6/24/2019
Inherent in the company’s mission is a do no harm philosophy. Uplifting and supporting small to medium sized businesses who excel in the area of customer satisfaction, rather than publishing derogatory results is how City Beat News sets itself apart. Each year, City Beat News publishes the top performers based on results of its customer satisfaction research. The research is conducted on a cross section of small- to medium-size businesses serving customers, patients and clients in the United States. The rating system recently got a update giving added weight to user experience.
What goes into our rating?
The company’s researchers gather information from many sources, both online and offline, including blogs, social networks, business-rating services, direct customer input, user experiences, nominations and industry publications. Those businesses and professionals earning the highest possible rating of 4 or 5 stars receive the prestigious Spectrum Award for Customer Satisfaction.
Oftentimes businesses and consumers ask what specific criteria City Beat News employs in its research and what factors go into earning the highest ratings.
“We do not disclose our exact algorithm or rating system,” says Frank Andrews, Owner of City Beat News. “Our criteria, process and rating algorithm is considered a trade secret.”
In fact, the staff, researchers and vendors working on the database are all contractually obligated per a non-disclosure agreement at the time of hiring. Only a handful of top-level team members have access to the algorithm. This exclusive proprietary system is unlike traditional rating systems. Commonly, rating systems are rely solely on consumer reviews, and are subject to bias both good and bad. The Spectrum Awards algorithm takes a more objective look at a company’s service rather than a judging performance based on a handful of comments.
We only publish good news!
“We take a very serious approach to ensuring the validity and meaningfulness of our research and rating system,” says Andrews. “As such, we are consistently and continuously evaluating how to best define and identify exceptional customer service.”
With the continual advancements in technology in today’s world, businesses must keep up and interact with clients not just face to face, but also online via their websites, social media and more. For many businesses, a customer’s entire experience may now be online, meaning companies have to ensure they can extend a high level of customer service without ever actually meeting a customer in person. Providing exceptional service at each touchpoint is a must.
This has led to the most recent change in City Beat News’ rating algorithm, which has been updated to add additional weight to the user experience.
Read more about our rating process here.
