Managers and business owners are constantly being harangued toadopt “best practices” and emulate the Warren Buffets and SteveJobs of this world. But maybe it's time to reverse this trend andlearn from the biggest losers.

According to the recently released 2012 American Customer SatisfactionIndex, service industries — especially airlines, utilities andbanks–generated the worst consumer satisfaction scores, mainlybecause of limited competition and the difficulty of interactingwith customers.

Before you scroll down, know that there's only one insurancecompany on the list, and it deals with health insurance. But thesepublic-facing businesses generate some of the same types ofcomplaints.

Here are the top 15 most disliked companies:

1. Long Island Power Authority. Score:58/100. Gripes: Spurred by losses from last August's HurricaneIrene, complaints include rate hikes and overbilling mistakes.
2. Northeast Utilities. Score: 59/100. Gripes:After two major storms caused massive power outages last year,hundreds of thousands of customers were left in the dark withoutheat for up to 2 weeks.
3. Charter Communications. Score: 59/100. Gripes:Poor customer service and unfair billing practices.
4. Comcast. Score: 61/100. Gripes: Earlywithdrawals, faulty equipment and unprofessional servicetechnicians.
5. United Airlines. Score: 62/100. Gripes: Atechnical glitch following last year's merger with Continentalcaused widespread flight delays; complaints include poor customerservice, flight cancellations and lost baggage.
6. Time Warner. Score: 63/100. Gripes: SlowInternet speeds, cable outages, “disastrous” customer service andhigh rates.
7. Cox Communications. Score: 63/100. Gripes:Higher rates and fees.
8. American Airlines. Score: 64/100. Gripes:Ranked last in a recent study of major airlines at keepingcustomers informed, leaving them on hold for an average of an hourand a half, and failing to respond to questions on Twitter; “does aworse job of pleasing passengers than small, low-cost airlines suchas Spirit or Frontier.”
9. US Airways. Score: 65/100. Gripes: Inaccuratebilling, failing to notify passengers of flight delays, and“terrible” service.
10. Delta. Score: 65/100. Gripes: Most complaintsinvolve customer service reps not responding in a professionalmanner.
11. CenturyLink. Score: 66/100. Gripes: Billingissues and customer reps not being knowledgeable or helpful.
12. Facebook. Score: 66/100. Gripes: Lack ofprivacy and child safety.
13. Aetna. Score: 67/100. Gripes: Excessively highprescription co-pays, withdrawing funds without authorization fromclients, disorganization.
14. DirectTV. Score: 68/100. Gripes: “On theConsumer Affairs forum, thousands of customers complaints about howthe company changes contract details without notifying customersand therefore, hiking prices without authorization.”
15. Bank of America. Score: 68/100. Gripes: Thenation's largest mortgage servicer, most complaints arise from themortgage division—although the bank's plan to charge a $5 debit feewas discontinued after 2 months following public outrage.

See a pattern in what they're doing wrong? Here's what Ispot:

• Communication breakdown. If you've ever beenon the other end of a call to AT&T (why didn't they make thelist?), you know first-hand how frustrating it is to try andcommunicate with a monolithic business. Voice-mail hell,unresponsive CSRs and setting up public website forums only toignore the comments they generate are perfect ways to piss off, andultimately lose, your customers.
• Size doesn't matter. In fact, if this study isany indication, the bigger the company, the worse the service. Thisgives the Spirit and Frontiers of the world a nice advantage, so ifyou're small and able to provide personal attention and service,don't hesitate to use that edge.
• The blind leading the blind. Customer servicereps and other public-facing employees just don't know their jobsat these companies. It's a real lesson to make sure your people arefully trained and prepped to handle any customer situation.
• They make a bad situation worse. Whetherpeople are suffering in the wake of a major catastrophe or justupset about a much smaller loss, stonewalling them will lose you acustomer–and you'll feel their ire through bad word of mouth.
• No news is bad news. Like those airlinetravelers stuck on the tarmac for hours wondering what the hell isgoing on, non-communication in any service industry is a bad idea.Note that a lot of these complaints simply involve not telling thecustomer the reasons behind the delay, billing increase or contractchanges.