Press Release Headlines

USAA Earns Highest Consumer Trust Ratings According to Temkin Group Research

Third Annual Temkin Trust Ratings Evaluates 246 Companies Across 19 Industries

WABAN, Mass., June 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — Based on a study of 10,000 U.S consumers, USAA has earned the most trust from its customers. In the third annual Temkin Trust Ratings of 246 companies across 19 industries, two of USAA's business areas —insurance and banking—topped the list of companies. USAA's credit card business was also ranked sixth. The other companies in the top 10 of the ratings are credit unions, Publix, H.E.B., Amazon.com, Trader Joe's, Charles Schwab, and Sam's Club.

Not all companies have earned their customers' trust. HSBC earned two of the bottom three spots for its credit card and banking businesses. TV service providers and Internet service providers dominate the bottom of the ratings, collectively taking 10 of the bottom 15 spots. The other companies in the bottom 15 are US Airways, CareFirst, and T-Mobile.

"Trust is a precious asset that companies can only earn when they consistently focus on the needs of their customers," states Bruce Temkin, Managing Partner of Temkin Group.

Here are some additional highlights from the 2013 Temkin Trust Ratings:

  • Six companies earned Temkin Trust Ratings that are 20 percentage points or more above their industry average: USAA (banking, credit cards, insurance carriers), credit unions (banking), TriCare (health plans), and Kaiser Permanente (health plans).
  • Four companies earned Temkin Trust Ratings that are 20 percentage points or more below their industry average: HSBC (banking and credit cards), US Airways (airlines), 21st Century (insurance carriers).

Temkin Group examined year-over-year results. Here are some highlights of that analysis:

  • Over half of the 204 companies that were in the 2012 and 2013 ratings showed improvement.
  • The five companies that showed the largest improvement over the previous year are Citigroup, Hyundai, Alaska Airlines, Bank of America, and Continental Airlines.
  • The five companies that showed the largest decline over the previous year are Cox Communications, Fifth Third, HSBC, PNC, and JCPenney.
  • Of the 18 industries in the 2013 and 2013 ratings, 14 showed some improvement. Software, credit card issuers, rental car agencies, and banks improved the most while TV service providers and retailers declined the most.

The 2013 Temkin Trust Ratings cover the following industries: Airlines, appliance makers, auto dealers, banks, car rental agencies, computer makers, credit card issuers, fast food chains, grocery chains, health plans, hotel chains, insurance carriers, Internet service providers, investment firms, parcel delivery services, retailers, software firms, TV service providers, and wireless carriers.

This results can be accessed from the blog, Customer Experience Matters, at ExperienceMatters.wordpress.com as well as from the Temkin Ratings website, www.TemkinRatings.com.

For more information about Temkin Group, visit www.TemkinGroup.com.

About Temkin Group: Temkin Group is widely recognized as a leading customer experience research and consulting firm. Many of the world's largest brands rely on its insights and advice to steer their transformational journeys. Temkin Group combines customer experience thought leadership with a deep understanding of the dynamics of organizations to help accelerate results. Rather than layering on cosmetic changes, Temkin Group helps companies embed practices within their culture by building four critical competencies: Purposeful Leadership, Employee Engagement, Compelling Brand Values, and Customer Connectedness. The firm's ongoing research identifies leading and emerging best practices across a wide range of activities for engaging the hearts and minds of customers, employees, and partners. For more information, contact Bruce Temkin at 617-916-2075 or send an email.

About Bruce Temkin: Bruce Temkin is widely recognized as a customer experience thought leader and is Customer Experience Transformist and Managing Partner of Temkin Group. He is also the author of a very popular blog, Customer Experience Matters® (ExperienceMatters.wordpress.com). Prior to forming Temkin Group, he was a VP at Forrester Research for 12 years. Bruce is a highly demanded speaker who consistently receives high marks for his content-rich, entertaining keynote addresses. He is also the co-founder and Chair of the Customer Experience Professionals Association (CXPA.org), a global non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of customer experience management.

Customer experience matters is a registered trademark of Temkin Group.