BusinessInsider.com just released this list of abusers – not only of customers but of stakeholders, employees and the general public. While the selection process factored in data from Consumer Reports, JD Power, the MSN/Zogby poll, Vanno, and the University of Michigan American Customer Satisfaction Index plus indexes reflecting public perception, obviously some subjectivity crept in, but the list resonates very strongly with me.

 I’ve included links to this list and two other relevant compilations at the end of the post, but before sending you off I’d like to offer several observations.

• Customer relations played a key role:  12 of the 15 companies were cited for poor customer relations.
• So did employee relations:  the same 12 of 15 companies were cited for poor employee relations. While 12 out of 12 is not a bulletproof statistic, the inference is too strong to ignore.
• Stakeholder approval was on a par:  10 of the 15 were cited for providing poor shareholder returns, but three of the 15 are private companies. What I believe is so important here is that the Ross School’s ACSI has clearly demonstrated that companies with high CSAT numbers perform financially better than competitors with standard or lower scores.

I also cross-referenced this list against MS Money’s “Customer Service Hall of Shame” nominees for 2009. Three companies made both lists, but the “Hall of Shame” list focused heavily on financial services whereas the “15 most hated” included only Citi.

What struck me after reviewing both lists is the 22 separate companies named all operating “inside-out” by putting company interests ahead of company interests. In fact, several of these outfits are frequently cited for showing the futility of trying to operate inside-out in today’s marketplace. In contrast, when I reviewed MS Money’s “10 Companies That Treat You Right” selections, all 10 are commonly cited as examples of how “Outside-In” thinking produces successful customer and business outcomes both. For more information on Outside-In visit: http://tinyurl.com/yd6rrdf

Here are the links:

15 Most Hated Companies:  http://tinyurl.com/yzkn6cm

2009 Customer Service Hall of Shame:   http://tinyurl.com/larogw    

10 Companies That Treat Your Right:  http://tinyurl.com/ml57oj