Bi-Lo, Costco Make Consumer Reports 2011 Holiday ‘Nice’ List

Bi-Lo Supermarkets and Costco Wholesale Corp. are on the “nice” portion of Consumer Reports’ annual 2011 Naughty & Nice Holiday List, which “is based on input from [our] reporters and editors who cover shopping, travel, hospitality and telecommunications,” according to the Yonkers, N.Y.-based nonprofit organization that operates a website and magazine. “The Naughty & Nice Holiday List is based on specific policies and is not reflective of a company as a whole.”

Consumer Reports added that its latest list takes some well-known companies to task “for fine print, befuddling fees and the like,” while giving “other companies points for good behavior.”

Of Mauldin, S.C.-based Bi-Lo, the organization noted: “Most supermarkets will refund the purchase price of a product that doesn’t meet expectations, but this Southern chain offers a double-money-back guarantee on every item it sells whatever the reason for the return.”

In the case of Issaquah, Wash.-based Costco, “[t]he chain has a generous return policy and provides free tech support for many electronics products,” said Consumer Reports. “Less known is that it automatically extends the manufacturer’s original warranty on TVs and computers to two years from the date of purchase.”

Other companies that made “Nice” with consumers in 2011 were Cablevision; live-entertainment promoter, ticket distributor, and artist-management firm Live Nation; American Express; fishing gear and sportsclothes purveyor Orvis; electronics retailer Crutchfield; Amazon.com; Microsoft, and outdoor/adventure outfitter REI.

“Naughty” companies were airline AirTran, RadioShack, American Apparel, Verizon Wireless, Liberty Travel, mail-order food company The Swiss Colony, Southwest Airlines, SiriusXM satellite radio and video game software and hardware seller GameStop.