Singapore, 14 March 2012 (Wednesday) – The Institute of Service Excellence at the Singapore Management University (ISES) (卓越服 务 研究所) released the 2011 full-year results for the Customer Satisfaction Index of Singapore (CSISG), alongside the announcement of results for the Finance & Insurance, and Healthcare sectors for the 4 th quarter of the same year.
The national satisfaction index rose to 69.1-points (on a 0 to 100 scale), a 1.9-point (+2.8%) increase from 2010. This represents a record high since the CSISG started tracking Singapore's customer satisfaction in 2007.
Released concurrently with the national scorecard, the Finance & Insurance sector scored 68.5-points, while the Healthcare sector registered 66.6-points. These represent an upswing of 1.9-points (+2.9%) and a dip of 2.0-points (-2.9%), respectively.
Within the Finance & Insurance sector, the Banks and Health & Medical Insurance sub-sectors drove the CSISG score improvements. Between the two, the Banks sub-sector made the larger year-on-year improvement, scoring 69.1-points (+2.4-points/+3.6%), with the Health & Medical Insurance sub-sector rising 1.5-points (+2.3%) to 67.3-points.
NTUC Income was a particularly noteworthy company in that the composite insurer's 2011 CSISG score topped three sub-sectors, namely Life Insurance, Health & Medical Insurance, and Motor & Other Insurance.
DBS Bank made the largest improvement amongst all companies measured in the 4 th quarter, improving by 6.0-points (+9.2%) year-on-year to 71.1-points. It leapfrogged from the bottom of its sub-sector in 2010 to top the Banks sub-sector and indeed the Finance & Insurance sector. OCBC was the only other Bank in the sub-sector to make a significant change, improving by 3.2-points year-on-year (+4.9%) to 68.5-points.
A key finding for the 2011 Banks sub-sector was the distinct levels of satisfaction for local and foreign banks among respondents with household incomes in the $4,000 - $8,000 bracket. Year-on-year, respondents in this household income bracket were more satisfied with the “Big Three” local banks, but less satisfied with the foreign banks.
Within the Healthcare sector, a notable improvement of satisfaction came from Tourist respondents; tourists were surveyed in the Private Hospitals sub-sector. Overall, tourist satisfaction improved by 2.8-points (+4.1%) to 71.2-points. In comparison, locals' satisfaction of Singapore's Private Hospitals sub-sector in 2011 fell 1.6-points (-2.4%) to 67.4-points.
A key finding with the Restructured Hospitals sub-sector was the growing disparity in satisfaction between patients who had received government subsidies on their hospital bills and those who had not. Patients receiving subsidies were generally more satisfied than those who were not subsidised, with these unsubsidised patients becoming less satisfied year-on-year. CSISG data also showed that unsubsidised patients generally had a bigger expectation gap of their hospital experience, when compared to the subsidised patients.
Assistant Professor of Marketing (Practice) Marcus Lee ( 李德 发), Academic Director (学 术总监), ISES said, “Subsidised patients and unsubsidised patients may very well have different personal internal reference points with regards to the service they receive.”
He added: “Unsubsidised patients' lower satisfaction could be due to their perception that, as full paying customers, the hospital ought to treat them better.”
The CSISG survey has been quantitatively collating Singapore's customer experience of products and services for five years; the primary driver of satisfaction has been the customer's perception of quality.
“Hospitals can overcome this perception gap by shaping and aligning the customer's expectations, and to continuously improve on their product and service quality. CSISG's data trend shows that, in general, moving customer expectations and quality perceptions in tandem is most effective in improving customer satisfaction”, remarked Assistant Professor Lee.
With increases in satisfaction across seven of the nine sectors measured in the CSISG, the national index marked a record-high, year-on-year improvement.
Ms Caroline Lim ( 林 晓 玲 ), Director ( 总监), ISES said, “The improvements we are seeing in customer satisfaction are meaningful and encouraging.”
“Companies may wish to leverage this positive momentum to continue their thrust towards service excellence. There are different levers to push to enhance customer satisfaction. The three primary levers are customer expectations, quality and value. Companies may wish to understand what matters to their customers and rally employees company-wide, to drive improvements in these key satisfaction drivers.”
The CSISG 4 th quarter survey was conducted in October and December 2011. Prior to these results, the Info-Communications and Retail sectors were measured in the 1 st quarter of 2011 (Q1). This was followed by the Public Education, Private Education and Transportation & Logistics sectors in Q2. The Food & Beverage and Tourism sectors were measured in Q3. This Q4 result concludes the measurement for CSISG 2011.
Please refer to Annex A for a background on the CSISG and the 2011 Study, and Annex B for the detailed scores.
About the Customer Satisfaction Index of Singapore (CSISG)
The CSISG is an annual benchmark of customer satisfaction, covering nine key economic sectors in Singapore. The index has a quarterly measure-and-release cycle, covering up to three industry sectors each time. The CSISG serves as an objective barometer of service competiveness across countries, industry sectors, sub-sectors and companies. Companies can tap on the detailed CSISG reports and its unique cross-industry comparison capability to make strategic business decisions.
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.