WHITE BEAR LAKE, MINN. — Delivering satisfaction to residential and commercial customers is the critical key to a service provider’s growth and longevity, according to best practices group Nexstar. The organization said it feels so strongly about the importance of customer satisfaction that it has conducted a survey of its members’ customers each year since 1995 and reports the findings to those who participate.

Nexstar recently completed its customer satisfaction survey in which 148 member companies participated. The top 10 companies with the most satisfied customers are:

1. Universe Appliance, Seaford, N.Y.;
2. Tom Shuster Electrical, Kalamazoo, Mich;
3. Tri-City Refrigeration, Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.;
4. JB Electric, Elkhorn, Neb.;
5. Plumbers of Suojanen Enterprises, Odessa, Fla.;
6. AirCon Appliance Co., Houston;
7. Wilbur Corp., Trussville, Ala.;
8. Frasier’s Plumbing & Heating, Rhinelander, Wis.;
9. Lascko Plumbing & Mechanical, Muskegon, Mich.; and
10. Donnelly’s Plumbing, Heating & Cooling, Lansdale, Pa.

An independent market research firm was hired to identify factors that influence how customers perceive household service and repair firms. Factors were narrowed to workmanship, promptness and dependability, customer relations, price and overall satisfaction.

U.S. and Canadian member firms participated in the survey. Each company submitted a random sampling of 200 customers who were contacted by the market research firm and asked to rate their service firm. More than 5,800 customers responded to the survey.

“Customer service is paramount to staying in business,” Nexstar President Greg Niemi said. “Our philosophy is to serve a customer for a lifetime rather than a one-time experience. That means good customer satisfaction is key to keeping each customer coming back. We know the winners of our customer satisfaction survey have this practice down pat.”

For more information on membership, or any other questions about Nexstar, contact Lisa Schardt, business enhancement specialist, at 888/609-5490 or 651/426-2000. Its Website is www.nexstarnetwork.com.

Nexstar is a professional training and development organization for service contractors.