When you go to the store, you want to be respected and treated well as a customer. It's that simple. All the complex theories that MBAs learn in school really boil down to this: Treat the customer right. Yet the Wharton School of Business recently found that businesses aren't honoring this simple creed. Customers were treated down right rotten in 60% of the cases they examined.

The No. 1 complaint is that there are typically no employees around to help customers. The second peeve was long checkout lines. Finally, customers also get upset when there are employees present, but they don't offer any greeting, smile or eye contact.

In business, it's key that you focus on serving someone. For employers, it starts by wooing your employees with great treatment so they can romance the customer. Treat your employees with love and respect and they'll serve your customer. Everybody wins that way.

Here's one example of great customer service: When Clark's wife was in a car wreck, his insurer called twice after the accident just to see how she was feeling. How classy is that? The other driver's insurer -- who had to pay for the damage to Lane's vehicle -- never even called once. This kind of basic decency saves money in the long run because it makes customers less likely to think about litigation.

Clark recently told you how Wal-Mart ranked as the worst retailer and the worst grocer when it comes to customer satisfaction, according to the latest ACSI survey. The irony is that people still shop there in huge numbers despite all the complaints. But that may not always be the case.

Before Wal-Mart was the largest retailer in the world, that title was held by Sears and then by Kmart. Both Sears and Kmart are today owned by Sears Holdings, which has now reported that its profits are down by nearly 50%. Sears Holdings' sales are declining rapidly, while cash on hand has dropped from $4 billion a year ago to $1.5 billion now. The marketplace spoke and this is the result.

The Wal-Mart haters have to realize that the marketplace will speak again if Wal-Mart doesn't improve its customer experience. Look at any industry. In the car field, GM used to own this country. Today, they're struggling to survive because they had a tin ear to the customer. The message is clear: If somebody doesn't take care of you, you must use your feet and take care of yourself by taking your business elsewhere.

The new quarterly results from The University of Michigan's American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) have been released. Among the brokerages, Fidelity is tops, followed by Schwab, TD Ameritrade and E*TRADE. When it comes to online retail, Amazon is tops, followed closely by NewEgg.com. In banking, Wachovia remains on top, while CitiGroup and Wells-Fargo come in at the bottom of the heap. The department/discounter store field was dominated by Nordstrom. Wal-Mart came in last! In the specialty retail category, Barnes & Noble was No. 1, Costco was No. 2 and in last place came Circuit City. The supermarket category was dominated by Publix, while Wal-Mart came in dead last. One clear trend emerges: Wal-Mart faces a real challenge when it comes to customer satisfaction.

Just as the ACSI results came out, Business Week ran a cover story about consumer vigilantes. People are setting up gripe sites like ComcastMustDie.com in the hopes that big corporations will change their ways. Comcast now has a team of staffers that spend all their time monitoring and responding to posts on this site! One customer who posted had 8 trucks show up at his house to restore his cable connection. Similar gripe sites include GetSatisfaction.com, Complaints.com and PlanetFeedback.com. The Business Week piece also told the story of a man stuck on the tarmac on a U.S. Airways flight. He figured out the e-mail addresses of the company's executives and e-mailed them from his seat on the plane. Nobody responded -- no wonder U.S. Airways has the worst ranking of any airline by far.

On a positive note, Business Week's tally of Customer Service Champs has been topped by USAA. So there actually are companies with CEOs who get up and think about ways to improve customer service. Take Sprint, for example. This is a company that has been bashed by Clark in the past. But now Sprint has a new CEO who has really shaken things up and apparently actually cares about customers.

