Singapore restaurants, cafes and food courts are providing a more satisfying experience for customers according to the latest Customer Satisfaction Index.
The Institute of Service Excellence at the Singapore Management University (ISES) released the 2015 third quarter (Q3) Customer Satisfaction Index of Singapore (CSISG) results for the Food & Beverage (F&B) and Tourism sectors this week.
And it showed that customer satisfaction for the F&B sector improved year-on-year, increasing by 1.32 points (up two per cent) to 67.1 points (of a maximum 100). The Tourism sector’s performance was generally unchanged, inching up by 0.31 points (0.4 per cent) over the previous year to 69.4 points.
Neeta Lachmandas, ISES executive director, said the latest CSISG results are “a positive and encouraging sign to redouble our efforts in innovating and reinventing Singapore’s service proposition” to consumers amid the challenging business climate.
Within the F&B sector, the Cafés & Snack Bars sub-sector scored 68.1-points (+1.83 points/+2.8 per cent) while the Restaurants sub-sector scored 66.2 points (+2.06 points/+3.2 per cent), “both meaningful improvements over the previous year”.
The other three constituent F&B sub-sectors’ performances were generally unchanged, with Fast Food Restaurants scoring 69.4 points (+0.40 points/+0.6 per cent), Bars & Pubs scoring 69 points (-1.06points/-1.5 per cent), and Food Courts scoring 66.5 points (+0.4 points/+0.6 per cent).
By brand
Several key brands were included in the Index. Here’s how they performed:
Fast food:
McDonald’s* 72.2
Burger King 67.6
KFC 67.5
Others 64.3
Cafes:
Starbucks 70.1
Coffee Bean 68.4
Others 67.7
Food courts:
NTUC Foodfare* 69.0
Food Republic 67.7
Koufu 67.0
Kopitiam 65.9
Others 66.2
Restaurants:
Sushi Tea* 70.0
RE&S* 69.0
Crystal Jade* 68.7
Sakae Holdings* 68.6
Minor Food Group 68.0
Others 65.7
*Note: Companies with an asterisk beside them performed significantly above their sub sector average.
Further commentary
Additional analysis into the F&B sector also revealed distinct differences in two particular groups of restaurant patrons: those who made dining reservations and those who did not. Diners who made reservations were more concerned with issues such as the quality of food served, whereas walk-in customers’ perceptions of quality were affected more by time-related issues, such as waiting to get a seat and how quickly they could get their food.
Assistant Professor of Marketing (Practice) Marcus Lee, Academic Director of ISES, said: “Impact analysis such as this will help restaurateurs focus their energies on the most important aspects of a customer’s dining experience. In a hectic service environment, knowing the sweet spot to please differing groups of customers will go a long way towards boosting both customer satisfaction and staff productivity.”
This year’s survey also looked at the relationship between social media usage and its effects on consumers’ expectations and perceptions: respondents who used social media prior to their experience with an F&B outlet or a tourist attraction had significantly higher expectations as compared to those who did not access social media to preview the establishment.
“While the proportion of customers preluding their visit with social media reviews is small, businesses cognisant of its effects and potential can use this medium to shape expectations and customers’ eventual perceptions of their experience,” observed Lee.
The CSISG 2015 Q3 survey was conducted between July and September 2015. The fieldwork garnered a total of 10,460 unique responses about customer experiences in the F&B and Tourism sectors.
