2015 Temkin Ratings: Benchmarking Consumer Relationships

We’ve been publishing the Temkin Ratings for five years. These ratings provide insights into how consumers evaluate their relationships with 100s of companies across multiple industries. In 2015, we examined 200+ companies across 20 industries based on a survey of 10,000 U.S. consumers. You can view a sortable list of results on the Temkin Ratings website.

Here are my posts that summarize the results for all of the 2015 Temkin Ratings:

• 2015 Temkin Experience Ratings (and 20 industry snapshots)
• 2015 Temkin Forgiveness Ratings
• 2015 Temkin Trust Ratings
• 2015 Temkin Customer Service Ratings
• 2015 Temkin Web Experience Ratings

The bottom line: How do your customers rate their relationship with you?

P.S. Here’s a link to the 2014 Temkin Ratings

USAA and Amazon Top 2015 Temkin Web Experience Ratings

For the second straight year, USAA took the top spot in the Temkin Web Experience Ratings. Based on a study of 10,000 U.S. consumers, the 2015 Temkin Web Experience Ratings examine 262 companies across 20 industries (see full list of companies (.pdf)). You can see all of the company data on the Temkin Ratings website.

Download dataset for $295 (download sample file)

***See how your company can reference these results
or display a badge for top 10% and industry leaders***

USAA earned the top spot for its banking business, followed by Amazon.com in the second spot. USAA was also in the top 14 with its insurance and credit card businesses, along with credit unions, Capital One 360, SunTrust Bank, eBay, Chase, Fidelity Investments, QVC, Sheraton, and Apple Retail.

Frontier earned the lowest Temkin Web Experience Ratings followed by Cox Communications, Charter Communications, Spirit Airlines, Comcast, Blue Shield of CA, Time Warner Cable, Haier, and CenturyLink.

Here are some more highlights from the 2015 Temkin Web Experience Ratings:

H-E-B Earns Top Spot in 2015 Temkin Emotion Ratings

For the previous five years, we’ve measured emotion as part of the Temkin Experience Ratings. This year, we examined 293 companies across 20 industries based on a survey of 10,000 U.S. consumers (see methodology section below). I decided to showcase the results from the emotion component of those ratings.

Congratulations to H-E-B, Publix, Chick-fil-A, Trader Joe’s, USAA, Aldi, Hy-Vee, PetSmart, and Dairy Queen for earning the top scores in the 2015 Temkin Emotion Ratings.

At the other end of the effort spectrum, the lowest scoring companies in the Temkin Emotion Ratings are Coventry Health Care, Comcast (for TV service and Internet service), Time Warner Cable (for TV service and Internet service), Con Edison of NY,  Charter Communications, Cox Communications, and CenturyLink.

Do you want to the data from the 2015 Temkin Emotion Ratings? It’s included in the Temkin Experience Ratings spreadsheet that you can purchase for $395.
Here’s a sample of the spreadsheet (.xls)

Here are some additional insights from the 2015 Temkin Emotion Ratings:

• Supermarkets, fast food chains, retailers, parcel delivery services, and hotels earned average scores of “good,” while TV service providers and Internet service providers earned average ratings of “very poor.”
• Georgia Power, USAA (banking, credit cards, and insurance), TriCare, JetBlue, Optimum, Amazon.com, Lexus, Regions, Kaiser Permanents, Cablevision, and credit unions all earned Temkin Emotion Ratings that are more than 10 points ABOVE their industry averages.
• Coventry Health Care, Spirit Airlines, Fox Rent A Car, Consolidated Edison of NY, Hitachi, BB&T, Blackboard, Consumers Energy Company, Sears, Dollar Rent A Car, Bi-Lo, Comcast, and Jeep all earned ratings that are 12 or more points BELOW their industry averages.
• Seven companies increased by 10 or more points from last year: US Cellular, DHL, Residence Inn, Hampton Inn, JetBlue, Hilton, Westin, Fifth Third, Dodge, and Marriott.
• Thirteen companies dropped by 10 or more points from last year: Subaru, Buick, TD Ameritrade, Audi, Advantage, True Value, Fujitsu, Hitachi, Best Buy, E*TRADE, Time Warner Cable, Blue Shield of CA, and AOL.

