Over the past couple of years, I’ve lost count of the number of times travel companies have told me the key to their survival – and hopefully growth – is through offering better customer service than their competitors.
It’s been touted as the main differentiator and driver of profits, and yet despite such claims, only six tourism companies were ranked among the top 50 organisations in the Institute of Customer Service’s UK Customer Satisfaction Index, published this month.
Three were hospitality companies – Hilton, Marriott and Premier Inn; one was domestic holiday park operator Center Parcs; and two were outbound companies – P&O Cruises and P&O Ferries. Congratulations to all of them. But why aren’t there more travel and tourism companies on the list? Where are all the package tour operators for starters?
Consumers were surveyed about hundreds of organisations, from banks and building societies to automotive and utility companies. Only 16 tourism companies were put to the test –
a fraction of the number taking people away on holiday.
The chief executive of the Institute of Customer Service, Jo Causon, speaking recently at a Travel Weekly Group event, talked of a direct link between high levels of customer service and profitability, driven by satisfaction, trust and loyalty. Isn’t that the holy grail of every business?
If travel companies really are serious about making customer service their USP, let’s see more of them putting themselves forward for scrutiny in ICS’s next Customer Satisfaction Index in January – and getting more than six into that coveted top 50.