Clark loves companies that put the focus on the customer. To name just a few, there's Costco, USAA, Amica Mutual and Southwest Airlines. It's as if these elite companies get up every morning and think, "How can we please our customers?" Amazon.com is another company that also puts the customer first -- yet it has become the Rodney Dangerfield of Wall Street. Analysts have always taken issue with the company's offers of free shipping. But you have to create a level of trust with the customer and this is one way to do it. Similarly, USAA and Amica don't earn trust with low premiums; they do it by really helping customers when they have claims. As a counterpoint, Allstate suffers from low public opinion. This insurer spends a lot on imaging ads, but doesn't always deliver a good customer experience. Management is trying to turn that around, according to The Chicago Tribune. Meanwhile, Amazon's management has been pleasing customers from the beginning. So it's no wonder their stock is up 140 percent over the last year; company size is up 35 percent; and revenues are at $15 billion/year. Companies know they should treat their customers well, but how many realize that the way to do it is by treating your employees like gold?

Clark loves competition. He always worries when you have a shared monopoly like FedEx and UPS do in the package-delivery business. Shared monopolies usually result in higher prices or a decline in service. Case in point: FedEx and UPS announce their rate increases every December. Now it looks like DHL will step up as a viable competitor and cease being the 98-pound weakling of the industry. That's because DHL is teaming up with Walgreens to launch service centers in 6,500 stores. One of the big problems with DHL -- owned by the German post office -- had been that it was difficult to find a drop spot. Clark recently had to send an overnight package via DHL. He had to pass several FedEX and UPS drop areas and travel to a shady, industrial part of town to get to the DHL facility. But that will all change thanks to the Walgreens deal. In capitalism, it is the third competitor that creates true innovations in price and service. Meanwhile, Clark buys his DHL overnight mailing envelopes at Costco for a low price. Did you know that there are now 50 million Americans (out of our 300 million total population) who are Costco members? That's about 1 in every 5 adults -- even though Costco is only in about 37 states.

How should you deal with a builder who doesn't honor the terms of your warranty after you close on your home? For the past 15 years, Clark has been advising people to picket the builder at their developments. You used to have to call your jurisdiction to find out how to go about picketing, and make sure that you never said slanderous things about the builder's character. But today instead of physically picketing, people take their ire online. Business Week did a report on homeowners who have set up gripe websites. Some builders have even fought back by trying to put clauses in their contracts that aim to silence you if you do business with them. That's an infringement of free speech. A builder who is afraid of the truth is not someone you want as a business partner.

Clark knows that building a house is difficult and involves a lot of micro-management with all the day laborers and subcontractors. He advises people not to close on their home until all the contractual items are complete. If you're getting pressure to close anyway, consider hiring a lawyer to withhold money in escrow to cover any outstanding issues. This practice, known as retainage, is a standard set at 10 percent in the commercial market. Just remember that once a builder completes your house, you're yesterday's news. The only reason they have to care about you is their reputation. So consider taking your battle online if need be.

When you buy something that turns out to be wrong, it's important to know how to return it. Clark prefers to deal with stores with unlimited return policies, but not all of them make it easy. And that matters to consumers. The Harris pollsters state that 91% of people choose whether or not to buy at a store based on its return policy. It's the most important thing people name in determining whether they'll buy in the first place. But retailers worry about fraud when items are returned, because it's become a big problem. It's a challenge for them to deal with fraud without treating the regular customer like dirt. Clark's advice to retailers: be friendly about returns, and make it easy for your customers. It will create real customer loyalty and good will, which means higher sales for your business.

There are “moisture” strips inside cell phones that show whether your phone has gotten wet or been submerged. Cell phone companies use these like law to void your warranty and deny you repair service. The cell companies claim they are “foolproof,” but in fact, according to the New York Post, they are faulty lots of times. It’s been proven that just by putting a damp cloth next to the phone, you can change the color of the strip! So if you have a problem with your cell phone, and you were told your warranty is void because you got it wet (when you know you really didn’t), here’s what Clark recommends. Find an old cell phone you’re not using anymore, take it back to the store, put a damp cloth near the strip on the battery, and prove to them right there that the strip is not accurate!