USAA Tops 2015 Temkin Customer Service Ratings

For the third straight year, USAA took the top spot in the 2015 Temkin Customer Service Ratings, which uses feedback from 10,000 U.S. consumers to rate the customer service of 278 organizations across 20 industries (see .pdf with full list). You can see all of the company data on the Temkin Ratings website.

Download dataset for $295 (download sample file)

***See how your company can reference these results
or display a badge for top 10% and industry leaders***

USAA earned the top spot for its banking business, followed by Chick-fil-A in the second spot. USAA was also in the top 12 with its insurance and credit card businesses, along with credit unions, Aldi, Trader Joe’s, Publix, Panera Bread, H-E-B, Amazon.com, and Bed Bath & Beyond.

For the second straight year, Comcast earned the lowest score in the Temkin Customer Service Ratings. The company took the bottom two spots for its TV service and Internet service businesses. Filling out the bottom of the ratings are Con Edison of New York, Cox Communications (for both Internet service and TV service), Charter Communications, Time Warner Cable (for both Internet service and TV service), Blackboard, Frontier, CenturyLink, and Cigna.

Here are some more highlights from the 2015 Temkin Customer Service Ratings:

Hannaford and Publix Top 2015 Temkin Effort Ratings

For the previous five years, we’ve measured effort as part of the Temkin Experience Ratings. This year, we examined 293 companies across 20 industries based on a survey of 10,000 U.S. consumers (see methodology section below). I decided to showcase the results from the effort component of those ratings.

Congratulations to Hannaford, Publix, Aldi, Lowe’s, credit unions, PetSmart, Trader Joe’s, Amazon.com, Bed Bath & Beyond, Advance Auto Parts, and Walgreens for earning the top 10 scores in the 2015 Temkin Effort Ratings. at the other end of the spectrum, Coventry Health Care, Health Net, Fujitsu, Fox Rent A Car, Medicaid, and Comcast earned the lowest ratings.

Do you want to the data from the 2015 Temkin Effort Ratings? It’s included in the Temkin Experience Ratings spreadsheet that you can purchase for $395.
Here’s a sample of the spreadsheet (.xls)

Here are some additional insights from the 2015 Temkin Effort Ratings:

• Supermarkets, fast food chains, and retailers earned average scores of “excellent,” while TV service providers, Internet service providers, and health planes earned average ratings of “poor.”
• Kaiser Permanente, Southern California Gas Company, Amazon.com, TriCare, JetBlue Airlines, Georgia Power, Humana, and credit unions all earned Temkin Effort Ratings that are more than 10 points ABOVE their industry averages.
• Ramada Inn, Fujitsu, Fox Rent A Car, Amica, HSBC, 21st Century, Consolidated Edison of NY, Spirit Airlines, and Coventry Health Care all earned Temkin Effort Ratings that are more than 15 points BELOW their industry averages.
• Comparing results from 2014 and 2015, hotels gained more than 10 points, while the next largest gainer is retailers (+2.5 points). Internet service providers and investment firms dropped the most, a bit more than three points.
• Seven companies increased by more than 10 points from last year:  Residence Inn, US Cellular, JetBlue Airlines, Hyatt, Westin, Super 8, and Marriott.
• Six companies dropped by 10 or more points from last year: Subaru dealers, TD Ameritrade, Buick dealers, Audi dealers, Fujitsu, and Blue Shield of CA.

USAA Tops 2015 Temkin Forgiveness Ratings

Every organization makes mistakes, so forgiveness is an important element of loyalty. That’s why we just published the 2015 Temkin Forgiveness Ratings, the fifth year of the ratings. It uses feedback from 10,000 U.S. consumers to rate the level of forgiveness earned by 293 organizations across 20 industries (see .pdf with full list). You can see all of the company data on the Temkin Ratings website.

