WASHINGTON - For the sixth straight year, the U.S. Mint is among the top performers in the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). With a score of 88 (on a 0-100 scale), the U.S. Mint placed second only to H.J. Heinz, and ahead of Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble Company, and Hershey Foods. In addition, the 88 score easily exceeds both the private sector (72.6) and government sector (68.6) averages at the end of 2000.

“This reinforces our efforts to provide the public outstanding service, products and value,” said Mint Director Henrietta Holsman Fore. “We have just introduced a new web catalog and a new fulfillment center this fall, and we will try to score even higher next year. The ACSI rating is especially important to us since it provides the vehicle by which the U.S. Government can benchmark against U.S. business.”

The report, issued annually by the National Quality Research Center (NQRC) at the University of Michigan School of Business, points out that the Mint scored very high on all indices that are drivers of satisfaction -- Customer Expectations, Perceived Quality, Perceived Value -- for the period from 1995 to 2000, with Perceived Value now at an all-time high. During the same period, customer complaints fell to a lower level than in past studies.

Created by Congress in 1792, the Mint is a manufacturing and international marketing enterprise with $2.4 billion in annual revenue and about 2,800 employees. In FY 2001, the Mint produced approximately 24 billion coins, fulfilling its primary mission to produce an adequate supply of circulating coinage for the nation’s commerce. For more information, please visit www.usmint.gov.