SPOILT FOR CHOICE!

LMD’s exclusive online survey features Sri Lanka’s most popular service providers

"A satisfied customer is the best business strategy of all"

Michael LeBoeuf

Customer satisfaction and expectations can’t be engraved in stone. They are as unpredictable as the weather and defy logic, despite the best efforts of mice and men – you have to flow with the tide, lest you get washed away.

The bottom line is to provide customers with excellent service and value for money because let’s face it, they’re spoilt for choice. They no longer have to spend hours making decisions since all options are available at their fingertips as they sit in the comfort of their homes.

In an age when time is money, the virtual market space has redefined customer experience while businesses in turn have to come up with innovative ideas to win their hearts.

KPMG notes on its website: “The rules of competition have changed. Almost every major organisation is looking at a new reality and a new customer. The new customer has less to spend, is increasingly digital and displays unfamiliar patterns of demand. More profoundly, we are seeing longer-term shifts in their values, beliefs and needs.”

The multinational professional services firm also notes that “for companies to succeed in this new reality, they will need to understand the economic and social impact that is shaping their new customer – and be open to reinvent, innovate and transform their organisations, and their offers and experiences, to compete.”

THE ONLINE SURVEY LMD.lk conducted an online survey to assess the satisfaction levels of local customers in order to identify the most popular service providers. The survey comprised 31 categories that included airlines, banks, hospitals, restaurants and hotels among others.

There are no less than five categories in online stores; they include care products, clothing, electronics, groceries and homeware. Other new categories surveyed were higher education institutes, investment banks and domestic airlines.

SERVICE EXCELLENCE Fashion Bug dethroned ODEL as the retailer that offers the best customer service in the clothing and accessories category with Cool Planet, NOLIMIT and Hameedia completing the top five.

Of the home and kitchenware stores, Arpico Supercentre takes the lead from Singer (Sri Lanka) with Damro, Abans and Lady J being among the five leaders.

The most popular supermarkets remain Keells, Cargills and SPAR with Arpico advancing over Glomark to fourth place.

The most popular online stores are Daraz (electronics and homeware), Fashion Bug (clothing) and Keells (food and grocery).

For luxury items, Vogue Jewellers and Raja Jewellers continue to be rated as the best in the jewellery business followed by Nileka Jewellery; and for services in luxury watches, Chatham Luxury Watches is preferred over W. A. De Silva and Wimaladharma Brothers.

Of the spas and wellness centres, the best three in Sri Lanka for service excellence are Spa Ceylon, Siddhalepa Ayurveda Spa and Kemara Spa.

Meanwhile, the top five hospitals considered the best service providers are Asiri Health, Lanka Hospitals, Hemas, Nawaloka and Durdans.

The top three most service-oriented telcos are Dialog, SLT-Mobitel and Airtel.

In the international airlines category, the national carrier SriLankan Airlines retains the lead over Emirates, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific. Cinnamon Air, FitsAir and Lion Air are the most popular in the domestic airlines segment.

Commercial Bank of Ceylon takes the crown in the banking sector with Bank of Ceylon and Seylan Bank at number two and three respectively in the banks category, while National Savings Bank (NSB) and National Development Bank (NDB) are second and third in the investment banks category.

Ceylinco Life tops the life insurance rankings once more and Ceylinco General Insurance remains the favourite for general insurance.

In the hotels category, service at the iconic Heritance Kandalama is considered top-notch followed by Hotel Riu Sri Lanka and Aliya Resort & Spa.

Survey respondents picked Al-Mina Indian Family Restaurant over Chinese Dragon Cafe as their top two restaurants.

And PickMe is the preferred choice when it comes to both delivery and taxi services.

– LMD