by Cheryl Lim

LEVELS of customer satisfaction here have dropped for the second year running, despite national efforts to boost service levels.

A Singapore Management University (SMU) survey found that five key sectors, including hospitality and education, showed dips in customer satisfaction levels, with the retail sector registering the biggest drop.

Only the transport sector kept its standing.

A team from SMU's Institute of Service Excellence (ISE) compiled responses from 25,083 questionnaires completed from April to August for the survey, which is in its third year.

The researchers were unable to explain why customer-satisfaction levels had fallen.

ISE director Caroline Lim, who is on the team, said: "We hope that the survey will serve as a wake-up call to companies."

She advised companies to "know the needs of their target customers". For example, Singapore Airlines clients have different needs and expectations from budget-airline clients.

The Go the Extra Mile for Service (Gems) movement was launched in 2005 to improve service levels here.

Its second phase, Gems Up, was launched last month to promote the importance of good service to business decision- makers and consumers, among other objectives.

Asked to comment on the results yesterday, the Singapore Tourism Board, which manages Gems Up, would say only that service excellence is "a never-ending journey" with a "continuous need for improvement".

cheryll@sph.com.sg

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