No. 1 L.L. Bean

The Maine outdoor retailer in Maine is famous for its lenient returns policy. Now L.L. Bean credit-card holders get free shipping on outbound deliveries and returns. When it announced the closure of a call center in 2009, L.L. Bean said it would give employees the option to work as home-based agents rather than outsource the work. Says customer satisfaction vice-president Terry Sutton: "With outsourcing, you’re just giving too much away."