10 companies that treat you right

5. Apple: In the MSN Money-Zogby poll, 38.9% of people familiar with Apple rated the computer and electronics company's customer service "excellent."

Apple didn't respond to questions about this survey. The consumer-electronics company has always had a core group of zealous fans, and that base got a giant boost with the highly trumpeted release of the iPhone last year, as well as the continued popularity of its iPod, iTunes and sleek PowerBook laptops.

"What's driving the numbers is the strong brand recognition," said Michael Moaz, a research vice president for Gartner, an information-technology advisory firm. "Strong branding, solid engineering and a fairly simple product is what's carrying them."

	Excellent	Good	Fair	Poor
Apple	38.92%	38.78%	14.34%	7.96%

6. Whole Foods Market: In the MSN Money-Zogby poll, 36.8% of people familiar with Whole Foods Market rated the grocery chain's customer service "excellent."

Since opening its doors in 1980, the natural-food seller has strived for a team environment. Pay for top executives is capped at 19 times the company average; 90% of stock is held by nonexecutives; compensation amounts are published; and workers hold biannual "town hall meetings."

The result: low turnover and a spot on Fortune's "100 Best Companies to Work For" list in each of the ranking's 11 years. On the floor, "team members" are given the leeway to walk customers to an item and break it open for a lingering taste test.

"These are the things that make people feel like we're all in this together," said Walter Robb, Whole Foods' co-president and chief operating officer. "Happy team members make happy customers."

7. Publix: In the MSN Money-Zogby poll, 36.1% of people familiar with Publix rated the grocery chain's customer service "excellent."

Privately owned and operated by its 142,000 employees, the Southeastern chain of grocery stores takes service seriously, and always has, since its founding in 1930 by George "Mr. George" Jenkins.

"Mr. George always said, 'If you take care of the product, it won't come back. If you take care of the customer, they'll always come back,'" spokeswoman Shannon Patten said. "It's a very simple philosophy that all our managers and our associates understand."

Clerks can win points for good service, and entire stores can win parties, Patten said. Publix also has made Fortune's "100 Best Companies to Work For" for the past 11 years.

8. American Express: In the MSN Money-Zogby poll, 31.8% of people familiar with American Express rated the credit card issuer's customer service "excellent."

Service has been the travel and card company's hallmark since its start as a freight business 125 years ago, said Jim Bush, the executive vice president of the service delivery network for American Express. "It carried us through wars, through natural disasters, and it carried us through day-to-day business with our customers."

Today it means reaching out to customers: Offering disaster victims help with credit or lodging; solving problems with merchants; gauging customer sentiment; even rooting out why someone filled in "poor" on a customer survey.

"Outstanding customer service is not cost-prohibitive," Bush said. "What we've found is that poor customer service is far more expensive."

9. Marriott: In the MSN Money-Zogby poll, 31.3% of people familiar with Marriott rated the hotel chain's customer service "excellent."

The hotel company revolutionized the way employees, from desk clerks to chief financial officers, are evaluated based on guest-satisfaction scores. The result is a culture where uncommon acts of concern -- such as a bellhop lending his shoes to a guest -- become not so uncommon, said Mike Jannini, the executive vice president of brand strategy and innovation for Marriott International.

The founders of the companies that make up Marriott's 19 brands "really believed that if you take great care of your associates, they'll take great care of your customers," he said.

"We sort of hire for heart and train for technical skills," Jannini said.

10. Hilton Hotels: In the MSN Money-Zogby poll, 30.9% of people familiar with Hilton rated the hotel chain's customer service "excellent."

Jim Hartigan, Hilton Hotels' senior vice president of customer, quality and performance support, said the Hilton "family" of nine hotel brands shares one philosophy: Be hospitable.

Rather than issue scripts, Hilton trains workers in the finer art of communication -- active listening and nonverbal perception -- and at each level considers guest satisfaction as highly as earnings.

"We have a significant investment," Hartigan said. "(But) if you think training's expensive, try ignorance."

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