Customer satisfaction for the sectors reverted to 2012 levels in the latest survey, falling between 2013 and 2014, with tourists having a significantly lower satisfaction compared to local customers.
The latest numbers based on a survey of 4,850 locals and 3,750 tourists conducted in the third quarter of 2014 showed a 6.5 per cent fall in the F&B sector's score to 65.8 points, and a 7.3 per cent drop in the tourism sector's score, to 69.1 points out of a possible 100.
Chair:
Ms Caroline Lim, Director, Institute of Service Excellence at SMU
Panelists:
1. Yasemin T. Stubbe, Founder, YTS Hospitality Marketing
2. Daniel Sia, Founder and Executive Chef, Disgruntled Chef
3. Dr Marcus Lee, Academic Director, Institute of Service Excellence at SMU
TRAINING CONTINUES DESPITE LABOUR CRUNCH
Speaking at the panel discussion chaired by ISES Director Caroline Lim, Yasemin T. Stubbe, founder of consultancy YTS Hospitality Marketing, provided insights into the future of service in the hospitality industry, stating the drop in scores in the hotel sub-sector came as no surprise with a manpower shortage on the rise.
"Since 2011, there has been a 25% increase in the supply of hotel rooms in Singapore, in line with an increase in demand. However, the recent foreign worker quotas haven't helped," noted Ms. Stubbe.
Without adequate time to train new employees, general managers of hotels are struggling to find the right type of employees to deliver the right type of service.
"What is happening in the industry is there is a lot of need for manpower right now. So people come on the jobs without necessarily getting the proper training, they are thrown into these service roles where they just need to learn on the job, which is not ideal. They should be going through the proper training and orientation programmes to be able to deliver the service excellence that customers expect from them."
For the F&B sector, a decline in customer satisfaction at restaurants, cafes and snack bars, which are more dependent on manpower, pulled down the overall sector score compared to the previous year.
NEED FOR A SUSTAINABLE OPERATING MODEL
Daniel Sia, founder and executive chef of restaurant and bar The Disgruntled Chef was of the opinion things were going to get worse before things got better.
Mr. Sia's initial reaction to the declining scores was expected; citing the dire situation with the manpower shortage was similar to the hotel sector. Without a strong focus on hiring a cleaner or cashier in smaller operations such as cafes and restaurants, it resulted in the drop in satisfaction in touch points such as cleanliness and billing.
"Companies who are willing to take the time to invest in training will survive. For now, it's all about trying to retain the local staff that we have. It's the situation I'm in now," noted Mr. Sia.
CO-CREATE SOLUTIONS WITH CUSTOMERS
Using technology is not always the solution too, the panelists said.
Ms. Stubbe gave the example of her visit to Wild Honey, a popular brunch spot in the city, with her mother. While she was clearly impressed with the option to do a spot of window shopping before receiving a text message once their table was ready, along with the ability to place orders via an iPad, her mother found the process of swiping across a menu on a tablet confusing and clunky.
"This example shows how important it is to know your customers. Don't force technology on anyone, figure out who your target clientele is and figure out the best way to deliver the customer experience," she noted.
With exposure to various formats of restaurants, Mr. Sia knows too well the importance of understanding customer behaviour and staying ahead of the tourist and local segments of his clientele when it comes to what they want.
"I learnt recently during my time at Harry's Bar that knowing the customer is very important in order to satisfy them. With 53 outlets across Singapore, we got to this point where we needed to understand different demographics in each area. For example, Mapletree Business Park is fast-paced and predominantly local, compared to the more tourist-driven Boat Quay outlet."
He realised the difference in expectations and needs, and subsequently tweaked the operating model to suit each outlet.
NEED FOR USER-CENTRIC TECHNOLOGY DESIGN
ISES Academic Director Marcus Lee also suggested that apart from technology, hotels and restaurants could consider other processes to streamline their operations such as self-service activities.
Customers choosing the self-service option will work if their expectations are managed. "There are certain parts of a customer's journey that the customer might be happy doing by himself or herself, such as reservations at a hotel," said Dr. Lee.
For example, customers might prefer to order room service using a tablet instead of speaking directly to hotel staff over the phone, minimising the risk of miscommunication due to foreign accents and lack of a common language. This in turn makes more resources available for other tasks, making it easier for employees to do their jobs, Dr. Lee said.
Knowing one's employees is just as important as knowing one's customers. Dr. Lee gave the example of his family dining experience at a Japanese restaurant where waiters took orders on an iPad, which then transmitted to a printed receipt for the kitchen staff.
He noticed one staff member writing down an order, before later inputting the same data into the iPad. This time-waster was evident of the lack of training and knowledge of the employee. He noted that making it easier for employees to do their jobs well could also help improve retention rates.
GIVE MEANING TO THE EXPERIENCE FOR EMPLOYEES AND CUSTOMERS
Ms. Stubbe agreed that engaging and empowering employees would encourage staff retention. “Happy employees who take full pride in the brand they represent and own it like their own business, will do their very best,” she noted.
Mr. Sia also agreed that people work for people, not companies. "If I can learn something from my superior, I'll stay. If I'm not working for the right people, I wouldn't stay. I used to work in an "angry kitchen", getting abused, it was hard work but I enjoyed it because I was learning. However if I was working in a happy environment, I wouldn't necessarily be happy if I wasn't learning anything."
As Ms. Lim aptly concluded, "Happy employees don’t always lead to happy customers. What matters is the meaning and purpose we are giving to our staff who want to stay on to ensure service delivery is consistent."