Corporate Research International's Consumer Perception Survey Reveals Quarterly Best-in-Class

FINDLAY, OH--(Marketwire - April 15, 2008) - Corporate Research International released today the results of RealPeopleRatings.com™, its quarterly customer service survey that illustrates the importance of brand image and customer perception. SUBWAY, Olive Garden, Papa Murphy's Take 'n' Bake Pizza, Marriott, Hyatt, Southwest Airlines, Speedway, Nordstrom, Stride Rite, Ace Hardware, Office Depot, Publix, Walgreens, Dick's Sporting Goods and Best Buy earned the highest marks in their categories this quarter.

RealPeopleRatings.com™ (www.RealPeopleRatings.com) was launched in 2005 by Corporate Research International, a market research firm specializing in mystery shopping and customer satisfaction surveys. The company sends the quarterly surveys as online opinion polls to its pool of panelists; 2,266 panelists participated in this quarter's survey.

Respondents were asked to rate their perception of each business's customer service on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest rating. If a respondent did not have experience with the business, the panelist did not enter a score for that establishment.

"The RealPeopleRatings.com™ scores give companies another tool to understand how their customers view their business," said Michael Mallett, CEO of Corporate Research International. "This contributes to a comprehensive understanding of the client and enables the business owners to make adjustments as needed. Looking at the customer experience from all angles is crucial and keeps customers coming back."

Category Winners:

Fast Food Restaurants
SUBWAY
Chipotle Mexican Grill
Sonic

Full-service Restaurants
Olive Garden
Texas Roadhouse
Outback Steakhouse

Pizza Restaurants
Papa Murphy's Take 'n' Bake Pizza
CiCi's Pizza
Papa John's

Convenience Stores
Speedway
Chevron/Texaco
BP (tie)
Shell (tie)

Office Supply Stores
Office Depot
Staples
FedEx Kinko's

Department Stores
Nordstrom
Saks Fifth Avenue
Bloomingdale's

Shoe Stores
Stride Rite
Shoe Carnival
Journeys

Home Improvement Stores
Ace Hardware
Lowe's
True Value

Supermarkets
Publix
Kroger
Safeway

Sporting Goods Stores
Dick's Sporting Goods
Foot Locker
Finish Line

Drug Stores
Walgreens
CVS
Rite Aid

Electronics Stores
Best Buy
RadioShack
Circuit City

Banks
Credit Unions
Wachovia
Washington Mutual

Hotels
Marriott
Hyatt
Hilton

Airlines
Southwest
JetBlue
American

For a complete list of scores and rankings, contact Becca Litchfield at 614-224-8114 or rlitchfield@paulwerth.com.

Quarterly Survey Methodology

Survey respondents represented all regions of the country and completed only one survey each. Respondents spanned all ages, household incomes, education levels, and ethnicity.

The scores reflect the mean score, which is an average of the sum of each score divided by the total number of observations.

About Corporate Research International

Corporate Research International (CRI) specializes in mystery shopping services and interactive customer voice and Web response surveys. The company tracks trends of quality service and appearance, providing information to help businesses retain happy, loyal customers. CRI was named to the Inc. 500 list of fastest growing private companies in 2005 and 2006. For more information visit www.corpri.com.

Contact Information: Contact: Becca Litchfield Paul Werth Associates (614) 224-8114