The headline story on Wal-Mart today is that the company beat analysts' profit forecasts for the fourth quarter of 2007. Wall Street liked the news. But there was another Wal-Mart story floating around today that Wall Street may not like so much, eventually. The University of Michigan surveyed consumers on their satisfaction with a variety of retailers around the US, and it was interesting to note that Wal-Mart ranked lowest among the major chains.

Clearly, most anyone who shops at Wal-Mart goes there for the prices. If high-quality customer service is that important, you'd be shopping at Nordstrom or Macy's. Still, Wal-Mart is a brand name, and if successful brand names are about how people "feel," then Wal-Mart's customer service could probably use some help.

Say "Wal-Mart" to a friend or neighbor - what comes to mind? Most likely, it's stores that are filled with discounted goods, but also filled with long waits at the cash registers; stores where there are too many people and aisles that aren't big enough to accomodate them all; stores where you have to elbow your way through pallets of unstocked goods waiting to be put on the shelves.

It wasn't always like this. I was first introduced to Wal-Mart in the mid-1980s, when the chain opened a store in Meridian, Mississippi, where I was getting my start as a television reporter. I can remember my first visit and the greeter who said "Welcome to Wal-Mart" as I walked inside. Clean. Generally uncluttered. When more than a handful of people were waiting in line at any one cash register, the store manager would open up yet another lane so more people could pay for their stuff and get on with their day. Whatever happened to that type of customer service at Wal-Mart? Clearly, customer satisfaction remains an area of improvement for Wal-Mart because -- it's interesting to note -- in the four years that the University of Michigan has conducted its satisfaction survey with shoppers, the chain has ranked at the bottom each and every time.