ABTA 2014: Travel firms lag behind retailers in customer service
Not a single tour operator made it into the top 10 list of companies for customer service in the UK, it was revealed at the Travel Convention.
Delegates heard that the list was topped by John Lewis, followed by Amazon.
Jo Causon, chief executive of the Institute of Customer Service, said there was a direct correlation between high customer satisfaction and a company’s profitability.
She said those with the best customer service were in the retail sector, while utilities were at the bottom of the ladder.
Tourism was in the top half of the list, with Center Parcs, P&O, Premier Inn, Marriott and Hilton among the best performers.
"Customer sastisfaction is absolutely critical," said Causon, but TUI UK marketing director Jeremy Ellis said it was harder for travel companies as, unlike retailers such as John Lewis, they were working in a fragmented business.
"We should be in the top 10 and we want to get right up the list to where John Lewis is, but I do think we have a harder product to work with than John Lewis," he said.
"There are so many parts and so many external factors that can have an effect," he added. "We don’t work in the same controlled environment."
However, Ellis said customer satisfaction statistics had ‘shot through the roof’ in Cyprus after Thomson staff were givin iPads loaded with customer data.
"It enabled us to deal with issues immediately," he said.
The company will now be rolling the devices out to other destinations.
But Fred Olsen sales and marketing director Nathan Philpot said travel companies don’t necessarily need big data, gadgets and the latest technology to deliver good customer service.
He said sometimes it comes down to something as simple as a sly wink.
"I like the story of a customer who checked into a hotel and the receptionist welcomed him back," Philpot said.
"When the guest said ‘how did you know I’ve stayed here before’ she said the porter who took his bag had asked him if he had been there before, and then winked at her!"
Phipot added: "It’s about training your staff and good staff retention, product and price can be replicated but your relationship with your client is unique.
"We need the ability to read people and we need to create emotional intelligence."
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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