The editorial cited the findings of the Customer Satisfaction Index of Singapore conducted by the Institute of Service Excellence at SMU, which reported a 6.5 per cent drop in consumer satisfaction for the food and beverage sector, from 70.3 to 65.8 points, and a 7.3 per cent drop in the tourism sector, from 72.7 to 69.1 points, the lowest since 2009. The index also noted that tourists reported lower satisfaction than locals. Academics and industry professionals cited manpower shortage and lack of training as the main reasons for a drop in service standards. The drop in customer satisfaction serves as a reminder that long-term strategies like employee training programmes have to be put in place to help Singapore flourish in the long run.