NEW: BOA, Cox Among Most Hated Companies In America
Monday, July 11, 2011
You might despise them, but chances are, you can’t live without them. Business Insider’s list of the 19 most hated companies in America includes cable providers, social networking sites, banks and virtually every major airline, many of which Rhode Islanders would be hard-pressed to avoid.
Bank of America (19), Cox Communications (17), AT&T Mobility (14) and Facebook (10) are among the major companies that could be infuriating the most Ocean State residents, according to the list. Also included are three major airlines that fly out of T.F. Green in Warwick.
Business Insider’s breakdown of Bank of America is especially scathing.
“Customers complain of excessive fees for overdraft and other services and are pursuing lawsuits over illegal charges,” the report says. “The bank is America's largest mortgage servicer and the slowest to respond to clients, according to Treasury reports. In recent years it has blundered through countless foreclosure horror stories. Meanwhile, as with other large banks, BoA offers dismal rates for savings.”
On the bright side for Rhode Islanders that haven’t yet made the switch to Verizon FIOS, Cox actually fares better than the majority of other cable providers. Charter Communications, Comcast and Time Warner all rank inside the top five most hated companies.
Checking in at No. 1 on the list is a company with no Rhode Island ties. Pepco, the Rhode Island version of National Grid, “experienced 70 percent more outages than customers of other big city utilities that took part in one 2009 survey, and the lights stayed out more than twice as long,” according to Business Insider.
Comments:
Buc Kner
7:12am on Tuesday, July 12, 2011
if you ask RI'ers..real ones..NATIONAL GRID TOPS MANY LISTS....if Cox advertised on GoLo or if B of A loaned Fenton $$$..you'd never see this article..I hate FB because ALL 6 STAFF PEOPLE ON GOLO STAFF CONTINUALLY SELF PROMOTE ALL DAY
Lance Chappell
7:51am on Tuesday, July 12, 2011
I remember BOA as the ole Industrial National Bank . That was the bank that had the high flying executive running around buying up the competition. Whatever name the bank took on, the results were the same – they paid puny interest rates but charged all out for their services . I believe they helped start the credit union movement in RI. They have a terrible record on foreclosures and have hurt many people. They have become too big and could care less about their customers.
The utility industry has become especially cold or non-responsive to their customers. National Grid, Cox, and others have almost become “mechanical” with their treatments to customers and employees. Employee moral in these companies have hit rock bottom. Customer satisfaction is almost non-existent with constant threats of shutoffs.
We all know we have a very sour economy but these companies are more concerned with their bottom lines. What they fail to recognize is that their customer base is what keeps them going. Customers will shop around for the best bang for their buck and if they feel the product is too expensive, they will drop it. National Grid rates are high enough to force an impact on the telecommunications market – there is simply not enough money to go around and telecommunications companies may find themselves losing customers down the road.
Nick Patriarca
10:12am on Tuesday, July 12, 2011
a lack of credible custom service . customers just are not valued any longer .
particularly with the companies with little competition .
Nicole Tee
1:12am on Sunday, August 07, 2011
I’m having a hard time with the validity of this list and a lot of that is attributed to the fact that Facebook and DISH Network are on here. They’re the only company right now with the most innovative technology specifically for their subscribers. I travel a lot and I’m always thankful for the free Sling Adapter I got when I started working for them. I’ve done further research to get a well rounded comparison of just TV providers (since they’re all over this list). BestTvForMe.com gives a distinct matchup of how the US rates all the major TV providers.