True Value experiences high marks

True Value, Amazon.com, and O'Reilly Auto Parts topped a recent list of “best customer experience” in the retail industry.

The ranking comes from the 2016 Temkin Experience Ratings, an annual ranking of companies based on a survey of 10,000 U.S. consumers.

True Value took the top spot with a rating of 78%, placing it 3rd overall out of 294 companies across 20 industries. Furthermore, out of the 46 retailers included in the Ratings, it was the only one to improve its score from last year. Amazon.com and O'Reilly Auto Parts tied for the second spot, each earning a rating of 76% and an overall rank of 9th. QVC and Dollar Tree also made it into the top 20 overall as each received a rating of 75%, which put them both in 12th place.

Early last year, True Value rolled out an in-store training program focused around organized, in-store “chats,” with a goal of boosting customer service.

“It looks like it’s paying off,” said Jean Niemi, the Chicago-based co-op’s VP communications.

At the other end of the spectrum, RadioShack was at the bottom of the list for the sixth straight year, earning a rating of 55% and an overall rank of 199th.

Overall, the retail industry averaged a 69% rating in the 2016 Temkin Experience Ratings and came in 3rd place out of 20 industries. The average rating of the retail industry decreased by five percentage-points between 2015 and 2016, dropping from 74% to 69%.

"True Value, Amazon.com and O'Reilly Auto Parts led a strong group of retailers, while RadioShack continued its run as the retailer with the worst customer experience," said Bruce Temkin, managing partner of Temkin Group.

Here are some additional findings from the retail industry:

• The top 11 retailers in the 2016 Temkin Experience Ratings are as follows: True Value (78%), Amazon.com (76%), O'Reilly Auto Parts (76%), QVC (75%), Dollar Tree (75%), Sam's Club (74%), Dollar General (74%), Lowe's (73%), PetSmart (72%), Michael's (72%) and BJ's Wholesale Club (72%).

• The bottom 14 retailers are: RadioShack (55%), Gap (58%), Foot Locker (59%), Old Navy (60%), Kmart (62%), Macy's(62%), OfficeMax (63%), Marshalls (63%), GameStop (63%), Office Depot (64%), Wal-Mart (64%), Best Buy (64%), Toys 'R' Us (64%), and Sears (64%).

• True Value (+8 points) was the only company to improve its ratings between 2015 and 2016.

• Bed Bath & Beyond (-15 points), Old Navy (- 12 points), Advance Auto Parts (-11 points), Costco (-11 points), OfficeMax (-11 points) and Marshalls (-11 points) declined by the most percentage points between 2014 and 2015.

To generate these ratings, Temkin Group asked 10,000 U.S. consumers to evaluate their recent experiences with a company across three dimensions: success (can you do what you want to do?), effort (how easy is it to work with the company?), and emotion (how do you feel about the interactions?). Temkin Group then averaged these three scores to produce each company's Temkin Experience Rating.

In these ratings, a score of 70% or above is considered "good," and a score of 80% or above is considered "excellent." In this year's Temkin Experience Ratings, 20% of companies earned a "good" or "excellent" score, while 44% received a "poor" or "very poor" score.