There are some companies out there that are HORRIBLE. They’re the ones that make you roll your eyes and sigh a few times when you hear their respective names. Of course, that’s not healthy. But you can sometimes feel a little better about the whole thing when someone else agrees with you; a someone who or a something that justifies what you’re feeling about those lousy places that give you nothing but agida (Hey, I’m from NY…look it up LOLOL). Welp, an online site called 24/7 Wall Street came out earlier this year with its list of the top 20 of American’s Most Hated Companies of 2019 and lo and behold (and to no surprise to anybody), a few of them are in the travel industry. Take a look…
Here’s how they determined these rankings:
To identify the most hated companies in America, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed a variety of metrics on customer service, employee satisfaction, brand value, and financial performance. We considered consumer surveys from a number of sources, including the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). We also considered large declines in a brand’s value from sources like BrandZ and Interbrand. We also reviewed employee satisfaction based on worker opinion scores on Glassdoor — this is not a Glassdoor commissioned report. We also accounted for current events that have impacted the public’s perception of the companies.
20. Snapchat
19. Pacific Gas & Electric
18. Alorica
17. Purdue Pharmaceuticals
16. Johnson & Johnson
15. The Fresh Market
14. Motel 6 – The hotel chain recently settled two class-action lawsuits, one filed by several Latinx guests in Arizona, and one by the State of Washington, which both stated Motel 6 violated their own privacy policy by sharing information with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. Motel 6 also has a long history of poor customer service.
13. Mediacom
12. Twitter
11. MoviePass
10. GE
9. Wells Fargo
8. Spirit Airlines – No huge surprise here. In 24/7 Wall Street’s list of most hated companies last year, Spirit ranked #9 (it also ranked #7 in 2017, #8 in 2016, #2 in 2015 and #8 in 2014). Here’s what we wrote about them in 2018:
“Because flying can often be stressful, many airlines attempt to make the experience as comfortable as possible for their customers. Spirit Airlines follows a different philosophy, aiming to strip air travel down to its basics by ensuring no frills, inexpensive flights.
This business model, however, is not always appreciated. Spirit has the absolute lowest customer satisfaction score among airlines, according to the ACSI, with a rating of 61 out of 100, compared to the industry average of 75. Additionally, 44.4% of respondents in the customer service poll commissioned with Zogby reported a negative experience with the company. This is the third largest share among all the companies considered.”
Yeah, yeah, I know, I know…Spirit is doing better. I know they partnered with Disney to increase their customer service, and they’re getting better at being on time. But really, when you practically need a road map to find out how much your final ticket price will be because they nickel and dime you for everything, how good can they be? Sure, some people swear by them. But me? Thanks, no thanks and sorry, not sorry.
7. CBS
6. Frontier Communications
5. Washington Redskins
4. Juul Labs (they make e-cigarettes)
3. Vice News
2. Eli Lilly
1. Facebook
Notably missing from the 2019 list that were on previous lists are United Airlines (#19 in their 2018 report) and Uber (#14 in 2018, #6 in 2014). Not that either company has improved all that much, IMHO…I just think that other companies – apparently lots of medical and social media ones in particular – are just that much worse.
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
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