Forrester asked 538 Canadian consumers about their interactions with a variety of companies, gauging the usefulness, usability, and enjoyability of those experiences. Based on these consumer responses, we calculated the Customer Experience Index for 22 firms in five different industries. RBC and Costco came out at the top of the list. But on average, there's a lot of room for improvement: Only RBC wound up with an "excellent" rating. That's why firms should put customer experience initiatives near the top of their 2008 strategic plans and chart a course toward Experience-Based Differentiation.