Consumers Most Likely to Forgive USAA and Credit Unions After Bad Experience

USAA is among the companies consumers are most likely to forgive in the event of a bad experience, according to a survey conducted by customer experience research outfit Temkin Group.

On the other end of the spectrum, Bank of America, Citigroup and HSBC were among the companies that cutovers are least likely to forgive.

In addition to USAA, the survey found that credit unions in general,along with H.E.B., Hy-Vee, Dollar Rent A Car, Chick-fil-A, Publix, Costco, and Amazon.com are the companies consumers will forgive easily if they deliver a bad experience. The survey was polled 10,000 U.S. consumers during the month of January.

According to the Temkin Group research, grocery chains have earned the most forgiveness from consumers followed by retailers, appliance makers, and parcel delivery services. But consumers are not very likely to forgive mistakes by credit card issuers, Internet service providers, and television service providers.

Temkin Group also analyzed changes in the ratings between 2011 and 2012 and found that consumers are more forgiving this year than they were last year. Led by banks and insurance carriers, all 12 industries that were in both the 2011 and 2012 Temkin Forgiveness Ratings showed improvement, the firm said.

[Q&A: Bruce Temkin on Customer Retention]

Bryan Yurcan is associate editor for Bank Systems and Technology. He has worked in various editorial capacities for newspapers and magazines for the past 8 years. After beginning his career as a municipal and courts reporter for daily newspapers in upstate New York, Bryan has ... View Full Bio