The Travel Network Group has been rated ‘world class’ by members in a survey by the Institute of Customer Service.
Conducted in February, the survey resulted in the agency group receiving a rating of 80.9, up from 76.1 in February 2015. Any score over 80 is deemed ‘world class’ customer service.
Other companies which are also rated ‘world class’ by the ICS include booking.com (80.6), P&O Cruises (80.2), Expedia (81.3) and Trailfinders (83.3).
Chief executive Gary Lewis said the group had been forced to significantly up its game to improve customer services on areas where it was underperforming, such as resolving complaints.
Speaking at the group’s conference on board Celebrity Eclipse, he said: “In 2015, you (members) thought we were below world class. We knew we had to improve our service, our technology, our people, and get a better understanding of what we’re poor at.
“We put together a customer service team chosen from every division of the group, such as marketing, operations, and finance, and over 12 months has constant conversations about where we were in customer service on technology, or answering the phones and response times to members. It became all-consuming and it changed what we did.”
Lewis said the group had set a target score of 84, adding: “Naturally I was not as happy as I could have been but in reflection we moved the dial as a business and we have gone over 80 into world class customer service. You (members) are recognising we are behaving differently.”