Clark is constantly amazed that so many companies think that it's OK to treat their customers horribly, with what he calls Customer No-Service policies. "Customer care" employees are given almost no power these days to fix problems, and in some cases, are actually ordered to try to sell you new services and products when you're calling with a problem. Another stupid thing they do: they only offer good deals to new customers. Businesses should reward customers for their loyalty, but that's not the way it is. According to a survey in USA Today, Customer Service is the #1 reason people choose to stay with a company long-term. (Product quality is a distant second, and price a distant third.) It sometimes seems that these companies are following in the footsteps of the dinosaurs...the bigger they get, the smaller their brains get. And we know what happened to the dinosaurs!

The Midwest chain Meijers supermarkets made a big mistake recently. A computer malfunction made everything half price for everyone that shopped there that day. Some customers realized that they had gotten too good of a deal and offered to pay the amount over that they received. Meijers however decided to let the customers keep all the money that they had mistakingly given away. 1.5 million dollars was the total loss on the day because of the malfunction. This is one of those good stories about capitalism. It shows that there are good companies such as Meijers and they are getting great publicity for the fact that they did an amazing thing for their customers. All the publicity they received is probably well worth the 1.5 million dollars lost. The businesses that have their main focus on the customer are the ones who do well.

The monopoly phone companies are trying to break into the television industry. Verizon, AT&T and others, which have become irrelevant in the antiquated home phone industry, are becoming now key third competitors in the local TV business. This is great for the consumer to have other options and more ability to fire your TV company for bad service or high prices. So look in your market to see if it is close to happening where you are. Also, don’t deal with the companies that have terrible customer-no-service. This extra competition would be just one more avenue for the consumer if they are treated wrongly.

You’ve heard Clark make fun of Whole Foods (“Whole Paycheck”), a gourmet food and organic marketplace . Whole Foods has been trying to buy a competitor called Wild Oats, a store that has a similar look and feel. The Federal government is blocking them from merging, saying it will be bad for competition, resulting in higher prices, reduced quality and fewer choices for consumers. Clark thinks there are more important things for the government to focus on, and it’s a waste of taxpayer dollars. There’s nothing about Whole Foods that other stores can not copy. Retail is one of the most competitive markets we have in the States. If you don’t like a store, you don’t have to shop there. You go somewhere else. So, the government is out of line to interfere in the merger of these two ultra-high-priced companies. They’ve earned their position in the market and the government should butt out.

The workout facility Bally’s is going to be filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy but will stay in business. There are a few things you have to keep in mind when you are searching for a work out club though. Don’t sign a contract! If the club feels confident that they have a good product, why do they need to rope you in for three years? Look for good customer service. If you are new to the work out club game especially, you want to go somewhere where they have people walking the floor to help you if you have questions.

For the first time ever, people are buying more clothing than electronics. One of the most customer-friendly and popular sites is zappos.com. They offer shoes, accessories and other apparel and there is no shipping – even if you’re returning. They have a one-year return policy, which is unheard of the in shoe industry. Online clothing retailers have electronic sizing on their sites nowadays, so the potential for correct fitting is much better. Another popular site is bluenile.com, which is outselling Tiffany’s in engagement rings. Both of these companies keep the focus on the customer and that is why they’ve been so successful. Other companies should take a hint and try it.

It seems that the bigger companies get, the smaller their brains become. Let’s take Circuit City for example. The powers that be thought it would be a great idea to get rid of all the seasoned salespeople who had a ton of knowledge about the business and its products. So, they fired thousands of veteran employees. The thinking was that the workers were getting paid too much money and it was taking away from company profits. Well, the company just reported its most recent sales figures and they were horrible. Turns out that they hired people who don’t know the business and, therefore, customers are getting lousy service. Go figure! The company has basically ousted two groups of people – workers and customers. Next, we have the cell phone industry. Recent news reports show that Verizon added just under 2 million customers in 90 days. Meanwhile, in the same period of time, Sprint lost over 1 million customers. Sprint has horrible customer service, and Clark can vouch for that. He recently spent an hour on hold in a Sprint store while waiting for an overseas tech who could help him. The "customer service reps" in the store didn't know how to address his problem. So, while Clark waited on the phone, the original Sprint official left to get lunch and then went in the back of the store to eat it. So vote with your wallet and your feet, and go where you’re treated well.

