Naughty & nice companies

Naughty & nice companies - Which companies are naughty, nice?. If Santa were to rate companies on their customer service policies, which ones would get lumps of coal in their holiday stockings this year? Consumer Reports released its 2011 Naughty & Nice Holiday List this week, with companies such as Verizon, The Swiss Colony and American Apparel scheduled to look for lumps of coal in their stockings next month.

Taking a cue from Santa Claus, the product-and-service-​review publication rated well-known companies on their behavior over the past year, specifically as related to their customer-service policies. The list is based on input from Consumer Reports editors and reporters covering companies offering everything from air travel to apparel, and credit cards to concert tickets.

Introduced in 2010, the list is timed for release during the holiday season -- when shopping and travel are up, and shoppers are at their most vulnerable, Consumer Reports said.

Verizon made it onto the "naughty" list for claiming to alert customers before they exceed their monthly allotment of minutes, messages or data -- but sometimes failing to notify customers until after those limits are exceeded (and then trying to sell the customer a more expensive plan). The problem should be fixed soon, however, thanks to an FCC deal with the association representing wireless carriers that will reduce cellphone bill shock by making such alerts mandatory.

American Apparel's inclusion was prompted by the company's two different return policies -- allowing online customers 45 days to return items for a refund or credit, but giving in-store customers only 30 days to make a return, and offering only store credit with no option for a refund.

Also on the "naughty" list is Southwest Airlines, which was criticized for charging its passengers $10 per flight to earn a better place in line for boarding. One Consumer Reports reader expressed surprise at the airlines' inclusion, however, noting that Southwest allows each passenger to check two bags for free. That policy earned the company a spot on the publication's "nice" list in 2010.

The only repeat offender from 2010 was Verizon, which was dinged last year for a $350 early termination fee on smartphone contracts.

The list includes 10 "nice" companies, and only nine "naughty" ones, though Tod Marks, senior editor at Consumer Reports, clarified to The New York Times that this ranking is not based on companies' overall performance. "It's a list that's compiled based on specific policies that we thought were particularly customer friendly -- or not," he said.

Some of the good policies included Cablevision's deep discounts on movie tickets, popcorn and soda at participating theaters -- plus free tickets on Tuesdays -- for subscribers who opt for Internet, phone and TV service through the telecom company.

Also lauded was Crutchfield, a Virginia-based consumer-electronics​ merchant that offers no-extra-charge help with installation, setup, troubleshooting and tech support for the lifetime of purchased products.

Several companies made the list for their return policies, including Costco, REI and South Carolina-based BI-LO supermarkets. And Microsoft was mentioned for taking returns of installed software within 45 days.

Seattle-based Amazon also got a nod -- for taking a stand against poor packaging by encouraging customers to send feedback to manufacturers about their wasteful or frustrating product packaging.

Costco and Orvis both made a second annual appearance on the "nice" list.

View the complete 2011 Naughty & Nice Holiday List here -- then tell us who's missing. What other companies else deserves a lump of coal -- a sleigh full of presents -- this year?

via: msnbc