Download dataset for $295 (download sample file)

***See how your company can reference these results
or display a badge for top 10% and industry leaders***

USAA took the top three spots for each of its business areas, earning a Temkin Forgiveness Rating of 61% for its credit card division and a rating of 60% apiece for its banking and insurance divisions. ACE Rent A Car came in fourth place overall with a Rating of 57%, and Amazon.com and Publix rounded out the top six with ratings of 55% each.

On the bottom of the list, Consolidated Edison Company of NY and Coventry Health Care tied for last place, each with a Temkin Forgiveness Rating of 3%. Also in the bottom six were Comcast (for both its TV service and Internet service businesses) and Time Warner (also for both its TV service and Internet service businesses).

Only 13% of companies earned a “very strong” Temkin Forgiveness Rating (above 45%), while 42% earned a “strong” rating (35% to 45%). Meanwhile, 3% of companies received a “very weak” Rating (below 15%), and 15% received a “weak” rating (15% to 25%).

Here are some more highlights from the 2015 Temkin Forgiveness Ratings:

2015 Temkin Experience Ratings: 20 Industry Snapshots

We recently released the 2015 Temkin Experience Ratings that ranks the customer experience of 293 companies across 20 industries based on a survey of 10,000 U.S. consumers. Here’s a link to FAQ’s about the Ratings.

As a follow-up, we published blog posts that examine the results for each of the 20 industries over the five years of the Ratings. You can see links to all of those industry snapshots below:

> Airlines
> Auto Dealers
> Banks
> Computers & Tablets
> Credit Card Issuers
> Fast Food Chains
> Health Plans
> Hotels
> Insurance Carriers
> Internet Service Providers
> Investment Firms
> Major Appliances
> Parcel Delivery Services
> Rental Car Agencies
> Retailers
> Software Firms
> Supermarkets
> TV Service Providers
> Utilities
> Wireless Carriers

Companies that are industry leaders or in the top 10% overall of the Temkin Experience Ratings can publicly display these badges.

You can see the ratings of all companies on the Temkin Ratings website

Examining Five Years of Temkin Trust Ratings

We just published the 2015 Temkin Trust Ratings, the fifth year of the ratings. It uses feedback from 10,000 U.S. consumers to rate the level of trust that consumers have with 293 organizations across 20 industries.

Download 2015 Temkin Trust dataset for $295 (see sample file)

Since it’s the fifth year of the ratings (see ), I’m taking a look at some trends:

• Four industries have increased their Temkin Trust Ratings for four consecutive years: Airlines, computers, banks, and credit cards. Over the previous year, 10 industries declined while five improved.
• All of the 12 industries that have been in the ratings since the beginning have improved. Banks and credit cards have gained the most over the previous five years (+24 points), while Internet service providers (+5 points) and retailers (+6 points) gained the least.
• Four industry averages increased more than one point in their Temkin Trust Ratings between 2014 and 2015: Hotels (+4.2 points), computers & tables (+3.8), banks (+2.8), and credit cards (+2.6).
• Eight industry averages decreased more than one point in their Temkin Trust Ratings between 2014 and 2015: Internet service (-4.6 points), auto dealers (-3.6), software (-2.8), investment firms (-2.7), major appliances (-2.5), TV service (-2.4), health plans (-1.7), and wireless carries (-1.6).
• 132 companies have been in the Temkin Trust Ratings for five years. Over that time, US Bank, USAA (banking), and credit unions (banking) have gained the most, (+30 or more points). Cox Communications has dropped the most (-21 points), while MSN and Edward Jones are the only other firms to drop by more than 10 points.
• Led by Residence Inn’s improvement of 22 points between 2014 and 2015, 41% of the firms that were in both years Ratings improved by at least 1 point. Five other firms gained more than 15 points over the previous year: Qwest, Hyatt, Panda Express, HSBC, and Holiday Inn Express.
• Forty-three percent of firms dropped at least one point between 2014 and 2015, with Coventry Health Care dropping the most (21 points). Five other firms lost 15 or more points between 2014 and 2015: Health Net, Cox Communications, BMW, Advantage RAC, and TD Ameritrade.

