Rocket Mortgage took home another customer service accolade this week by claiming the top ranking in the 2024 Insurance and Mortgage Lenders Study published by American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI).
The Detroit-based lending titan scored 80 points out of a possible 100 in the study, which was based on nearly 15,000 completed email surveys conducted between October 2023 and September 2024. ACSI noted that Rocket excelled by “providing a faster, more problem-free application process” and boasting the lowest incidence of customer complaints among all ranked lenders.
Chase, with a score of 78, came in second, narrowly edging Bank of America, U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo, which all posted a score of 77. Pennymac held the dubious distinction of being the lowest rated lender with an ACSI score of 70.
It was the first time that mortgage lenders were included in ACSI’s customer satisfaction indices, and the industry didn’t exactly have a glowing introduction. With an average ACSI score of 75, mortgage lending placed in the bottom nine among all industries evaluated by ACSI.
The various aspects of the mortgage process received a tepid reception from survey respondents, resulting in benchmarks that left room for improvement. For example, customers gave mortgage lenders an average grade of 78 in “understanding of next steps in the process” and 77 in both “loan officer knowledge” and “loan officer responsiveness.” Unsurprisingly, the high costs of capital received the lowest marks, with “interest rates” scoring just 71 among survey respondents and “fees and costs” rating even lower at 68.
“Despite rates dropping, many customers are still less than thrilled with the rates they’re getting,” says Forrest Morgeson, associate professor of marketing at Michigan State University and director of research emeritus at ACSI. “But this unhappiness is hardly the only thing driving low customer satisfaction numbers across the industry. Homebuyers are also frustrated with lender points and fees, appraisal costs, closing fees, and title insurance. It’s hard to see satisfaction improving until lenders address these areas.”
The study did find that customers rate lenders pretty highly when it comes to their digital tools and offerings. Lenders’ mobile apps, for instance, scored 82 for quality and 80 for reliability. Website satisfaction likewise scored highly with a rating of 81.
