USAA: Tops in Customer Service

USAA frequently ranks as one of the top US companies for top-notch customer service. The financial services firm, based in San Antonio, Texas, was #1 in a survey released just this week by Nunwood. Why?

One reason is that USAA's employees receive intensive training--not just in products but also in understanding their customers' needs and situations. Newbies receive weeks of training before they start to serve customers. And the work force is treated to ongoing development to keep their skills polished.

Another reason is that USAA has redesigned its back-office systems to allow employees to serve the needs of customers in a life-cycle way. In other words, customers don't have to think about whether they're contacting the banking department or the insurance department or whatever. USAA instead takes a broader perspective (the customer is being transferred and how will that change his or her needs and how can USAA help meet those needs?).

USAA is social media-savvy, with a presence on Facebook, a Twitter account, and a YouTube channel too.