Mr. Bernoff states that “the way you treat your customers-and the way they perceive you-makes all the difference in what they say to their friends”.  We have no disagreement with that except that of course that Forrester’s survey doesn’t appear to ask questions about what people say to friends, relatives, or  co-workers about a brand.  More importantly however, the mix of corporations that were rated as “excellent” by Forrester would suggest that their questions and their conclusion overlook a key consideration.

Consumer attitudes and behaviors are certainly in part driven by service, but they are also driven by a multitude of other experiential components including cost.  Customer retention, growth in share of wallet, and positive word of mouth are the outcome of conscious and sub-conscious calculations of total VALUE.  Forrester would be better served in prefacing their questions with “For the money” (e.g. “For the money, how well did they meet your needs?”).  Let’s face it, Costco and Kohl’s are fine stores, but checkout lines are typically long, and associates who can answer questions are in short supply.  That would not be acceptable at an upscale retailer like Whole Foods, but Costco and Kohl’s  are discounters and some consumers (even if not asked to do so) are weighing that factor into their response.