Many tourists visiting the Cayman Islands do not feel they are getting the service offering they pay a price for, but they are getting courtesy/friendliness and staff knowledge above all else, a recent survey reveals.
From August to December 2005, Deloitte, at the request of the Department of Tourism, undertook an assessment of customer service levels in tourism sectors (accommodations, watersports, restaurants, ground transportation, airlines/airports, cruise, retail and attractions) in the Cayman Islands.
The objective of the study was to identify the current state of customer service levels in the Cayman Islands tourism industry, identify historical trends in customer service levels, identify best practices in the industry and identify opportunities for the Department of Tourism and the industry based on the analysis of the data collected.
Of all the customer service key performance indicators, courtesy/friendliness and staff knowledge exceeded expectations more than any others. Those categories with the highest level of not meeting expectations were: value (price for service offering), availability of services, promptness/efficiency of service, ease of disembarkation and embarkation at cruise ports and hours of operation of retail and attraction facilities.
The results were revealed at a Customer Service Workshop held by DoT at the Marriott Beach Resort on Friday.
Minister for Tourism Charles Clifford pointed out that good is simply not good enough for our guests and that it is now time to come together and raise the customer service standards, bringing them from good to great.
One of the initiatives being undertaken to help improve service levels is the hospitality apprenticeship programme, which he said will not only train newcomers to the industry, but will also allow incumbent workers to upgrade their skills.
He said that while a significant number of expatriate workers are needed for tourism there is also a need for a high level of Caymanians for the good of the industry.
‘I encourage you all to listen, learn and embrace a new level of service,’ he said.
Director of Tourism Pilar Bush said it is DoT’s intention for the Cayman Islands to be industry leaders in customer service in the region. Although customers are not now clear on why there is a price premium here, delivering excellent service can be a rationale for this, she said. This will be a long term investment in future business and sustainability of tourism.
CITA President Karie Bergstrom said the visitors are willing to spend money on their vacations here, but they want good value for it and this means top notch customer service.
Current analysis survey trends show that customer service levels in all sectors of the industry met the expectations of survey respondents overall. However, the survey reveals the need for improvement focusing on supporting processes and infrastructure for customer service delivery rather than the people. Of all the sectors, retail, attractions and ground transportation have the greatest opportunities for customer service improvement, the survey found.
A historical analysis shows that 2002 was perceived to have the lowest levels of customer service in the past five years, with most sectors improving in 2003 and 2004, but then experiencing another drop in perceived customer service levels in 2005. There are also many incidences where customer service expectations were both exceeded and not met in the same year, indicating a gap in the level of customer service delivery between service providers.
Some concerns from a tourism industry perspective include crime, managing customer expectations, poor knowledge of the Cayman Islands, composition of the tourism industry labour force, local perception about the tourism industry, low perceived value of the Cayman Islands product and the volume of cruise ship passengers.
The recommendations to DoT that have come from the survey include developing a strong island-wide service culture, developing a skilled labour market, facilitating industry-wide training and orientation, measuring and rewarding principle-aligned behaviour, setting industry stakeholders up for success, enhancing the effectiveness of publications and the media, assessing the cruise versus stay-over demographic, clearly communicating prices and services offered, improving tourist mobility and supporting infrastructure.
Industry best practices identified include setting employees up for success by empowering them with knowledge, improving tourist mobility, knowing your customer and product and developing a strong service culture.
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