The Research Institute has compiled a list of the most reputable companies in the U.S., “calculated by averaging perceptions of trust, esteem, admiration, and good feeling obtained from a representative sample of 100 local respondents who were familiar with the company.” (Then they do some statistical stuff to it.) Coming in at #1 is Google, which we think is remarkable considering how much data the company has managed to collect over the past several years, and continues to collect with new record-keeping initiatives like Google Health.
Below is the top 10 list, but check out the full list of 75 companies for some interesting surprises, like Hewlett Packard coming in at #18 (right behind Apple!) despite the horror stories we’ve seen from Consumerist readers.
| Global Pulse Score | ||||
| Company | 2008 Rank | 2008 | 2007 | Change |
| 1 | 85.23 | New | N/A | |
| Johnson & Johnson | 2 | 83.48 | 78.80 | 4.68 |
| Kraft Foods Inc. | 3 | 82.79 | 81.07 | 1.72 |
| General Mills | 4 | 81.34 | New | 0.00 |
| Walt Disney | 5 | 81.22 | 78.37 | 2.85 |
| United Parcel Service | 6 | 81.05 | 80.06 | 1.00 |
| 3M | 7 | 79.79 | 75.06 | 4.73 |
| Xerox | 8 | 78.44 | New | N/A |
| Colgate-Palmolive | 9 | 78.04 | New | N/A |
| Texas Instruments | 10 | 77.22 | New | N/A |
| |
||||
“The 75 Most Reputable Companies in the U.S.” [Forbes] (Thanks to Rick!)
RELATED
“RI Hall of Fame” [Research Institute]
(Photo: Getty)
More From Consumerist
-
Sears Wants Me To Pay For Non-Installation Of Non-Working Dishwasher
-
Bank Of America, Comcast Among Familiar Names In List Of Least Reputable Companies
-
At Amazon, 'Heavily Scratched' Is Subjective
-
At Geek Squad, Every Day Is Opposite Day
-
Don’t Try To Sell Your Target Gift Card For Cash Inside The Store
WTF? I only trust Google, and maybe General Mills. If in the world, I probably wouldn’t see a single US company.
@spinachdip: You’re a bit off on your statistics there… half of computers sold on American campuses are Macs, if you believe Mac commercials. The general population is not nearly as image conscience. which is why wal-mart still sells computers. their retail percentage is 14%.
Overall Market share: 6.6%
[www.gartner.com]
Retail Market Share: 14%
[blogs.zdnet.com]
Hmm, glad to see Marriott as the top resort/hotel brand in the list. (I imagine there’s a case for arguing Disney.) I’m a total Marriott whore; it’s the only place I stay when I travel. I’m glad to see Publix and Deere up there, too.
You have to remember there are a lot of companies Consumerist readers complain about for various reasons (receipt-checking, return policies, etc), but their overall reputations and brand familiarity are good overall.
Incredible that Dell ranked so high.
Publix should be higher up on the list. And who is Chubb (74)? I am afraid to search for it to find out?
@TPK: I guess they have a reputation for making good calculators. Seriously, who is their competition?
@spinachdip: I think people are still mad about that price drop thing.
Whither the beloved USAA?
Take a look at the full list. When Best Buy (#36), Lowes (#38) and Home Depot (#40) are ahead of Meijer (#57), people have been eating retard sandwiches.
3M FTW! I love that company, and I’m not afraid to tell people whenever I get the chance.
Who determined what “reputable” means?
There are lies, damned lies, and then there’s statisics. Mark Twain
All this tells me is that someone is doing back-channel analysis on how effective their “perception campaign technique” is. What you’ll never see is the resulting sales pitch to companies that did not Make The List. No need to actually do a good job, reliably and honorably. Pay us, and we’ll wage a perception campaign that convinces a large statistical average of potential customers You’re The Good Guy. Cheaper, easier and you don’t have to actually perform.
Seriously, study the Tavistock Institute. Learn up on PR Newswire. This is all managed-perception.
@ConsumptionJunkie: Apple’s the highest-rated computer maker.
I’d wonder about selection bias, since it’s based on online surveys. No other screaming red flags, though. I was alarmed when they said “100 respondents” but these are follow-up online questionnaires.
@sean77: I’m glad that you have had positive experiences with UPS. All I can tell you is that the vast majority of people I know personally both friend and family all have their own UPS disaster story(s). And the stories range from major delays (several weeks or more) to complete destruction and loss of packages, to unimaginably incompetent customer service. I suppose one could make the same claim about any packaging service, but it’s just so common among people I know to have problems with UPS that I can’t but help to question the results of this study.
Oh, I wonder about the phrasing of their questions as well. Some of the winners seem, err, unexpected. And what is “reputation”? Dell has a huge reputation…
Lockheed Martin is in the top 75? War profiteers??
@TPK: Nope, Texas Instruments also designs other high-tech electronics, including military components.
I get a bit tired of Google being bashed for having sponsored links. There aren’t that many other ways for a search engine to keep solvent.
@Rectilinear Propagation: I believe the Chubb Group insures antiques and estates. They’re always advertised after Antiques Roadshow, anyway.
@badgeman46:
You’re out of date.
Kraft has nothing to do with Altria anymore.
Altria spun off Kraft 2 years ago.
Good riddance to the tobacco, we all hated it.
But it is fun to watch all the smokers have to go outside to smoke in their little bus shelters that were built because Altria still controlled Kraft when Cook County outlawed smoking in office buildings.
@Ssscorpion: Reputable, from reputation.
Reputation is a measure of public perception.
@heavylee-again: i really hope that was sarcasm. if you read this site at all you’ll agree they shouldn’t even make the top 50
I saw this referenced from reddit the other day. It occurred to me that 5 of the top 10 are on my blacklist of disreputable vendors for one reason or another. Everything from a personal bad experience with product or servce to that company being a monopolist engaged in some form of bad behavior as a monopolist.
Go figger.
They should have just called them “The Top 10 Most Benign and Boring Companies”
Personally, I’ve never been blown away by UPS. I’ve heard some horror stories about what happens behind the scenes there though.
Google is great though, and I know a few people who work there and they love it.
This list is a joke. If you look at the full list, you’ll see the evil Best Buy on there as well as a large number of financial firms mired in the subprime mortgage mess.
Mmmmm Texas Instruments…