The Customer Service Elite


Special Report: Tops in Customer Service

Poll: Which Companies Are In Your Top 10?

Slide Show: Customer Service Champs

The names on our second annual list of Customer Service Champs know how to keep front-line folks happy, make tech investments that help rather than hinder consumers and have leaders who make service a priority. See a full explanation of how we chose the winners, and to have your own say. This year, we're letting readers help to reorder the top 10 names on our list.


Click column heading once to reorder from highest to lowest. Click twice to reorder from lowest to highest.
Rank
Brand
People Grade
Process Grade
Service Index
Would Definitely
Recommend Brand (%)
Will Definitely
Repurchase (%)
Industry
1 USAA  A+ A+ 1030.66 76.39 85.54 Insurance
2 L.L. BEAN  A+ A+ 1014.62 47.47 36.96 Online/Catalog Retail
3 FAIRMONT HOTELS & RESORTS  A+ A+ 1007.68 22.81 16.62 Hotels
4 LEXUS  A+ A+ 994.51 57.74 34.52 Auto
5 TRADER JOE'S  A   A   965.67 78.10 64.71 Supermarkets
6 STARBUCKS  A   A   964.03 60.40 57.28 Restaurants
7 JETBLUE AIRWAYS  A   A- 958.00 71.38 60.78 Airlines
8 EDWARD JONES  A+ A   952.55 57.62 N/ABrokerage
9 LANDS' END  A+ A- 945.62 59.00 42.00 Online/Catalog Retail
10 ACE HARDWARE  A   A   941.98 58.32 52.10 Home Improvement/Big Box Retail
11 LINCOLN  A+ A+ 922.34 49.96 33.45 Auto
12 THE RITZ-CARLTON  A+ A+ 915.15 52.07 31.76 Hotels
13 AMICA  A+ A+ 912.74 63.47 71.88 Insurance
14 ENTERPRISE RENT-A-CAR  B+ B+ 912.10 40.99 40.05 Rental Cars
15 PUBLIX SUPER MARKETS  A- A   908.51 60.42 57.29 Supermarkets
16 NORDSTROM  B- B- 900.50 45.05 34.82 Department Stores
17 SOUTHWEST AIRLINES  B+ B   883.98 50.73 48.11 Airlines
18 WACHOVIA  B- B   881.36 34.06 37.11 Banking
19 SMITH BARNEY  A+ B   881.31 45.67 37.97 Brokerage
20 CADILLAC  A+ A+ 871.53 47.27 31.09 Auto
21 APPLE  C+  B   870.38 60.40 54.74 Computers
22 CHICK-FIL-A  A- B+ 866.26 65.05 50.00 Restaurants
23 AMAZON.COM  A   A   862.06 66.67 66.07 Online/Catalog Retail
24 JW MARRIOTT HOTELS & RESORTS  A+ A+ 858.18 52.57 44.57 Hotels
25 TRUE VALUE  B+ B+ 857.21 46.31 38.92 Home Improvement/Big Box Retail
26 HERTZ  B   B+ 851.54 37.33 43.36 Rental Cars
27 T-MOBILE  C   C-  842.74 32.43 35.10 Wireless Providers
28 VANGUARD  A   B+ 828.83 57.54 56.52 Brokerage
29 ERIE INSURANCE  A   B+ 824.29 48.87 56.83 Insurance
30 NATIONAL CITY  C+  B- 823.46 39.91 42.97 Banking
31 JAGUAR  A+ A+ 813.03 49.80 30.84 Auto
32 BUICK  A+ A+ 810.44 39.79 25.57 Auto
33 WHOLE FOODS MARKET  B   A- 809.29 63.11 57.43 Supermarkets
34 BMW  A   A   809.28 53.24 35.87 Auto
35 SATURN  A+ A+ 805.55 42.80 20.74 Auto
36 FRONTIER AIRLINES  B+ B   804.66 48.89 45.19 Airlines
37 PORSCHE  A+ A+ 803.79 49.58 33.33 Auto
38 INFINITI  A+ A+ 801.09 42.72 27.64 Auto
39 NEIMAN MARCUS  C   C+  799.47 39.91 32.43 Department Stores
40 RENAISSANCE HOTELS & RESORTS  A+ A+ 798.69 47.91 32.18 Hotels
41 FOUR SEASONS HOTELS AND RESORTS  A+ A   797.54 51.32 37.31 Hotels
42 WINDSTREAM COMMUNCATIONS  C-  D   795.79 27.29 40.15 Telecommunications
43 PONTIAC  A   A+ 795.49 40.15 20.38 Auto
44 LOWE'S  B- B+ 792.71 56.74 55.19 Home Improvement/Big Box Retail
45 HONDA  A   A+ 792.27 55.52 32.31 Auto
46 HUMMER  A   A   788.55 51.01 27.81 Auto
47 FORD  A   A+ 788.26 41.59 28.02 Auto
48 EMBASSY SUITES HOTELS  A- A+ 786.32 49.95 40.51 Hotels
49 W HOTELS  A   A   786.27 46.83 35.61 Hotels
50 TOYOTA  A   A   785.97 51.95 31.17 Auto

*The Service Index is composed of a weighting of J.D. Power's scores for "people" and "process," plus bonus scores for brands that finish in the top 10% of our reader poll and for brands that are industry leaders. Thus, some companies with middling grades may have high service index scores because they rank highly in their industries. For a full methodology, please click here, Methodology