MarketTools Blog

The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) recently released its report on the 19 most hated companies in America, with Airlines, Banks, Power and Telco companies leading the list. 

It’s not surprising that industries with little competition and high switching costs – like banks, power and telco – don’t always provide stellar customer service. It takes significant time and energy to switch providers, and in some cases there just aren’t other options. They’ve got you. Airlines, however, continue to surprise me. Given the level of competition and relative price equality found on consolidator sites, it’s amazing to me that airlines are doing so little to keep customers satisfied and loyal.

According to ASCI, “passenger satisfaction with airlines dropped (from 2010 to 2011) by 1.5% to an ACSI score of 65—a very low score that keeps getting worse. In fact, airlines carry the lowest score among 47 ACSI industries (tied with newspapers). Poor service remains a problem for the industry.”

Sounds like an opportunity! Our expectations are at an all-time low: according to ASCI, Southwest continues to rank highest in satisfaction, in part due to the lack of checked baggage fees – which is something we all took for granted just 5 years ago. Given the low customer satisfaction scores, it wouldn’t take much for an airline to swoop in and completely dominate by creating a Voice of the Customer program designed to listen to customer needs, analyze customer feedback to determine which would make the biggest impact on satisfaction and loyalty, and take action by making real improvements in the customer experience. (And there are certainly plenty of areas for improvement, as a recent MarketTools survey on airline traveler dissatisfaction showed.)  I look forward to the day when we can once again take for granted little luxuries like pillows, blankets, free soft drinks and no checked baggage fees – let’s see who takes advantage of this opportunity!

So how can you avoid ending up on the list of Most Hated Companies in America? Learn how to develop a comprehensive Voice of the Customer program during our upcoming webinar “Listening is Not Enough” with Loyalty360 next Thursday, August 25 at 1PM EST.  MarketTools CustomerSat Consultant Elena Hutchison and I will discuss how companies can create actionable insight from VOC feedback, make that information available to employees at all levels, and take action in an effective and profitable manner. Hope to see you there!

►    Register for the “Listening is Not Enough” VOC Webinar