WABAN, MASS. - Southwest Airlines, Alaska Airlines, and JetBlue Airlines deliver the best customer experience in the airline industry, according to the 2016 Temkin Experience Ratings, an annual customer experience ranking of companies based on a survey of 10,000 U.S. consumers.
Southwest Airlines took the top spot out of nine airlines in this year's ratings, earning a score of 75% and coming in 52nd place overall out of 294 companies across 20 industries. Alaska Airlines and JetBlue Airlines tied for second place, each with a rating of 62% and an overall rank of 135th.
Southwest has earned the highest score every year since the Ratings began in 2011, with the exception of 2015 when JetBlue shot up 15 percentage points to take first. This year, however, JetBlue's score decreased the most of any of the nine airlines evaluated, dropping 13 percentage points from 2015.
At the other end of the spectrum, Spirit Airlines received the lowest score in the industry with a rating of 40%, which put it in 284th place overall. US Airways was the only other airline to get a "very poor" rating (below 50%).
Overall, the airlines industry averaged a 56% rating in the 2016 Temkin Experience Ratings and tied for 12th place out of 20 industries. The average rating of the industry decreased by seven percentage points between 2015 and 2016, dropping from 63% to 56%.
"Congratulations to Southwest for its continued excellence throughout the years," states Bruce Temkin, managing partner of Temkin Group.
Here are some additional findings from the airline industry:
- The ratings of all airlines in the 2016 Temkin Experience Ratings are as follows: Southwest Airlines (67%), Alaska Airlines (62%), JetBlue Airlines (62%), Delta Airlines (59%), Virgin America (55%), American Airlines (52%), United Airlines (51%), US Airways (48%), and Spirit Airlines (40%).
- No airline improved its score between 2015 and 2016.
- JetBlue Airlines (-13 points) and Delta Airlines (-10 points) declined by the most percentage points between 2015 and 2016.
Now in its sixth year of publication, the 2016 Temkin Experience Ratings is the most comprehensive benchmark of customer experience in the industry, evaluating 294 companies across 20 industries: airlines, appliance makers, auto dealers, banks, car rental agencies, computer makers, credit card issuers, fast food chains, health plans, hotel chains, insurance carriers, Internet service providers, investment firms, parcel delivery services, retailers, software firms, supermarket chains, TV service providers, utilities, and wireless carriers.
To generate these ratings, Temkin Group asked 10,000 U.S. consumers to evaluate their recent experiences with a company across three dimensions: success (can you do what you want to do?), effort (how easy is it to work with the company), and emotion (how do you feel about the interactions?). Temkin Group then averaged these three scores to produce each company's Temkin Experience Rating.
Residence Inn, Holiday Inn Express, and Hilton Earn Top Customer Experience Ratings for Hotels
Residence Inn, Holiday Inn Express, and Hilton deliver the best customer experience in the hotel industry, according to the 2016 Temkin Experience Ratings, an annual customer experience ranking of companies based on a survey of 10,000 U.S. consumers.
Residence Inn, Holiday Inn Express, and Hilton deliver the best customer experience in the hotel industry, according to the 2016 Temkin Experience Ratings, an annual customer experience ranking of companies based on a survey of 10,000 U.S. consumers.
Residence Inn and Holiday Inn Express tied for the top spot out of 21 hotels in this year's ratings. Each earned a score of 71% and came in 42nd place overall out of 294 companies across 20 industries. Residence Inn and Holiday Inn Express were the only two hotels to improve their scores this year which, coupled with the significant decline in the other hotels' scores, gave them the boost they needed to reach the top. Hilton, meanwhile, came in second place with a rating of 69% and an overall rank of 60th.
At the other end of the spectrum, Motel 6 received the lowest score of any hotel, earning a rating of 41% and an overall rank of 283rd. Fairfield Inn and Days Inn also received "very poor" ratings (below 50%).
Overall, the hotel industry averaged a 60% rating in the 2016 Temkin Experience Ratings and came in 8th place out of 20 industries. The average rating of the industry decreased by six percentage points between 2015 and 2016, dropping from 66% to 60%.
"Unlike other industries in the ratings, hotels haven't had clear customer experience frontrunners, leaving the door open for Residence Inn and Holiday Inn Express to take up the mantle," states Bruce Temkin, managing partner of Temkin Group.
Here are some additional findings from the hotel industry:
- The ratings of all hotels in the 2016 Temkin Experience Ratings are as follows: Residence Inn (71%), Holiday Inn Express (71%), Hilton (69%), Marriot (68%), Wyndham (66%), Hampton Inn (64%), La Quinta Inn (64%), Sheraton (64%), Courtyard by Marriott (61%), Best Western (61%), Comfort Inn (60%), Hyatt (60%), Quality Inn (60%), Holiday Inn (59%), Crowne Plaza (55%), Radisson (55%), Westin (54%), Super 8 (50%), Fairfield Inn (48%), Days Inn (46%), and Motel 6 (41%),
- Holiday Inn Express (+3 points) and Residence Inn (+2 points) were the only hotels to improve their ratings between 2015 and 2016.
- Fairfield Inn (-17 points), Courtyard by Marriott (-13 points), and Westin (-13 points), declined by the most percentage-points between 2015 and 2016.
To generate these ratings, Temkin Group asked 10,000 U.S. consumers to evaluate their recent experiences with a company across three dimensions: success (can you do what you want to do?), effort (how easy is it to work with the company), and emotion (how do you feel about the interactions?). Temkin Group then averaged these three scores to produce each company's Temkin Experience Rating.
In these ratings, a score of 70% or above is considered "good," and a score of 80% or above is considered "excellent." In this year's Temkin Experience Ratings, 20% of companies earned a "good" or "excellent" score, while 44% received a "poor" or "very poor" score.
