Corporate Research International’s Consumer Perception Survey Reveals Quarterly Best-in-Class

FINDLAY, Ohio, Oct. 24 /PRNewswire/ — Corporate Research International released today the results of RealPeopleRatings.com(TM), its quarterly customer service survey that illustrates the importance of brand image and customer perception. SUBWAY, Olive Garden, CiCi’s Pizza, Marriott, Hyatt, Southwest Airlines, Chevron/Texaco, Nordstrom, Stride Rite, Ace Hardware, Staples, Publix, Walgreens, Foot Locker and RadioShack earned the highest marks in their categories this quarter.

RealPeopleRatings.com(TM) was launched in 2005 by Corporate Research International, a market research firm specializing in mystery shopping and customer satisfaction surveys. The company sends the quarterly surveys as online opinion polls to its pool of panelists. 1,304 panelists participated in this quarter’s survey.

Respondents were asked to rate their perception of each business’s customer service on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest rating. If a respondent did not have experience with the business, the panelist did not enter a score for that establishment.

“It’s important for businesses to take a look at their customer experience from all angles,” said Michael Mallett, CEO of Corporate Research International. “The RealPeopleRatings.com(TM) scores give companies another tool to understand how their customers view their business. This comprehensive understanding and the ability to make adjustments as needed is what keeps customers coming back.”

  Category Winners:

  Fast Food Restaurants
  SUBWAY
  Quizno's
  Chipotle Mexican Grill

  Full-service Restaurants
  Olive Garden
  Outback Steakhouse
  Texas Roadhouse

  Pizza Restaurants
  CiCi's Pizza
  Papa Murphy's Take 'n' Bake Pizza
  Papa John's

  Convenience Stores
  Chevron/Texaco
  The Pantry Inc.
  Shell

  Office Supply Stores
  Staples
  Office Depot
  Fed Ex Kinko's

  Department Stores
  Nordstrom
  Saks Fifth Avenue
  Bloomingdale's

  Shoe Stores
  Stride Rite
  Payless
  Shoe Carnival

  Home Improvement Stores
  Ace Hardware
  True Value
  Lowe's

  Supermarkets
  Publix
  Kroger
  Safeway

  Sporting Goods Stores
  Foot Locker
  Dick's Sporting Goods (tie)
  Finish Line (tie)

  Drug Stores
  Walgreens
  CVS
  Rite Aid

  Electronics Stores
  RadioShack
  Best Buy
  Circuit City

  Banks
  Credit Unions
  Washington Mutual
  Wachovia

  Hotels
  Hyatt (tie)
  Marriott (tie)
  Hilton

  Airlines
  Southwest
  JetBlue
  American

For a complete list of scores and rankings, contact Becca Litchfield at 614-224-8114 or rlitchfield@paulwerth.com.

Quarterly Survey Methodology

Survey respondents represented all regions of the country and completed only one survey each. Respondents spanned all ages, household incomes, education levels, and ethnicity.

The scores reflect the mean score, which is an average of the sum of each score divided by the total number of observations.

About Corporate Research International

Corporate Research International (CRI) specializes in mystery shopping services and interactive customer voice and Web response surveys. The company tracks trends of quality service and appearance, providing information to help businesses retain happy, loyal customers. CRI was named to the Inc. 500 list of fastest growing private companies in 2005 and 2006. For more information visit www.corpri.com

Source: Corporate Research International

CONTACT: Becca Litchfield of Paul Werth Associates, +1-614-224-8114,
rlitchfield@paulwerth.com

Web site: http://www.realpeopleratings.com/
http://www.corpri.com/