H-E-B and Credit Unions Top 2015 Temkin Trust Ratings

We just published the 2015 Temkin Trust Ratings, the fifth year of the ratings. It uses feedback from 10,000 U.S. consumers to rate the level of trust that consumers have with 293 organizations across 20 industries (see .pdf with full list). You can see all of the company data on the Temkin Ratings website.

Download dataset for $295 (see sample file)

H-E-B and credit unions took the top spots in the 2015 Temkin Trust Ratings, while USAA took three of the next four spots for its banking, insurance, and credit card business. Publix rounds out the top six firms.

Comcast earned the lowest two spots in the Temkin Trust Ratings for its TV service and Internet service businesses. Also at the bottom of the list are Charter Communications, Coventry Health Care, Time Warner Cable (for both its TV service and Internet service businesses), Consolidated Edison of NY, Cox Communications, and Spirit Airlines.

***See how your company can reference these results
or display a badge for top 10% and industry leaders***

Only 6% of firms earned “excellent” ratings (above 70%) and 28% earned “good” ratings (60% to 70%). At the other end of the spectrum, 9% of firms earned “very poor” ratings (below 40%) and 22% earned “poor” ratings (40% to 50%).

With average 2015 Temkin Trust Ratings of 67%, supermarket chains earned the highest level of trust. Three other industries earned “good” trust ratings: insurance carriers, retailers, and parcel delivery services. TV service providers (32%) and Internet service providers (34%) earned average scores in the “very poor” range, while wireless carriers, health plans, and utilities earned average scores in the “poor” range.

USAA and Credit Unions Lead Banks in Customer Experience

We recently released the 2015 Temkin Experience Ratings that ranks the customer experience of 293 companies across 20 industries based on a survey of 10,000 U.S. consumers.

USAA and credit unions tied for the top spot, each with a rating of 81%, putting them in 8^th place overall out of 293 companies across 20 industries. Credit unions (which is a rating for a group of credit unions, not one company) have earned the highest ranking for banks over the past four years. USAA has been hovering around the top of the banking list since 2011, but this is the first year that it actually took the top spot.

Meanwhile, BB&T debuted on the Ratings at the bottom of the industry, with a rating of 61% and a rank of 199^th overall. Citibank was not far ahead, receiving a rating of 62% and coming in 187^th place overall.

Here are some highlights from the banking industry:

• Overall, the banking industry averaged a 71% rating in the 2015 Temkin Experience Ratings and placed 5^th out of 20 industries. The average rating of the banking industry stayed steady at 71% between 2014 and 2015.
• The ratings of all banks in the 2015 Temkin Experience Ratings are as follows: USAA (81%), A credit union (81%), Regions (78%), SunTrust Bank (73%), PNC (73%), Chase (73%), Citizens (73%), TD Bank (72%), S. Bank (72%), Capital One 360 (72%), Bank of America (67%), Capital One (67%), Wells Fargo (66%), Fifth Third (66%), Citibank (62%), and BB&T (61%).
• Citizens (+6 points), Fifth Third (+6 points), and Bank of America (+4 points) improved their ratings the most between 2014 and 2015.
• TD Bank (-8 points), Wells Fargo (-5 points), and Regions (-3 points) declined by the most percentage-points between 2014 and 2015.

USAA Leads Credit Cards in Customer Experience

We recently released the 2015 Temkin Experience Ratings that ranks the customer experience of 293 companies across 20 industries based on a survey of 10,000 U.S. consumers.

