In the first blog of this two-part series, I asked what makes a company stand out over others. My theory was that is was part price, part value and part services offered with a healthy amount of “presentation” as they say in the culinary world.

The Bloomberg Businessweek article “Standouts in Customer Service,” ranked the top 25 standouts for 2010. I thought this topic deserved further attention and have included a few tips from the winners.

No. 1: L.L. Bean: famous for its lenient return policies, L.L. Bean now offers free shipping on outbound deliveries and returns. In addition, when it announced the closure of a call center in 2009, L.L. Bean gave employees the option to work as home-based agents rather than outsourcing the work.

No. 2: USAA: this innovative company is giving customers the flexibility they desire by offering bank deposits via iPhone and is working on a way for customers to handle an entire accident claim via smartphones as well as making peer-to-peer payments.

No. 3: Apple: options such as Apple’s “Genius Bar” appointments as well as roaming in-store checkout clerks are new ways Apple is upping its customer service game. Apples reputation for customer service is further engrained by customer-friendly iPhone apps created by other companies.

No. 4: Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts: there is nothing like a national financial crisis to put a hurt on luxury brands. The Four Seasons responded by easing meeting planner policies as well as cross-training back-office employees to do double duty.

No. 5: Publix Super Markets: a power player in the Southeast, Publix recently installed an inventory software system to automate order replenishments, which improved “out-of-stocks” by 19 percent. What is Publix’s customer service secret – ownership. The 1000-store chain gives all workers a grant of the grocery giant’s privately held stock.

Accent Transportation Services is in the business of service, providing Phoenix airport executive car service, Phoenix and Scottsdale limo service and special event transportation, which means this topic is of interest to us! As I reviewed the top 25 customer service winners, and specifically the top five, two common themes emerged. Those themes are doing business the way the customer wants it done (iPhone apps, no hassle returns and relaxing policies to earn trust) and ownership (providing employees an actual part of the company).

There a few things in the world that have more impact than helping employees see their connection to a company’s success or proactively changing how your customers interact with your services. We hope you’ve found this information useful. Let us know your customer service tips and what has worked for you. You can reach us on Twitter at @transaccent or friend us at http://www.facebook.com/transaccent. We’ll give you a 10 percent roundtrip discount for sharing your thoughts.