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Supermarkets Do Best Job of Serving Customers
ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Supermarkets and packaged food companies top the list of industries which get the best marks for serving their customers, according to the annual Harris Poll ranking 15 industries on how well they serve consumers. Fully 87% believe supermarkets do a good job of serving their consumers, and 77% feel this way about the packaged food companies. Next on the list come airlines (74%), computer hardware (73%), banks (73%), and software (72%) companies. At the bottom of the list, only 30% think tobacco companies and managed care companies do a good job. Oil companies (32%) are only marginally better.There have been two quite substantial changes between 2003 and 2004. Airlines, which fell very sharply in 2001, have bounced back, gaining 10 points from 64% last year to 74% this year. This is an increase of 23 percentage points since the airlines' lowest number, 51% in 2001.Oil companies, on the other hand, have slipped 10 points this year from 42% in 2003, to 32%. This is a fall of 32 percentage points since their best number, 64% in 1998. It clearly reflects the impact of high fuel prices.When it comes to long-term trends over the last seven years, since we first began asking this question in 1997, five industries have fallen by 19 percentage points or more. Pharmaceutical companies have fallen the furthest, down 35 points from 79% in 1997 to only 44% now.Other notable survey findings include:Oil companies have fallen 27 points since 1997, from 59% to 32%.Telephone companies are down 24 points from 80% to 56%.Managed care companies are down 21 points, from 51% to only 30% now.Health insurance companies are down 19 points, from 55% to 36%.Concerns about prices are clearly the reasons for the decline in the ratings of oil companies and pharmaceutical companies. Health insurance and managed care companies declined sharply because they have had a very bad press over the last several years, even though member satisfaction with health plans has not changed significantly over this period. The decline in the image of telephone companies mostly occurred when they were locked in telemarketing battles which probably turned off many people. Quality of service may also be an issue.Other industries cited as doing a good job by more than 50% of respondents include hospitals (70%), car manufacturers (68%), telephone companies (56%) and life insurance companies (55%)."