[25 August 2010]
Customer satisfaction for Transportation & Logistics, and Education sectors
Transportation & Logistics sector maintains same score despite weaker showing by Mass Rapid Transit System and Public Buses sub-sectors while tertiary education institutions need to gear up satisfaction levels if they want to see more of their alumni giving back.
Singapore, 25 August 2010 (Wednesday) – The Institute of Service Excellence at the Singapore Management University (ISES) (???????) releases today findings for the second quarter release of the Customer Satisfaction Index of Singapore (CSISG) 2010 for two sectors: Transportation & Logistics, and Education. Holding steady the same score of 68.7 for three consecutive years, the Transportation & Logistics sector nonetheless experienced significant shifts in satisfaction among its sub-sectors in opposite directions. On the other hand, the Education sector continued its downward slide in customer satisfaction, plunging to an all-time low of 65.5 from 68.4 in 2009.
Due to poorer ratings by both locals and tourists but largely the former, both the Mass Rapid Transit System and Public Buses sub-sectors suffered lower satisfaction scores than 2009. The decline is attributed to locals giving significantly lower perceived value scores for both sub-sectors compared to last year. This is an indication from locals that they are receiving less bang for the buck in their commuting experiences. The analysis also reveals that for the Mass Rapid Transit System sub-sector in particular, both local and tourist commuters say that satisfaction has continued to slip further from the imagined ideal for the past three consecutive years.
Sterling performance by Changi Airport and Courier & Postal Services sub-sectors, on the other hand, helped the Transportation & Logistics sector maintain its score at status quo. Interestingly, despite a small drop in score in the Airlines sub-sector, our national carrier Singapore Airlines scaled by 3.6 points, achieving a record 79.3, marking the highest ever satisfaction score ever attained by any company measured under CSISG and well above the national average of 68.0 (CSISG 2009).
Three sub-sectors under Education – Universities, Polytechnics and Commercial Schools – saw varying levels of decline in satisfaction scores. Currently-enrolled students, who formed all the respondents, gave lower ratings to all three drivers of satisfaction: expectations, perceived quality and perceived value. Through a new additional question asked of university and polytechnic students on their willingness to contribute time or money to their alma mater after graduation, a discernible positive correlation was found between satisfaction levels and the willingness to give back as alumni. This interesting finding shows that it is in the long-term interests of tertiary institutions to ensure that their students have a satisfying educational experience while they are studying. This will directly determine if they are willing to make sacrifices for the institution in later years.
Whether companies do follow-ups with customers who lodge complaints has a direct bearing on their satisfaction levels. Customers, who are expecting follow-ups, are least satisfied when this expectation is not met. Their satisfaction rises significantly when there is a follow-up. Customers, who are not expecting follow-ups, exhibit intermediate levels of satisfaction when this expectation is not met. This group scores highest satisfaction when a follow-up occurs in a least expected way. Companies should, therefore, place priority in proper follow-up strategies and procedures to complaints, and this has positive association with customer satisfaction.
Said Assistant Professor Marcus Lee (???), Academic Director (????), ISES: “This quarter's findings drew out an important observation on the importance of customer engagement. If tertiary institutions hope to nurture a pool of alumni rooted to their alma maters, they need to start building bonds and collegiality when they are still students. Likewise, companies who engage their complaining customers are likely to have more satisfied customers.”
Said Ms Caroline Lim (???), Director (??), ISES: “The weaker than before performance by our local public transportation sub-sectors can serve as a useful feedback that despite massive investments in infrastructure and new fare adjustments, customers could still remain dissatisfied. This could be due to a mismatch of expectations which transport companies could address through greater customer engagement channels.”
CSISG will continue to serve as a consistent benchmark for our key economic sectors to track our performance over time and a barometer on how Singapore fares globally. Companies can tap on CSISG – through corporate subscription and custom research – as a strategic business tool to gain valuable insights about customer satisfaction, benchmark against competitors and make better business decisions.
Please refer to the following Annexes for details:
? Annex A: Background on CSISG
? Annex B: Detailed scores
? Annex C: Executive Summary
About the Institute of Service Excellence at SMU
The Institute of Service Excellence at the Singapore Management University (ISES) is the cornerstone of an initiative to raise Singapore's service standards and promote a culture of service excellence. Working in close collaboration with government agencies and business leaders, ISES champions service excellence through an integrated approach that encompasses benchmarking and analysis, research and thought leadership, and industry engagement. www.smu.edu.sg/centres/ises