Do you ever feel like you get no help when you walk into stores these days? It’s especially apparent at the big box retailers. So, what do you do if you’re a small business, trying to stay alive when the big boys move into town? Clark read a story in the L.A. Times about a small hardware store that is still kicking despite the fact that a Home Depot set up shop across the street. The small outfit was quaking at first, but instead of folding the company stayed alive by offering customer service. They greeted customers at the door and offered help and feedback for customers. They also went to the Home Depot and found the items they didn’t have that people might like to have. It was a recipe for success. The company is not only still kicking but is also solidly profitable. In fact, sales are almost back to where they were when Home Depot arrived. Congratulations to the store owners for sticking it out!

In corporate America, it seems that the bigger businesses get the less customer service they offer. Two new surveys show that people aren’t taking it anymore. In the first - by Accenture - half of the people fired the company if they got crummy service. According to a survey by Discover, the most important thing people want is to talk to someone quickly and get their issue resolved quickly. People get annoyed if they have to wait more than two minutes. If you’re waiting longer than three minutes, things could get ugly. So, who expects better service? Women overwhelmingly demand better service. The most demanding group is women 18 to 34 years old.

Business Week has written a story about companies that were once considered power houses and now have fallen apart. The story attributes the downfall to one thing: poor customer service. Two of the companies are Home Depot and Dell. Home Depot has lost its way because it de-emphasized customer service. By comparison, Lowe’s has kept the focus on the customer and has been doing terrific in recent years. Home Depot says it plans to change things around but Clark is skeptical. As for Dell, the story is similar. Dell has continued to outsource most of its customer service and it has hurt them. In the month of November, 3,000 Dell customers had to wait at least a half hour to talk to a human. Dell says it plans to hire a bunch more people to help with customer service. Clark has a lot of faith in this company, especially because Michael Dell is involved. Companies must keep the focus on the customer in order to remain a top-notch company.

Clark gets a lot of feedback on Internet phone calling services, both good and bad. It’s still not mainstream in the U.S., but it’s growing every day. Recently, the feedback has been negative, especially regarding Vonage. The complaints about Vonage involve the company’s poor customer service and technical support, and it’s causing people to drop the service. Clark has used Vonage for years and he hasn’t had much trouble. But the churn rate is more than 2 percent right now, which is high. In addition, the Wall Street Journal contacted Vonage to ask about the complaints and no one respond. That’s just not smart. This is a critical time for Vonage, especially with the recent flubbed public offering. Reputation matters and Vonage needs to step up and fix its problems. The other issue is that there is no regulating body in the Internet phone service, so Vonage hasn’t had any incentive to work on its customer service problems. It will just mean other companies will join the market and people will go with the best one.

How would you like to have a company with your name on it that is known for its bad customer service and shoddy business practices? That happened to Charles Schwab not too long ago. But he’s changed his image for the better once again. Schwab revolutionized the stock buying system as we know it today. But several years ago, the company came under different leadership and started charging mean-spirited junk fees. Its reputation tanked and Schwab’s name suffered. He came out of retirement and did away with the fees. He also started treating customers the way they should be treated again and now Schwab is turning a huge profit. The two go hand in hand, and more companies – like Home Depot – should remember that.

