10 companies that treat you right

By Karen Aho

Good customer service may not be as noticeable as the bad. A pleasant "How may I help you?" doesn't stick in the brain like 45 minutes listening to bad jazz while your phone company hunts down your bill.

But for the companies that do it right, good service has its rewards. Just take a look at the companies that were ranked as having the best service in a poll conducted by MSN Money and Zogby International: Nordstrom shares are up almost 200% this decade. In 1989, Trader Joe's had $150 million in sales; last year the number was $2.7 billion. Google shares are up more than 450% since its 2004 initial public offering.

After we published our second annual Customer Service Hall of Shame last month, some readers asked us for more information about the companies that had been ranked highest for service. Here's a rundown of the companies, ranked by the percentage of "excellent" scores they got in a survey that Zogby International conducted for MSN Money.

For a full ranking of the companies in our poll, click here.

The best customer service

1. Nordstrom: In the MSN Money-Zogby poll, 46.1% of people familiar with Nordstrom rated the department-store chain's customer service "excellent."

Is it Nordstrom's famous return policy? Actually, there isn't one, said spokesman Michael Boyd. Or a grand customer-service policy? Nordstrom, founded in 1901 by a Swedish immigrant as a Seattle shoe store, doesn't have any formal policy. The same goes for employee training. Workers are issued a one-page directive that states customer service is the top goal and contains just one rule: "Use good judgment in all situations."

The company applies that good judgment to news of its ranking. "We're flattered to hear about the results," Boyd said. "But we don't feel we're experts in customer service. It's certainly our No. 1 goal every day, but we certainly think we have plenty of room to improve.

"With all our stores across the country, right now there's probably a customer that we're disappointing. That's our focus: that it's something we should always be working on rather than touting."

2. Trader Joe's: In the MSN Money-Zogby poll, 44.8% of people familiar with Trader Joe's rated the grocery chain's customer service "excellent."

• Talk back: Which companies do you think do a good job?

Trader Joe's is a private company and said it doesn't discuss its customer service. However, the coast-to-coast chain of nearly 300 stores, fashioned after an island trading post, is well-known for its rotating selection of specialty items, low prices and friendly staff, many of whom seem visibly thrilled to be there, hardly a surprise given the store's competitive pay and part-timers' health benefits.

"People love an adventure, and that's what you find when you go there," said Len Lewis, the author of "The Trader Joe's Adventure," referring to the changing fare. "And, unlike mainstream supermarkets, these are a very engaging group of people. They hire them specifically for that. You can't get out of a Trader Joe's without at least three people asking you if you're finding what you're looking for."

3. Google: In the MSN Money-Zogby poll, 42.1% of people familiar with Google rated the online company's customer service "excellent."

Google, which created a search engine so popular it became a verb, said it doesn't talk about its customer service. However, as analysts point out, there's not much of it that's direct. Clients who buy its advertising software might have some contact with the company, but it's a small percentage of folks.

More likely, say the experts, is that people are thinking about the user experience itself when doling out high scores for customer service. Google, the most popular search engine in the world, is simple and easy to use, and delivers relevant search results. That appears to be enough.

4. Amazon.com: In the MSN Money-Zogby poll, 39.6% of people familiar with Amazon rated the online retailer's customer service "excellent."

"Amazon's philosophy, for as long as we've been a company, has been to be Earth's most customer-centric company," spokeswoman Patty Smith said. "With everything we do, we start with the customer, and we work backwards."

It's something the online store -- now selling books, CDs and, well, anything -- pays for. Take shipping: "Super Saver" provides free shipping for qualifying orders over $25; "Amazon Prime" offers unlimited two-day express shipping for $79 a year. The cost to Amazon: $476 million in the past 12 months alone.

It's partly in lieu of advertising, Smith said, and "that's what's going to keep the customer coming back."

Continued: Apple

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