Silhouettes of Peter Pan and the Darling children flying over London at night.

Trust is a valuable commodity and it is by no means easy to come by. People are not inclined to give their business to a company they do not trust. “That lack of trust can manifest in a number of ways. Customers may be less likely to follow through on a full shopping cart in your online store. They may be less willing to part with their personal information on your landing page. And if they trust you less than they trust one of your competitors, they may choose them over you.” (Forbes) Over the past decade consumer trust in companies has plummeted. In just a year (2017 to 2018) consumer trust dropped 10%. (Edelman) The initial spark that caused this forest fire of distrust was the 2008 Financial Crisis, the year before (2007) business was trusted more than both Government and Media. (Edelman)

The Black Box Society talks about the 2008 financial crisis. A crisis that occurred because people put their trust into a system that was fraudulent. People trusted banks and the banks lied. In a system where your privacy and security are completely dependent on the credibility of the people who you give your information to, you have no control. You are relying on the banks and the people around you to be financially and technologically literate, not only that but you are relying on a system with no other options, so even if you do not believe that the banks have your best interest at heart; if you want to buy a house, you (probably) have to get a loan.

This list compiled by Edelman, shows just what consumers find most important in a trustworthy company. Edelman surveyed approx. 32,000 people in 28 countries, and the most important measure of trust for those people surveyed, was that a company treats their employees well. Honesty and Corporate Social Responsibility, are the section headers that I would put most of the items on this list under. After the the 2008 financial crisis, corporate trustworthiness plummeted and the consumer wanted honesty from the people they put their trust in. Nine years later, 56% of respondents will trust a company with ethical business practices, and 52% want a company that communicates frequently and honestly on the state of its business.

People tend to put less trust into a company when they are only give one option or a limited number of options, to what company they get to use. For example, here in Pullman WA, if you want cable TV your choices are limited, and by limited I mean your choice is Charter Spectrum (You have a few other options but really come on).

temkin trust ratings industry scores — TV/Internet Service Providers rank ‘Very Low’ on the range of industry Scores.

According to the Temkin Trust Ratings, in 2017, 50% of the bottom rated organizations in trustworthiness, were TV/Internet providers. Consumers were asked to rate 329 organizations of various disciplines; of those 329, Charter Communications ranked 320, only being surpassed by the likes of Comcast and Time Warner.

TV/Internet Providers have been allowed to create regional monopolies.
“The cable industry is a patchwork of micro-monopolies. Or more accurately, natural monopolies: situations of little or no competition that doesn’t break enough laws to get regulated. A natural monopoly occurs when it’s so expensive to enter a market that it doesn’t make sense for a competitors to come in.” (Gizmodo)

In a quote from January 14, 2015, President Barack Obama stated, “Without strong competition, [broadband] providers can (and do) raise prices, delay investments, and provide sub-par quality of service. When faced with limited or nonexistent alternatives, consumers lack negotiating power and are forced to rely on whatever options are available. In these situations, the role of good public policy can and should be to foster competition and increase consumer choice.”

The lack of consumer choice allows cable companies to not put their trustworthiness and reliability at the forefront. This is why we see companies that create an environment without choice at the bottom of the Temkin Trust Ratings. Now if you are like me, just thinking about TV/ISP’s puts me in a bad place so let’s take a moment and…

Think of a Wonderful Thought

Now you may be wondering, what do people consider a ‘wonderful’ company, aka, what kind of company do people trust the most?

-Supermarkets

People trust supermarkets. The supermarket industry earned the highest average Temkin Trust Ratings (68%).

The leading Supermarket was H-E-B, with an 82% Temkin Trust Rating,and it is not only the highest rated supermarket, but it is also rated a #1 most trusted company. Now, if you are unfamiliar with this chain, that is probably because it is a Texas and Mexico based supermarket ~~(and a fantastic one at that).~~

Pro-tip: If you ever want to meet an NBA player just hop right into a San-Antonio H-E-B. Every Spurs player I have ever met has been inside a H-E-B. You have a 88.3% chance of that happening to you, if you go into America’s Most Trusted Supermarket.

*of a poll of 1 person, try at your own risk

“The 100-year old grocery chain, which has 340 stores across Texas and Mexico, was recently voted the forth best grocery store in the US in an annual survey of almost 13,000 shoppers, conducted by the consumer insights firm Market Force Information.”(Business Insider)

Market Force Information, list of best grocery stores in the United States.

As well as joining H-E-B in the top grocery stores in the U.S. Publix Super Markets and Wegmans, join the Texas chain in the Temkin Trust Ratings as top rated companies. These three stores are in very good standing with the public, more so than large chains like: Walmart, Target, Costco, or Sams Club.

While Grocery stores and TV/Internet providers are very different types of companies, one gives the consumer no choice in their provider. Since Cable Providers have Regional Monopolies, it is either them or no service-you have no choice but to trust them, whether you want to or not. With a grocery store this is different, you have plenty of choices. When it comes down to it people want choices, honesty, transparency, good service and quality products. It is consistently delivering on those things that builds trust with a customer. A company cannot do that if a consumer is given no alternatives. It is for this reason that ‘smaller’ grocery chains are allowed to succeed over larger box stores, they build trust. Some thing that is difficult to do, nowadays.