We’re partial to a shiny best-of round-up, especially when reflecting on the year gone by.
But many Americans would agree: 2016 was quite the train wreck. So let’s pause for a moment to look at something that’s plainly the worst: firms with abysmal customer service.
Using scores from J.D. Power, the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), Glassdoor employee feedback and its own annual satisfaction poll, 24/7 Wall St. compiled a list of America’s most-hated companies.
Think you can guess which firms ended up on it?
Drumroll, please…
10. Sprint
Sprint posts the lowest ACSI score among wireless carriers and has the poorest customer service rating of the more than 100 companies 24/7 Wall St. surveyed. On top of that, many subscribers are simply exasperated with the product. Mobile-performance researcher Rootmetrics found Sprint lagged behind Verizon and AT&T across multiple performance metrics.
9. Sears
Apparently shoppers and staff both have little affection for this retailer. Sears ranks near the bottom among department stores in ACSI ratings. Employees aren’t thrilled either, giving the company below-average marks on Glassdoor. Fewer than one in three workers would endorse a job there to a friend, citing “low pay and unprofessional upper management,” according to 24/7 Wall St.
8. DISH
Customers have come to brace themselves for poor service from pay-TV providers, and DISH is no exception. In 24/7 Wall St.’s poll, 47% of participants reported a negative customer-service encounter with the satellite provider. The animosity isn’t limited to consumers. “Few companies are disliked by their own employees as much as DISH,” the report notes. It has one of the lowest employee-satisfaction scores among major firms on Glassdoor, with only 38% of staff willing to recommend working there — maybe to an enemy, perhaps?
7. Spirit
Ah, an airline that may as well advertise, “You get what you pay for.” As you might expect, Spirit is the lowest-scoring carrier in ACSI’s rankings — and a frequent target of ire on Twitter. “Poor customer service is typically not a point of pride for any company,” 24/7 Wall St. observes. “However, for many years, it was a part of Spirit Airlines’ marketing strategy.” Lately many competitors have matched Spirit’s low fares while offering a superior passenger experience.
6. Facebook
Disliking a company doesn’t necessarily mean abandoning its services. Facebook’s nearly 200 million U.S. users remain uneasy about privacy and data collection… buuuttt how else would we discover which Harry Potter character our friends would be in a zombie apocalypse? The platform also faces criticism for content posted by its worst actors. The public holds Facebook responsible for the spread of fake news, even as the company insists it isn’t a media organization.
5. Wells Fargo
No surprise here. Wells Fargo took a major hit in public esteem, especially during a year already overloaded with negative headlines. In the fall, the bank agreed to pay $185 million to settle claims that employees manufactured millions of unauthorized accounts. Beyond the scandal, Wells Fargo was among the most-complained-about banks (by transaction volume) in 2016. Don’t forget the lingering class-action suits as well.
4. McDonald’s
America’s relationship with this fast-food behemoth has been a long-running love-hate saga. People resent its push to get us to eat unhealthy and oversized portions, and they criticize its anti-union stance and low wages. Yet billions of customers can’t resist its salty allure. While service expectations are modest in fast food, “McDonald’s has the worst customer service rating of all 17 industry competitors reviewed by ACSI,” 24/7 Wall St. reports. Yikes.
3. Mylan
The web erupted when EpiPen maker Mylan raised the price of the life-saving device dramatically. Although the company quickly introduced a savings program and later launched a generic EpiPen, many allergy sufferers remain unhappy. The EpiPen pricing kerfuffle isn’t Mylan’s only pharmaceutical headache, but it’s the most visible.
2. Bank of America
Given the bank’s role in the big recession and the historic bailout earlier this century, Bank of America could use some goodwill from customers. That’s not happening. In 24/7 Wall St.’s survey, roughly 44% of respondents reported an unfavorable experience with BofA’s banking or credit-card services. It ranked among the worst firms overall in the poll. Employee issues haven’t helped either: the company paid $2 million in 2013 to settle claims of a decade-long pattern of racial discrimination against 1,100 workers and also settled a gender-bias lawsuit more recently.
1. Comcast
Surprised? Probably not. Comcast has repeatedly earned the dubious honor of America’s worst company, and 2016 was no exception. Comcast sits atop two of the industries with the lowest ACSI averages — internet and pay-TV — yet its customer-satisfaction scores trail even those low industry means. Plainly put: Comcast is the worst of the worst. Wear that crown proudly, Comcast.
Your turn: Do you think these are the worst companies in the U.S.? What changes would you recommend?
Alex Monroe is a staff writer at Savinly. He’s contributed to HuffPost, Entrepreneur.com and Writer’s Digest, aiming for humor where it fits (and sometimes where it doesn’t). Ready to stop worrying about money? Get the Savinly Daily Email address Privacy Policy
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