According to the Customer Experience Index, 2007;
"Forrester asked nearly 5,000 consumers about their interactions with a variety of companies, gauging the usefulness, usability, and enjoyability of those experiences. Based on these consumer responses, we calculated the Customer Experience Index for 112 firms in nine different industries. Led by Costco, Borders, and Barnes & Noble, retailers dominated the top of the rankings. But on average, there’s a lot of room for improvement: Only 10% of the firms wound up with “excellent” ratings — and 21% were “poor” or “very poor.” That’s why firms should put customer experience initiatives near the top of their 2008 strategic plans and chart a course toward Experience-Based Differentiation."

It is likely that all CEOs believe that their companies deliver an outstanding customer experience. Unfortunately, research tends to suggest this is not the case. 2008 Bain & Company research found that while 80% of companies believed they delivered a superior experience for their customers, only 8% of those companies’ customers report having such an experience. A similar CMO Council study found that 56% percent of technology vendors perceive themselves as being extremely customer-centric, compared with only 12% of their customers.

"There is a clear disconnect between the experience companies think they deliver and what customers experience, perceive and – more importantly – desire. It’s not about what you think… it’s about what your customers think."

I believe these mediocre and misaligned results caused by the belief that voice of the customer provides adequate customer insight and that a company can only truly understand and deliver outstanding customer experience when they are outside in.

Ref: http://customersrock.net/category/voice-of-the-customer/