Would you rather do business with companies that treat you well or treat you like dirt? It’s a no-brainer. And, each quarter, the University of Michigan gives you that information on a silver platter. This quarter, UM rated the top customer service oriented companies in the airline, fast food and phone industries. In the cell phone industry, T-Mobile and Verizon were listed as the best. Cingular, Nextel and Sprint tied for dead last. In the traditional phone business, AT&T, Verizon, BellSouth and Quest all got lousy scores. The top company was Cox Communications, which provides cable and phone out West. In the pay TV industry, DirecTV got top honors, followed by Dish. The cable companies – Comcast and Charter – were ranked toward the end. What about the airline industry? The best airline without question was Southwest, and the other discounters fared pretty well. The worst by far was Northwest. The only full fare airline that got a half decent rating was Continental. As far as fast food, Papa John’s got the highest score for the second year in a row, and McDonald’s brought up the rear. Overall, the cable industry got the lowest score of any of them.

The University of Michigan is famous for its customer service surveys, which are done quarterly every year. The most recent survey involved retail organizations including department stores, warehouse clubs and online stores. The No. 1 retailer overall this time was Amazon.com. In fact, the company received the second highest score its ever gotten. Barnes and Noble’s online store tied with Amazon, but the actual retail store did not. So overall the company needs some help. And the worst score went to Home Depot. Clark doesn’t normally buy individual stocks, but he has owned Home Depot stock for years. Yet when he goes to home improvement stores, he chooses Lowe’s. Incidentally, Lowe’s, on the other hand, did very well in the survey. In the supermarket business, Publix received top honors while Wal-Mart was last. In the shopping arena, Kohl’s was on top and Costco Wholesale was No. 2. Electronics stores did very poorly in the survey overall while banks did better than they have in the past. The greatest comeback was Bank of America, which twice received the lowest score of any company ever. The best of the big banks was Wachovia and the lowest went to Wells Fargo. So, who will you do business with?

Talk about “customer no service!” One Comcast cable customer recently called the company several times to ask questions about her bill and her service, with which she was not happy. Instead of doing something about it, the customer service worker changed her name in the system to a very vulgar term and mailed her a new bill. In the address window, the woman’s name had been changed. Take the word “witch” and put a “b” in front of it, then follow it with the word “Dog.” That is what she saw in the name slot on her next cable bill when it arrived at her home, according to the Chicago Tribune. The company didn’t respond at first, but is now taking responsibility for the malicious move on the part of its employee. The good news is that the subscription television industry is changing. Our choices have been limited to cable and satellite only thus far. But there is a new player in town called IPTV or Internet Protocol TV. The programs come from the telephone company through your phone line, and it’s starting first in Texas. Apparently, the picture is crystal clear and prices should be competitive.

Clark recently got a letter from the payroll service he uses for the show that left him with a bad taste in his mouth. The letter essentially said that the company is “discontinuing” its Client Service Center in India. The company was bombarded with complaints from people who are not happy about competing with foreign sources for business. With the letter, the company proudly declared that it listened to its customers and would keep the service centers in the States. But getting rid of a call center does not make sense to Clark. Having a helpful center, wherever it is, will help businesses thrive. Why not offer customers a choice instead. E-loan recently tried that approach. The company offered customers a choice of having their loan processed in India or in the United States. The majority of customers chose India. That’s the beauty of free trade. You go where the most efficient service is. It’s a whole new way of looking at this issue, and maybe more of us need to do just that.

Hate sites for restaurant workers are all the rage these days. Servers, for example, now have their own sites for griping about customers. Chefs also post on these sites, which include bitterwaitress.com and stainedapron.com. Most of the posts involve bad tippers, and the fact that Europeans are notoriously bad. Some of the posts involve what the servers do to our food out of spite. But Clark wants you to know that the people who actually post on these sites are a tiny fraction of those working in the business. Most are not that unhappy. And if they are, they change careers.

