Microsoft and Cisco topped a recent vendor survey for best overall customer service and customer experience. Market research firm Tempkin Group asked 800 IT professionals from large companies to rank their favorites from a list of 60 large vendors, and the winners are a mix of usual suspects and surprise victors. Temkin was after a holistic view, so it asked respondents about three things:

• How well the experience you have with the company meets your needs
• How easy it is for you as a customer to do what you want to do
• How good you *feel* about the customer experience you’ve had

The winners (with tie scores noted): 1) Microsoft business apps 1) Cisco 3) IBM SPSS 3) Microsoft servers 5) Microsoft desktop software 5) IBM software (other than SPSS) 5) Intel 8) Oracle business apps 9) HP 9) Google 9) VMware 9) Apple 9) Oracle database software At the bottom of the list was Compuware. Temkin also found, not surprisingly, that IT customers’ future purchase plans are in complete sync with the companies they identify as their favorites. It’s proof that offering a good customer experience and maintaining a good reputation leads to sales. For more granular detail on how vendors did on each of Tempkin’s three criteria, see this analysis.