AOL and Comcast Top the MSN Money 2009 Customer Service Hall of Shame

USAA, Trader Joe's and Netflix receive top customer service marks; financial
institution rankings drop as discounters' and supermarkets' rankings rise
during year of economic crisis.

REDMOND, Wash., June 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- MSN Money today released its
third annual Customer Service Hall of Shame and Hall of Fame survey results,
finding that as the economy worsened this past year, so did Americans'
satisfaction with customer service from some of the nation's top companies.
The Customer Service Hall of Shame and Fame is a collaboration of MSN Money
and polling firm Zogby International, which ranked 145 companies based on
consumers' customer service experiences. The survey was taken in late April
2009.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000822/MSFTLOGO)

For the second year, AOL retained its crown as consumer's top pick for worst
customer service. The Internet service provider received "poor" marks on its
customer service experience from nearly 45 percent of respondents. Cable
provider Comcast was a close second with 41 percent of consumers rating their
experience as "poor."

"The annual MSN Money Hall of Shame and Hall of Fame survey gives people the
opportunity to rant and rave about their retail and service experiences," said
Lisa Gurry, director, MSN Division of Microsoft. "Interestingly, in this
economic climate, people praised companies that deliver great value, whether
it's low-cost entertainment or bulk food, while panning financial
institutions."

Banks and credit card issuers fared noticeably worse this year when it came to
pleasing customers. Bank of America, Capital One and HSBC all made repeat
appearances on the Customer Service Hall of Shame list. They were joined by
the only new company on 2009's list, Citibank, which replaced Cox
Communications, the only company to drop off the list.

In addition to banks, telecommunication companies continued to be seen as poor
customer service providers by consumers, with Sprint, Time Warner Cable and
Qwest joining AOL and Comcast in the top 10. Abercrombie & Fitch was the only
retailer on the list.

Customer Service Hall of Shame

No. 1 AOL
No. 2 Comcast
No. 3 Sprint
No. 4 Capital One
No. 5 Time Warner Cable
No. 6 HSBC
No. 7 Qwest
No. 8 Abercrombie & Fitch
No. 9 Bank of America
No. 10 Citigroup

Doing Things Right
On the flip side of the coin, discount retailers and supermarkets continued to
satisfy the public with their customer service as six retailers were
recognized in the Hall of Fame. Grocers, in particular, stood out -- with
Trader Joe's, Publix, Whole Foods and Costco all being ranked among the
nation's best companies for customer service.

Customer Service Hall of Fame

No. 1 USAA
No. 2 Trader Joe's
No. 3 Netflix
No. 4 Amazon
No. 5 Nordstrom
No. 6 Publix
No. 7 Whole Foods
No. 8 Apple Computer
No. 9 Costco
No. 10 Southwest Airlines

The MSN Money-Zogby International survey listed companies in 15 industries,
which also included airlines, hotels, mail delivery outfits and online service
providers. Survey respondents were asked if they had experience with each
company's customer service and, if so, to rate it "excellent," "good," "fair"
or "poor." Companies were ranked based on the percentage of opinion responses
that were "poor."

Each year, companies in the Hall of Shame are given the opportunity to respond
to the survey. Consumers can find full rankings and a detailed breakdown of
survey results at http://money.msn.com.

About MSN and Windows Live
Overall, MSN, Windows Live and Microsoft.com attract more than 550 million
unique users worldwide per month. With localized versions available globally
in 42 markets and 21 languages, MSN is a world leader in delivering Web
services to consumers and online advertising opportunities to businesses
worldwide. MSN partnered with Control Room to stream Live Earth, one of the
largest online entertainment events in history, with over 62 million streams
worldwide. Most recently, Microsoft and BermanBraun Interactive partnered to
create "Wonderwall," a new innovative entertainment and celebrity content
destination from MSN.

About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) is the worldwide leader in software,
services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full
potential.

SOURCE Microsoft Corp.

Lori Telles, +1-503-443-7000, ltelles@waggeneredstrom.com, or Rapid Response
Team, +1-503-443-7070, rrt@waggeneredstrom.com, both of Waggener Edstrom
Worldwide for Microsoft Corp.