Clark hears about “customer no service” every day on the show. Sometimes people get help; sometimes they don’t. And with all of the customer service being outsourced these days, it’s no wonder consumers feel helpless. One story that recently caught Clark’s attention involved a woman named Bernice who has long distance with Verizon. Her payment was incorrectly entered as $6,858 instead of $68.58. So, she called customer service several times to no avail. Her son then got involved and complained to people in the executive offices. All of a sudden, within a week, Bernice got a refund check. It’s amazing what people can accomplish when they push their way to a supervisor or to the executive level. Yet, only 5 percent of us ever push it past the first level and ask for a supervisor, according to a consulting firm. The rest of us just go away dejected. You don’t want to cuss or scream, but fight for your rights and take it to whatever level you need to. Unfortunately, a fraction of 1 percent of people try to reach the executive level. Look at press releases from companies and find out the names of the executives in charge. Ask for them by name, and you’ll get to their department much quicker. State the problem and solution briefly and ask for what you want. It works!

Clark has always believed companies that treat their employees well also treat their customers well and do better over time. Now, he has actual proof. Each quarter, the University of Michigan releases research on industries and companies in those industries, detailing how consumers feel about them. Whenever a company’s customer satisfaction rating goes down in the Michigan survey, the company suffers down the road. It usually happens about two years after the statistics are released or after two companies merge. The supermarket industry, for example, has been in the survey for 10 years. And for 10 years, it has been named the best. That company is Publix. As a result, Publix is spreading from Florida and the Southeast to all over the nation. On the other hand, supermarkets that ranked at the bottom of the list are now all in financial trouble. In the retail biz, Costco and Kohl’s tied for first place. Wachovia ranked very high among the giant banks out there, while other mega banks did very poorly. If you want the best service, go to a credit union or smaller bank, according to the survey. But the industry with the lowest score of any on this survey was health care insurance. We simply loathe this industry, and something must change. For all of the results, click here.

The University of Michigan’s Customer Service Satisfaction Survey is a respected index that the school publishes every 90 days. The most recent research focused on the computer industry, the home appliance industry and the automotive industry. On the computer front, Apple got the best rating. Compaq earned the worst score of any company. Compaq is going through a merger with HP, and that is usually a recipe for disaster, at least for a while. How about Internet services? AOL again got the worst score. You would think that such a high-priced service would at least offer help to its customers. But Clark recommends against signing up with AOL for Internet service. When it comes to major appliances, Kenmore is the best. In fact, Kenmore, Sears’ private label, got the best number of any other category in the index. The lowest household appliance brand was GE. As for carmakers, Lincoln-Mercury got top honors. Honda was next, followed by BMW and Toyota. The lowest score for customer satisfaction went to Dodge. The second worst was Ford. Just above Ford were Chevrolet and Jeep.

Have you ever called a customer service number and the person on the other end has an American name but an Indian accent? You’re most likely talking to someone in India. It’s just that customer service centers in India have their employees use fake names to make the experience more “American.” Apparently, being more American means treating customers poorly as well, because customer service companies are also teaching Indian employees to be rude to callers. Traditionally, Indian people are very polite and speaking to them can be a pleasant experience. But being too polite is not a good thing, according to American customer service companies. The companies are very upset over the fact that their Indian employees are too accommodating. They have even shown their Indian employees episodes of “Ally McBeal” and “Friends” to learn how to act American. These are called “transformation courses,” if you can believe it. What is wrong employees who set out to provide help to customers? No customer should be treated poorly, and Clark hopes people in India continue to be polite and upbeat. It really pays off for the customer.

Clark talks a lot about customer no service. It’s something that corporate America works overtime to try and provide us. They don’t seem to understand that it’s cheaper to keep an existing customer than to go find a new one. But there is some good news on this front. One of the hottest waves in consulting is to look at a business through the eyes of a customer, according to Business Week. There is suddenly a realization that you really have to abide by the adage that “the customer is king.” For a while, everything was about “right sizing” and seizing market share through buying up competitors. But now companies have figured out that making an experience positive for a customer will make them more money. Companies are bringing in anthropologists, psychologists who work side by side with executives. They brainstorm about how the customer sees things, and they make suggestions about how to change things. Not your typical consultant, but they’re actually getting things done. One of the companies mentioned in the story is Kaiser Permanente. The execs were considering building bigger centers with fancier furniture. But they learned that what people really wanted was to be treated with respect and dignity, and not be left alone in a room naked for a half hour, waiting for a doctor. They didn’t give a hoot about how the building looked. So be smart about keeping a customer, instead of spending a ton to bring in new ones.

