If you study the 10 winners of the 2011 MSN Money Customer Service Hall of Fame, you will find that four of them work as hard to please their own employees as they work to please customers. Here are profiles of those four companies, whose philosophies support the principle that happy employees make for happy customers:

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• Costco, which was rated as “excellent” in customer service by 37.2% of respondents in the Customer Service Hall of Fame rating process, delivers significant benefits to all of its 125,000 U.S. employees. Even part-time employees are eligible for health coverage, and the average hourly wage is more than $20 an hour.

• Southwest Airlines, rated as “excellent” by 45% of respondents, emphasizes employee satisfaction too. “We empower employees to make decisions, and we support them,” says Teresa Laraba, senior VP of customer experience.

• Publixsupermarkets, also rated “excellent” by 45% of respondents, are employee-owned. All workers — even part-time baggers — receive retirement benefits and health care coverage for their families. This could be why store managers stay on board for an average of 25 years.

• Trader Joe’s supermarkets, rated as “excellent” by 48.9% of respondents, hire interesting employees, compensate them well, and provide good wages and full benefits. The result is what the store calls, “The Trader Joe’s Adventure” for customers.

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