For the fifth straight year, USAA took the top spot in credit cards with a rating of 80%, placing it 13^th overall out of 293 companies across 20 industries. USAA has been the highest-rated credit card issuer since the Ratings began in 2011. Discover and American Express tied for second place, each with a rating of 73% and an overall ranking of 76^th. At the other end of the spectrum, HSBC was the lowest-rated credit card issuer for the third year in a row, with a rating of 54% and an overall ranking of 253^rd.

Here are some highlights from the credit card industry:

• Overall, the credit card issuers industry averaged a 67% rating in the 2015 Temkin Experience Ratings and placed 6th overall out of 20 industries.
• The ratings of all credit card issuers in the 2015 Temkin Experience Ratings are as follows: USAA (80%), Discover (73%), American Express (73%), Barclaycard (69%), Chase (68%), Citigroup (66%), Capital One (66%), S. Bank (66%), Bank of America (63%), Wells Fargo (61%), PNC (58%), and HSBC (54%).
• USAA (+3 points), HSBC (+3 points), Discover (+2 points), American Express (+2 points), and Barclaycard (+1 points) all improved their ratings between 2014 and 2015.
• Wells Fargo (-7 points), Capital One (-3 points), and S. Bank (-2 points) declined by the most percentage-points between 2014 and 2015.

Fidelity Investments Leads Investment Firms in Customer Experience

We recently released the 2015 Temkin Experience Ratings that ranks the customer experience of 293 companies across 20 industries based on a survey of 10,000 U.S. consumers.

Here are some highlights from investment firms:

• The investment industry’s average declined sharply over the past year, down from 67.7% in 2014 to 64.0% in 2015. The industry tied for 9^th place out of the 20 industries we evaluated.
• Despite dropping by three percentage-points, Fidelity Investments earned the highest average of any investment firm, scoring 72% and place 89^th out of 293 companies. This is the second year in a row that Fidelity took the top spot; although, it still took second place every year between 2011 and 2013. Charles Schwab took 2nd place int e industry with a Rating of 69%.
• Capital One 360 spent its first year in the Ratings at the bottom of the investment industry, scoring 55% and placing 245th out of 293 companies.
• Of the 12 companies we looked at both last year and this year, only three improved their ratings. Scottrade improved the most, going up eight percentage-points since 2014, while Wells Fargo Advisors went up by four points and Merrill Lynch improved by two points.
• Nine companies decreased their rating between 2014 and 2015. The companies that dropped the most were TD Ameritrade (-14 percentage-points), E*TRADE (-9 points), Edward Jones (-8 points), and Charles Schwab (-6 points).
• Since 2014, TD Ameritrade’s three component score declined more than any other investment firm’s. Its success score dropped by 14 percentage-points between 2014 and 2015, while its effort score dropped by 12 points and its emotion score dropped by 15 points.
• Since 2014, Scottrade’s three component scores improved more than any other company’s. Its success score improved by eight percentage-points over the past year, its effort score improved by 10 points and its emotion score improved by nine points.
• Capital One 360 fell furthest below the industry average for both the success and effort score.

JetBlue and Southwest Lead Airlines in Customer Experience

We recently released the 2015 Temkin Experience Ratings that ranks the customer experience of 293 companies across 20 industries based on a survey of 10,000 U.S. consumers.

Overall, the airline industry averaged a 63% rating in the 2015 Temkin Experience Ratings and tied for 12^th place out of 20 industries. It was also one of only five industries to improve its rating over the past year, increasing its average by 1.2 percentage-points.

JetBlue took the top spot with a rating of 75%, placing it 52^nd overall out of 293 companies across 20 industries. Southwest Airlines came in second with a rating of 72%, placing it 89^th overall. JetBlue shot up from the middle of the pack in 2014 to the top spot in 2015, improving by an astounding 15 percentage-points over the past year.

At the other end of the spectrum, Spirit Airlines, which made its debut on the ratings this year, was the lowest-scoring company in the industry. It received a rating of 47%, which put it in 281^st place overall.

