thesewinners for the best customer service

intheir category?

Other ServicesConsumer Behavior Surveys

These are targeted surveys designed to show the patterns and perceptions of the consumer as they relate to specific settings.

1. Health Care2. Charitable Giving3. Back to School4. Memorial Day5. Pharmacist Survey6. Halloween

Survey ResultsCustomer Perception Survey

Quarter 2, 2005 through Quarter 3, 2006

• 73% of those who took part in the survey were planning to participate in a Halloween related activity

• 43% of the people surveyed purchase Halloween decorations every year

• 61% said they would spend their Halloween distributing candy to neighborhood kids.

Survey ResultsCustomer Perception Survey

Quarter 2, 2005 through Quarter 3, 2006

• When asked how much money they would spend on a costume for themselves– 45% - “I do not dress up” – 24% -“I am wearing a costume from a

previous year”

Sources

• http://biz.yahoo.com/iw/061018/0174000.html• www.subway.com• www.olivegarden.com• www.bp.com• www.nordstrom.com• www.acehardware.com• www.publix.com• www.walgreens.com• www.cuna.org• www.marriott.com• www.swabiz.com