Press Release from Dollywood:

PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. (Friday, Dec. 1, 2023) — A common refrain from the majority of Dollywood guests after a visit to the award-winning park is that the attentiveness and customer service provided by hosts at the Smoky Mountain destination is among the best anywhere. A new customer service-oriented list created by Forbes echoes that sentiment, with Dollywood in the top 1% (#27) of more than 3,000 rated brands. 

Forbes’ Best Customer Service 2024 list was created in collaboration with HundredX, a data analytics company focused on customer insights. The rankings were determined after a year-long online survey of more than 200,000 people in the United States. Respondents provided 4.2 million ratings for more than 3,000 brands across a number of industry sectors. The companies on the list range from retail stores and car companies to hospitality businesses, insurance carriers and credit card companies.

Only two theme parks made the Top 300 list: Dollywood and Legoland parks (#179). The top-ranked travel related company was Hawaiian Airlines (#25), followed by Dollywood, Delta Airlines (#39), Alaska Airlines (#43), and Drury Hotels (#56).

“Customer service and the guest experience is at the heart of every decision we make,” explained Dollywood Parks & Resorts President Eugene Naughton. “In fact, we don’t call those who visit our park ‘customers’ or ‘visitors.’ We call them ‘guests,’ because we want to treat them with the same level of respect and care as if they were visiting us in our own homes. Additionally, we call our employees ‘hosts’ for the same reason. It is the job of every single person on our team to host our guests in a warm and welcoming way. Our ultimate goal is for guests to leave us feeling like a valued part of the Dollywood family.”

According to HundredX Founder and CEO Rob Pace, “We believe that listening to real customers—or “The Crowd” as we like to say—is essential to achieving both performance and purpose. The businesses that understand and then meet their customers’ needs better than competitors will always be the most successful. We’re thrilled to further expand our partnership with Forbes and honor those top companies providing excellent service for customers within our data.” 

The top five companies on the list are The UPS Store, Chick-fil-A, REI, USAA and Trader Joe’s. Other notables include Dutch Bros. Coffee (#10), Zappos (#23), Amazon (#31), Ace Hardware (#33), In-N-Out Burger (#45), Lexus (#59), Royal Caribbean (#69), Apple (#78), Subaru (#87), Starbucks (#131), Marriott (#141), Cracker Barrel (#173), Bath & Body Works (#192), Target (#204), Porsche (#209), Mayo Clinic (#240) and AAA (#295).

The Best Brands for Customer Service List examines a brand’s people, technology and processes through the eyes of the customer. Consumers offered feedback within the following areas:

• People—Demeanor of employees interacted with when purchasing or receiving a good or service

• Speed—Pace at which goods or services are provided

• Services—Service associated with the provided goods or services

• Resolution—Satisfaction with problem resolution

Final rankings were determined by a brand’s raw score (50%) and the brand’s comparison to others in the industry (50%).

To view the entire list, please visit https://www.forbes.com/lists/best-customer-service/

The Forbes achievement is another in Dollywood’s growing list of accolades. Earlier this year, Dollywood earned Amusement Today’s Golden Ticket Awards for Worldwide Best Park, Best Guest Experience, Best Christmas Event, Best Kids Area and Best Family Coaster. According to Tripadvisor, Dollywood ranked #1 in 2022 and #2 in 2023 as the best park in the United States based on feedback from actual guest reviews. During the past several years, Dollywood has been included in a number of “Best of” lists including Travel + Leisure’s Top 20 Worldwide Theme Parks, Good Housekeeping’s 2023 Travel Awards, USA Today 10Best and more.

Dollywood’s Smoky Mountain Christmas continues through Jan. 6, 2024. Diamond or gold season passes purchased during Dollywood’s Smoky Mountain Christmas provide admission to this year’s Christmas festival along with admission for Dollywood’s entire 2024 operating season. Guests can purchase their 2024 season passes online now or upgrade their paid one-day admission ticket on the day of their visit. Ticket purchasers receive credit for the value of a paid one-day ticket toward the purchase of a 2024 season pass.

Dollywood’s 2024 season features the highly-anticipated opening of The Dolly Parton Experience, which will include multiple experiences in a newly-designed area of the park. Opening in the area surrounding and including the former Chasing Rainbows museum, The Dolly Parton Experience will allow guests a behind-the-scenes look at Dolly’s iconic status and immerse themselves in her incredible story. The area is slated to open in May.

For more information and a park operating calendar, please visit dollywood.com or download the Dollywood app.