Here are some additional findings from the airline industry:

• The ratings of all airlines in the 2015 Temkin Experience Ratings are as follows: JetBlue Airlines (75%), Southwest Airlines (72%), Delta Airlines (69%), Alaska Airlines (69%), Virgin America (63%), American Airlines (57%), United Airlines (56%), US Airways (55%), AirTran Airways (52%), and Spirit Airlines (47%).
• JetBlue Airlines (+15 points), Delta Airlines (+6 points), and Alaska Airlines (+4 points) improved the most between 2014 and 2015.
• American Airlines (-5 points), United Airlines (-5 points), and AirTran Airways (-4 points) were the only companies in this industry whose ratings declined between 2014 and 215.

Marriott and Sheraton Lead Hotels in Customer Experience

We recently released the 2015 Temkin Experience Ratings that ranks the customer experience of 293 companies across 20 industries based on a survey of 10,000 U.S. consumers.

Here are some highlights from the hotel industry:

• The hotel industry tied for 7th place out of the 20 industries we evaluated in the 2015 Temkin Experience Ratings. After decreasing its average score for the past three years, the hotel industry increased in the 2015 Ratings to 66.2%, up from 60% in 2014, the highest rating over all five years.
• Out of any of the 20 industries that we evaluated, the hotel industry saw the largest improvement over its 2014 ratings as the industry average increased by 6.2 percentage points between 2014 in 2015.
• Marriott earned the highest Temkin Experience Rating in the hotel industry (75%), followed closely by Sheraton and Courtyard by Marriott. (74%).
• Ramada Inn and Motel 6 had the lowest overall scores as well as the lowest component scores of companies in the industry.
• Residence Inn jumped 16 points in the last year, up to 69% from 53% in 2014, the largest increase for any company in the hotels industry.
• Best Western (-5) was the only hotel to see a decrease in its ratings between 2014 and 2015.
• Eight companies increased by 10 or more percentage-points in 2015: Marriott (+11 points), Courtyard by Marriott (+10) points, Hampton Inn (+10 points), Hilton (+10 points), Hyatt (+14 points), Residence Inn (+16 points), Westin (+13 points), and Super 8 (+13 points).
• Marriott earned the highest rating for the success component (78%) and the effort component (81%), while Hampton Inn earned the highest rating for the emotion component (70%).

Alamo and Enterprise Lead Rental Cars in Customer Experience

We recently released the 2015 Temkin Experience Ratings that ranks the customer experience of 293 companies across 20 industries based on a survey of 10,000 U.S. consumers.

Here are some highlights from the rental car industry:

• Although down from its peak of 61% in 2012, rental car agencies saw a slight increase in their average experience ratings, from 59.3% in 2014 to 60.0% in 2015.
• Alamo claimed the top spot and continued its upward trend. It increased by eight percentage-points between the 2013 and 2014 TxR, and by another nine points between the 2014 and 2015 TxR. Enterprise earned the second spot with a Rating of 67%.
• For its first year on the Ratings, Fox Rent A Car took the bottom spot with a rating of 42%, placing 292nd out of the 293 companies we evaluated.
• Rental car companies made up three of the bottom twenty companies: Fox Rent A Car (42%), Dollar (47%), and Thrifty (50%). Overall, scores in this industry ranged from “very poor” to just “okay.” And the industry tied for 15th place out of 20 industries with an average rating of 60%.
• Rental car agencies also increased their average rating in both the success and the effort component. Their success average increased from 62% to 63% and their effort average increased for 63% to 64%. The industry’s emotion average stayed steady at 53%.
• Alamo, Enterprise, and National were the only companies to score above the industry averages in all three TxR component categories. Alamo recorded the highest scores for success with 74% (11 points above the industry average) and emotion with 61% (eight points above the industry average), while Enterprise scored highest for effort with 72% (eight points above the industry average).