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Video Tops In Customer Satisfaction; Whirlpool Lead Majaps

ANN ARBOR, MICH. –

Video products scored highest
in customer satisfaction for the second consecutive year
among 47 consumer industries tracked by the American
Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI).

Video, specifically TVs and Blu-ray Disc and DVD
players, scored a chart-topping 85 on the index’s 0- to
100-point scale, unchanged from last year, thanks to
consumer perceptions of high quality and price cuts
on panels and BD players, ACSI’s latest consumer
surveys show.

Video has been a longtime leader in customer satisfaction,
according to the research group, which measures
customer contentment with more than 225 companies in
47 industries based on interviews with 70,000 consumers
annually.

The aggregate score for all durable goods manufacturers
this year is 82.3.

“Customers are upgrading to TVs that provide better
picture quality, more features and save space, while the
BD format is becoming more widely available and affordable,”
said ACSI founder Claes Fornell. “Clearly, customers
are pleased with what this industry has to offer them.”

In contrast, major appliances slipped 1.2 percent to
score an 81 on the index, which ACSI still considers a solid grade. Each of the industry’s three largest players
saw some slippage in customer satisfaction, although
the change for Whirlpool was minimal (-1 percent), which
helped it solidify its lead over GE and Electrolux.

While Whirlpool’s current score of 82 is not its best
over time, the company has been much more consistent
over the past three years than GE, whose customer satisfaction
scores have been more volatile and dropped 3
percent this year to 79. Electrolux also trails Whirlpool
and slipped 1 percent to 78, the lowest score for the
manufacturer since its inclusion in ACSI in 2006.

Small majap makers fared better. The aggregation
of “all other” appliance companies, including the Kenmore
brand, gained 3 percent to an industry-leading
score of 83, which was the highest level ever measured
for the group.

The satisfaction scores have proven to be strongly related
to a number of key micro and macroeconomic indicators,
ACSI said, including corporate earnings, stock
returns, consumer spending, and gross domestic product
growth. The index was developed at the University of
Michigan’s Ross School of Business.

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