The companies delivering an excellent customer experience are: Sam’s Club, Publix, Starbucks, Subway, Chick-fil-A, Aldi, Winn-Dixie, H.E.B. and credit unions, according to a new research report published by Temkin Group.

The “2012 Temkin Experience Ratings” rates the customer experience of 206 large companies across 18 industries, including retailers, fast food chains, grocery chains, airlines, health plans, hotel chains and appliance makers. This is the second year that Temkin Group has released these ratings. The research is based on a survey of 10,000 U.S. consumers in January 2012.

Grocery chains, fast food chains and retailers are the top three industries, earning an average rating of "good." At the bottom of the ratings, TV service providers, Internet service providers, and health plans earn an average rating of "poor."

"Companies made progress this past year, but there's still a long way to go before they are truly customer centric," according to a statement from Temkin. The full report is available at www.temkingroup.com.