National Park Service again tops federal agencies for best CX

Dive Brief:

The National Park Service topped Forrester's rankings of federal agencies with the best customer experience in 2023, when compared across 15 agencies. Forrester, which released the report late last year, gave the National Park Service a rating of 74.9 out of 100, putting it ahead of every other agency by over 5 points.
Seven in 10 customers trust the National Park Service, the most for any federal agency by far.
The agency’s CX outshines all but one private sector industry average as well. Its CX is on par with Capital One, Hampton by Hilton and PetSmart, according to Forrester Senior Analyst Colleen Fazio.

Dive Insight:

For the seventh year running, the National Park Service takes the cake for offering the best customer experience.

“The National Park Service outperforms other organizations because they deliver quality experiences on key CX drivers,” Fazio told CX Dive in an email.

The National Park Service’s CX score is driven by its ability to resolve issues quickly, offer high-quality information and services, answer all of customers' questions, and clearly communicate any fees customers will pay for its services.

The park agency outperforms every other federal agency on each driver. Notably, 79% of people say that employees at the National Park Service answer all of their questions, according to Fazio. In comparison, the federal government average sits at 57%.

The National Park Service also delivers emotionally positive experiences, outperforming the federal government average on making customers feel happy, valued and respected, according to Fazio.

“CX that leaves customers feeling positive emotions are more likely to evoke customer behaviors that drive mission performance,” Fazio said. “For example, for federal customers who report feeling positive emotions, 46% of them will forgive the agency for making mistakes.”

Not only will they forgive mistakes, but they will advocate for the agency. In a survey of nearly 11,000 people, Forrester found that three-quarters of National Park Service customers speak positively of the federal agency to others, and more than three-quarters say they comply with National Park Service advice and directives.