Clark loves a good bargain, but he likes getting a good deal that comes with good service even better. The University of Michigan conducts a Customer Satisfaction Index survey four times a year and rates different industries on how well or crummy they are doing. The latest survey is out and overall customers are having better customer service experience than in years before. This time companies in the retail and finance industries were rated. And one retailer – Costco Wholesale - was far and away the best company rated. The lowest rated retailer in the United States was K-mart. Throwing the Internet into the mix, Amazon.com is doing better than ever. The company, which has had many near death experiences, is making its customers happier than at any time in the history of these ratings. It has the highest score in the 11-year history of the survey. How about the supermarket industry? Publix, a Florida-based chain, was at the top of the list. Kroger and Safeway got the lowest scores on the list. In the banking industry, Wachovia came out on top and Wells Fargo took last place. Now, keep in mind that not every customer of Wachovia will have a great experience and not every Wells Fargo customer will have a lousy one. It’s a matter of trends over time. For auto and homeowner’s insurance, Geiko took top honors and AllState was pulling up the rear. In the airline industry, only one airline got a great rating and that was Southwest. Most other airlines had very poor scores. But no industry got a lower score than cable TV. They are at the bottom of the barrel because it’s a monopoly business and there is no incentive to provide good service.