You’ve probably heard Clark refer to customer service as “customer no service.” It seems companies try to treat customers as badly as possible so that they become ex-customers. It costs companies a fortune to try and capture a customer, but they do nothing to keep the ones they have. The University of Michigan’s Customer Satisfaction Index found that the average customer service score among 40 industries was a 57. The perfect score is 100, so that is really sad. In fact, the survey found that companies handle complaints so badly that more than 80 percent drive customers away. The other big trend in customer no service is call volume. Companies judge their customer service reps on how many calls they handle per hour. So if you feel you’re being rushed off the phone, you probably are. If these companies invested more money in keeping customers, they would see so many benefits. But they don’t seem to realize what other companies that put a priority on customer service have proved.

Clark read a research report from the company "Strativity" that showed how little corporate America focuses on people as customers. Of all the corporate executives interviewed, only half thought their company deserved customers’ business. By their own admission, companies have no idea why they would deserve your business. Only a third say they have the tools in place to resolve problems for customers. And, half of all corporate executives have no interaction with customers – ever. How will the rest of the people know what the focus of the company is based on customer reactions if the CEOs and VPs don’t know. Executives at most companies are so far removed from customers these days that no one knows how to relate to their needs. That’s why it’s important for customers to tell those at the top just what’s on their minds. You can do this by looking at press releases and other articles about the companies that include the names of the big wigs. You’re the one who has got to get service from a company.

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.

You may not know it, but there is a rapid shift going on in the supermarket business these days. The tumult in the industry is apparent everywhere, including in California where a brutal strike has been going on for months. Three major chains have been on strike after being told by management that they are going to have to work for less. In the upper Midwest, Farmer Jacks is converting many of its stores into “food basics,” according to the Detroit News. This means that the stores will be stripped only to the basics, and customers will be able to get deals on non-perishable items. There will be very limited numbers of perishable items. So, the supermarket business is going through a huge change much like it did in the 50s, and supermarkets will not be “one size fits all.” Some will have tons of different things going on inside like flower shops, banks, pharmacies and video stores. While others such as Aldi will be open very limited hours and will have a very limited supply of food. More and more stores are taking a tip from the Wal-Mart handbook and are giving people more of what they want - better prices.

---

Speaking of shopping, how do you feel about check out lines at grocery stores? Kroger is experimenting with having all lines open 24 hours a day, so no one has to wait. But not all stores can do this. So, what if you never had to “check out” and wait in those lines at all. One store in Germany called the Metro group is eliminating lines as we know them. In these stores, you use a smart card to “ring up” items as you put them in your cart. So, there is no check out when you’re ready to leave. You card has been charged and you simply walk out. Think about it. We fill up our carts, one item at a time, only to empty them back out when we’re ready to pay. It’s not very efficient. We may be five years or more away from this in the States, but it will happen.

When you call a “customer service center,” you’ve probably gotten no service on occasion. Typically, when people have problems with a company, getting that problem resolved can be very difficult. A while ago, Money Magazine recently researched this topic by trying to figure out - among other things - how to defeat phone systems that send you into automatic voicemail systems. Now, J.D. Power is addressing the same topic. The company is rating various call centers around the country and is assigning each one a grade from A to F. There are more than 100,000 “customer service” call centers around the country, according to Business Week. So, each one will get a certification grade on how well they treat and handle customers. Most of the time when you call these centers, you do not talk to someone who works for the company. Companies outsource the customer service work, so you’re mostly likely talking to a third-party company. It’s really not smart to neglect this part of the business equation because it is so much cheaper to keep a customer than it is to try to lure in a new one in. It costs cell phone operators between $400 and $600 to replace a customer. So, making an unhappy customer a little happier will save everyone a lot of hassle.