Why Don't Companies Listen to Consumer Feedback?

As you may know, I'm currently on a personal crusade against my arch nemesis Sears. If you want all the gory details, visit Sears Gets Customer Service Right and click through all the links at the bottom of each post. Yeah, it starts out as a feel-good story, but Sears' lack of customer service screws it up quickly.

Since this issue is on my mind, a piece from Money Central detailing the problems with customer service caught my eye. It talks about how companies get feedback from consumers and how they (often) don't do anything about it. It's too bad really because companies that do take customer service seriously become "known" for it and are often recommended from friend to friend. You know, really "good" companies like:

• Bed Bath and Beyond

• Vanguard

• Costco

Then there are companies like Sears. Companies you call and feel like you're falling into a void of never-land, where your words will never be heard by anyone that can change anything or do one lick to help you. Unfortunately, there are lots of companies like this including:

• SimplyBunkBeds.com

• Dish Network

• Small, Health Food Stores

And on and on.

So here are my questions: who would you put on the "good" list (companies that are great to deal with) and who would you put on the "bad" list (companies that are nightmares to work with)?

Comments

[GHoosdum]

My "good" list:
Costco - always a positive customer service experience with them. The company's policies and ethics keep me shopping at Costco for everything I can.
OfficeMax - price matching, substitutions, rain checks - they've always honored the advertised prices for me, even if they don't have things in stock.
Newegg.com - the only place I every buy PC parts. Their prices are great, and if anything is wrong, their customer service team makes it right.
Geico - My auto insurance rates go down every six months, and their CSRs are knowledgeable, friendly, and helpful.

My "BAD" list:
Wal-Mart - they don't treat their employees well enough for their employees to care about the customer, so I've never had a positive customer service experience with them.
Citibank - their CSRs and supervisors seem completely unwilling or unable to help resolve my customer service issues. Apparently they don't understand that it costs less to keep a customer than to gain a customer.

My "worst" list:
K-mart - their return policy and attitude toward customers drove me away and makes me stay away.
State Farm - I was listed on my parents' insurance policy when I started college. I was involved in 1 accident in which the other driver did not even make a claim against my insurance because I did no damage to her or her car. State Farm sent my parents a letter stating that my parents had to remove me from their policy and disallow me from ever driving any of their vehicles again, or else State Farm would not renew their policy.

[fivecentnickel.com]

Dish Network = Bad.
SimplyBunkBeds.com = Bad.
Apple Computer = Very, very good.

[fivecentnickel.com]

Oh, one more... Hampton Inn rocks.

(Thanks for the links, btw)

[Jeff Hunsaker]

Southwest Airlines phone customer service rocks! My wife had a question about refundable fares. I knew the number (the ONE number) off the top of my head: 800/I-FLY-SWA so I called. Within 5 seconds, I was speaking with a person! I didn't have to touch one button or say "Customer Service please" into the phone.

Countrywide Mortgage IVR is horrid. It's near-impossible to get an actual person and they always try to up-sell: "Yes, we did receive your last payment. BTW, I'm seeing you're eligible for a $62,565 line of home equity credit. Can I cut you a check?"

They also send out periodic emails alerting of an upcomming "check up". "Your check up is scheduled for 10am EST Saturday. Call this number." Check up? Is something wrong? Why do I need to call? Turns out it's just a sales opportunity for CW.

[Matt]

Bad: Comcast cable. I'd kill a loved one before I used them again.

Good: Speakeasy DSL. They give you all the options you need, and don't force you to pretend to be running a dumbed-down operating system when there's a technical problem with their line.

Also echoing Jeff about Southwest Airlines. I normally only buy plane tickets online, but their in-person service (ie, when you get to the airport) has always been excellent. And the one time I desperately needed special accomodation (my father had just died, and getting to the funeral required tickets more expensive than I could pay for with my charge card) they were willing to bend their rules and leave an unpaid reservation in their system long enough for me to get down to the airport with a check.

Mediocre: DirecTV. The quality of service is terrific. But the first time I had it installed, they sent out a guy with this stupid two-tuners-one-box thing that required running cable along all the walls of my house in order to get the second room hooked up, and the second installation (because, ironically, I only had that one box) they mistakenly told the installer not to run two lines at all.