[Singapore, 20 November 2012 (Tuesday)] – The Institute of Service Excellence at the Singapore Management University (ISES) (卓越服务研究所) released the 2012 third-quarter (Q3) Customer Satisfaction Index of Singapore (CSISG) findings and results for the Food and Beverage (F&B), and Tourism sectors today.
Analysis of the CSISG 2012 Q3 data revealed that the F&B and Tourism sector companies that performed well in CSISG had almost no gap between their customers’ expectations and perceived quality scores. In other words, customers of the better performing CSISG Q3 companies were receiving the level of quality they were expecting. Companies which delivered short of expectations were penalised with lower customer satisfaction.
Ms Caroline Lim (林晓玲), Director (总监), ISES said, “This finding suggests that the conventional wisdom of businesses to delight customers by over-delivering is not necessarily an efficient nor the only strategy. F&B and Tourism service providers can achieve comparatively higher satisfaction levels from their customers simply by understanding and delivering to their expectations.”
Nonetheless, as a whole, the customer satisfaction score for the F&B sector increased by 0.3-points (+0.4%), scoring 67.7-points (on a scale of 0 - 100), although this change is not considered statistically significant.
Within the F&B sector, the Restaurants, Fast Food Restaurants, and Cafes sub-sectors had no significant year-on-year score changes. The Bars and Pubs sub-sector improved by 2.4-points (+3.6%) to 69.4-points. The Food Courts sub-sector also bettered its previous year’s score by 2.2-points (+3.5%) to 64.8-points.
However, the Tourism sector fared significantly lower compared to 2011. Its CSISG score fell by 3.5-points (-4.8%) to 70.0-points year-on-year. Specifically, the decline was led by the Hotels sub-sector, scoring 70.1-points, 4.4-points (-5.9%) lower than in 2011. The Attractions sub-sector dipped by 2.8-points (-3.7%) to 72.6-points, while the Travel Agencies and Tour Operators sub-sector registered a drop of 3.0-points (-4.3%) to 68.5-points.
The survey also found that it was the tourist respondents, as opposed to locals, who were considerably less satisfied with the Tourism sub-sectors this year compared with last year. Further examination showed that this was due to a significant year-on-year decline in the tourists’ perceived quality of each of the three Tourism sub-sectors.
Assistant Professor of Marketing (Practice) Marcus Lee (李德发), ISES’ Academic Director (学术总监) cautioned, “The tourists’ frame of reference on what constitutes high quality service may have changed. Businesses must look beyond their service model and seek to understand their customers and external landscape better.”
“Tourists reported lower satisfaction as they perceived these companies to have not met their expectations. This finding may incline companies to suppress tourists’ expectations in the hope that their service delivery exceeds the expected quality. This strategy is flawed as customers will approach the service with a negative mindset, looking for service failures to confirm their negative pre-conceived notions.”
“Thus, companies that can fuzzily meet and confirm these evolving expectations of their customer-base will ensure a high level of satisfaction,” he commented.
Indeed, the Q3 results for both F&B and Tourism sectors, as well as historical CSISG results, bear out that high customer expectation scores are associated with high levels of customer satisfaction.
Ms Caroline Lim concluded, “The higher performing CSISG companies effectively deploy the three drivers of satisfaction, namely customer expectations, perceived quality, and perceived value, to further advance their customer satisfaction through communication and branding, and improved operational processes.”
The CSISG 2012 Q3 survey was conducted between June and August 2012. In all, the survey collected 8,968 responses about customer experiences in the Food and Beverage, and Tourism sectors.
Please refer to Annex A for the background on CSISG and the 2012 Study, and Annex B for the detailed scores of all sub-sectors and companies measured in Q3.
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 (ISES)
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.