SINGAPORE - Several established brands had a strong showing in Singapore’s Best Customer Service survey 2023/2024 – the first post-pandemic – with hotels and airlines faring well.
The 36-year-old Mandarin Oriental, Singapore took second spot on the top 10 list, behind Shangri-La Singapore, despite announcing earlier in 2023 that it was closing for six months for an extensive $135 million revamp. The announcement was made just before the survey period of March and April.
Qatar Airways, one of the few international airlines that never stopped flying during the pandemic, placed third.
The airline, which is celebrating its 20th year in Singapore in 2023, also opened its premium lounge here in June 2022 – one of only five outside its Doha home.
In 2022’s inaugural edition of the survey, TC Acoustic – a small home-grown audio distributor with one retail store and a Web store selling high-end audio products – beat more than 1,600 companies to top spot.
It fell to No. 7 this time.
Mandarin Oriental general manager Philipp Knuepfer said its appeal to customers relied on factors such as its long-serving team members who “continuously deliver quality service” and its food and beverage outlet favourites.
The hotel, which is fully booked for the Formula One weekend in mid-September when it reopens, is also seeing “positive demand for year-end bookings from international travellers”, he said.
Its reopening will see a focus on families, among others, including a new all-day restaurant with a dedicated children’s buffet area, seating and a playground. The Residential Family Suites, which will have a kitchenette, washer, dryer and grocery shopping service, will feature bunk beds and special amenities for children.
As for Qatar Airways, Mr Jared Lee, vice-president of sales for the South-east Asia and South-west Pacific region, attributed its success to its attention to detail and dedicated teams in different departments constantly working together on customer experience enhancement.
For example, the seven-time winner of the Skytrax Airline of the Year poll offers an amenity kit by French cult perfumery Diptyque, a pyjamas set by The White Company, as well as premium chocolates by Swiss chocolatier Laderach in its business class seats.
“Qatar Airways spares no effort and expense in elevating passenger experience, and I believe this constant drive and desire to push the envelope of bettering the Qatar Airways in-flight experience is our secret to success in customer satisfaction,” said Mr Lee.
As for the strong showing by hospitality brands in 2023, Mr Knuepfer said: “I believe consumers are fully back on a travel spree and looking for unique experiences and personalised services.”
He noted that hospitality brands are increasingly doing more to curate personalised experiences for guests to create memorable moments for them, and to “surprise and delight them at every point of their stay”.
