SMU’s Institute of Service Excellence (ISE) released the 2017 third quarter (Q3) Customer Satisfaction Index of Singapore results for the food & beverage (F&B) and tourism sectors. The F&B sector saw a 2.4 per cent increase in its score to a record high of 71.7 points. Consumer satisfaction and loyalty scores for restaurants hit 71.5 points and 71.9 points respectively. However, when it came to waiting over 20 minutes for their food, customer satisfaction and loyalty scores hit 50.4 points and 49.7 points respectively.

ISE Head of Research and Consulting Chen Yongchang said that customers typically feel disgruntled once the waiting time for their food exceed what they are able to tolerate, and their desire for a return visit will hence drop as well. If the waiting experience is poor, even a short five minutes waiting time will seem like a 20-minutes’ wait. This highlighted the importance for operators to improve customers’ waiting experience.

ISE also announced the launch of the SMU Advanced Certificate in Service Excellence and Innovation, in conjunction with SMU Academy. Designed for middle to senior management executives, participants will need to complete six modular courses and undergo an assessment before they are awarded the certificate