Retail survey exposes customer service flaws

The level of customer service in Dubai's retail market is deteriorating, a UK-based company has found in its annual survey.

Based on interviews with 583 Dubai residents, business consultancy Joshua found that customer service satisfaction remains low in the emirate, with the retail sector coming out as the worst offender.

The category that saw the biggest drop in standards was staff behaviour, which only managed to score 2.1 on a scale of 1 to 5, compared with 2.8 last year.

“The staff are talking among themselves, they’re not really acknowledging the customer. They’re not really even acknowledging the customer when you go to pay your money,” said managing director Ruth Fields.

The fact that staff behaviour scored so poorly was alarming since it is the easiest thing for a business to address, she added.

Part of the explanation lies in high levels of staff turnover deterring organisations from investing in their employees and providing them with the right skills.

“If you haven’t got that right person with the right attitude, you might as well forget it, frankly,” Fields said.

“You wouldn’t put a lawyer into a law firm without the right qualifications, the right training and experience to do the job. So why on earth are we doing it in customer service?”

The results gave a polarised vew of customer service in Dubai, with most companies scoring either very highly or very poorly.

Customer service at one hotel was so good that some guests even asked them to “turn it down”, while another one consistently got it wrong, but always upgraded or sent flowers to guests who complained.

“They keep making the same mistake, and it’s costing that hotel chain a fortune, because they’re constantly having to appease the customer,” Fields said.

Dubai continues to offer businesses, residents and tourists fantastic opportunities, but during difficult times customers become much more discerning about where and when to spend their money, Joshua said.

“Great customer service is not rocket science. It is often just about people doing the simple things excellently,” the company said in a statement.

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