MSN Reveals 2012 Customer Service Rankings ‘Hall of Shame’

Customers are happier with the services they have received from a range of industries this year according to MSN Money's 6th annual survey conducted with John Zogby and his team at JZ Analytics. Overall, there has been a significant increase in positive customer service throughout America.

These healthier satisfaction scores are consistent with what the American Customer Satisfaction Index has reported lately. Maybe it is because there has been a spot-light effect on those who repeatedly remain on the top of the Hall of Shame List.

Although Bank of America has topped the negative list two years in a row, the numbers do not lie that their customers are happier. In 2011, they received "poor" marks from 41.5% of their consumers, but this year they have only received 25.7% in negative markings.

Forrest Morgeson, ACSI's director of research, credits our country's recession for adding pressure on companies to deliver better customer service. Businesses are desperate to lure customers, and the representatives want to keep their jobs. "It's sort of a sad fear factor," Morgeson said.

Half of the companies on the list of shame are credit card companies and banks. Coming in behind that at almost a third are the cable companies. Most of these industries are the ones that tend to have a monopoly.

"What we typically say is where you see more competition, you typically see more satisfaction," Morgeson explained.

The numbers prove though that satellite companies outperform cable companies, and companies like Southwest Airlines and JetBlue Airways give a good impression of positive airline communications. USAA, a credit union for military families, consistently gets high marks showing there is no excuse for poor customer service in banking facilities.

To find out who made the "naughty" list or the "nice" list and all the ones between, check out the survey results.