Supermarkets claimed five of the top 10 spots for customer experience, according to the 2017 Temkin Experience Ratings. Published by the Temkin Group, the ratings are based on a study of 10,000 U.S. consumers, and evaluate the customer experience of 331 companies across 20 industries.

Publix claimed the top spot in the survey, with a Temkin Experience Rating of 84%, followed by H-E-B at 83 percent. Hannaford tied for fourth at 82 percent, while Food Lion and Trader Joe’s tied for eighth place at 81 percent.

The Temkin Experience Ratings evaluates three areas: success (can customers do what they want to do?), effort (how easy is it to work with the company?), and emotion (how do consumers feel about their interactions?).

In its seventh year of publication, the 2017 Temkin Experience Ratings examines customer experience across 20 industries: Computers and tablets; insurance; investments; credit cards; health plans; TV/internet service; streaming media; wireless; airlines; hotels and rooms; retailers; fast food; rental cars and transport; supermarkets; parcel delivery; TV and appliances; auto dealers; software firms; and utilities.

“After a couple of years of decline, it’s great to see a significant improvement in customer experience scores, although health plans and TV/internet service providers remain well behind other industries,” states Bruce Temkin, managing partner of Temkin Group.

Publix was the only supermarket to finish in the top 10 in Temkin’s Trust Ratings, finishing tied for third with a score of 70 percent. To determine trust ratings consumers were asked “To what degree do you trust that these companies will take care of your needs?”

No supermarkets made Termkin’s list of top companies for web experience, but four made the top 10 for customer service: Publix (second at 73 percent); Wawa Food Markets and H-E-B (tied for fifth at 70 percent), and Save-a-Lot (ninth at 69 percent).

Consumers also seemed more willing to forgive supermarkets for a bad experience than other industries. Asked “How likely are you to forgive these companies if they deliver a bad experience?” five supermarkets made the top 10 list, including Publix (second at 55 percent), Food Lion and H-E-B (tied for fourth at 50 percent), Wawa Food Markets (tied for eighth at 49 percent), and Kroger (tenth at 48 percent).

The Temkin Experience Ratings along with other ratings may be accessed at the Temkin Ratings website, www.TemkinRatings.com.

The Temkin Group is a customer experience research and consulting firm. The company’s ongoing research identifies leading and emerging best practices across a wide range of activities for engaging customers, employees and partners.