Publix, Wegmans Keep Winning In Customer Service, Community Care

Newsweek, People polls also recognize Costco, Target, Whole Foods

9/1/2022

While Publix Q1 Sales Increased, Net Earnings Decreased 59%

Publix is among the food retailers named on two recent employee and customer polls.

A new round of company rankings is out, this time looking at superior customer service and businesses that demonstrate outstanding respect, care and concern for their employees, communities and environment. Newsweek’s 2023 America’s Best Customer Service list places Publix Super Markets, Wegmans Food Markets and Sprouts Farmers Market atop its supermarket category, while the 2022 People Companies that Care list ranks Target Corp. No. 1, Wegmans No. 4, and Publix No. 28.

Newsweek’s list was based on more than 30,000 U.S. customer surveys covering how likely they would be to recommend companies to friends and family based on quality of communication, professional competence, range of services, customer focus and accessibility. The top three to five companies in each of 166 total categories were included, with food retail categories encompassing supermarkets, superstores and warehouse club stores, and pharmacies and drug stores.

Publix ranked No. 1 in the supermarket category for the sixth year in a row, with Wegmans, Sprouts, The Fresh Market and Whole Foods Market rounding out the top five, respectively. Costco Wholesale, Target and BJ’s were the top players, respectively, in the superstores and warehouse club stores category.

“One of Publix’s founding principles is treating our customers like royalty,” said Publix Director of Communications Maria Brous. “Over 92 years later, we still pride ourselves on providing premier customer service. Being recognized on this list is a testament to our associates’ dedication to serving our customers.”

As for People’s list, the publication partnered with Great Place to Work to analyze surveys and data from more than 1 million employees on their experiences of how their employers have made a difference in their lives and communities. Rankings also reflect Great Place to Work’s assessment of each organization’s benefits and its philanthropic and community support.

Only three food retailers were included on the list of 100 companies: Target, Wegmans and Publix. This is the third consecutive year that Publix has been included in the ranking.

Employee-owned and -operated Publix has close to 1,300 supermarkets in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee, North Carolina and Virginia. The Lakeland, Fla.-based grocer is No. 12 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2022 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America, while Issaquah, Wash.-based Costco is No. 3; Minneapolis-based Target is No. 6; Westborough, Mass.-based BJ’s is No. 26; Rochester, N.Y.-based Wegmans is No. 34; Phoenix-based Sprouts is No. 53; and The Fresh Market, based in Greensboro, N.C., is No. 78. Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods is a wholly owned subsidiary of Seattle-based Amazon, No. 2 on PG’s list.