Customer satisfaction falls in Transport and Logistics sector

SINGAPORE - The Institute of Service Excellence at the Singapore Management University (ISES) today released the 2014 second quarter (Q2) Customer Satisfaction Index of Singapore (CSISG) results for the Transport & Logistics, Public Education and Private Education sectors.

From 2013 to 2014, it is reported that customer satisfaction for the Transport and Logistics sector fell 0.6 per cent to 72.1 per cent (on a 0 to 100 scale) while the Public Education sector's score has no significant change from last year.

For Private Education, its 2014 score of 66.3 per cent is 6 per cent lower than its 2013 performance. However, the CSISG 2014 study switched to an online survey methodology for this group of private education respondents, according to the ISES report. This is as opposed to the face-to-face surveys of previous years, previously affecting its comparability.

The Transport & Logistics sector consists of eight measured sub-sectors, they are: Airlines, Changi Airport, Courier Services, MRT System, Public Buses and Taxi Services. Amongst them, six recorded declining year-on-year scores.

However, ISES reported that Changi Airport's satisfaction level still remained higher than that of MRT trains, public buses and taxis which also recorded falls.

The public transport sub-sectors of MRT (59.7 per cent), Public Buses (58.5 per cent) and Taxis (63.2 per cent), fell by 4.4 per cent, 2.2 per cent and 4.1 per cent, respectively.

While the Airlines sub-sector fell to 73.3 per cent, the Budget Airlines sub-sector inched up 0.8 per cent to reach its record high of 68.3 per cent since measurement began in 2008. On the other hand, the Changi Airport sub-sector score tumbled 10.1 per cent year-on-year to 75.4 per cent.

A noteworthy finding within the MRT sub-sector was how commuters who use more than one mode of transport to get to their workplace were found to be significantly less satisfied with the MRT operator than those who only used the MRT for their daily commute to and from work, reported ISES.

In Logistics, the Courier Services sub-sector posted a lower score of 71.2 per cent, a 1.7 per cent decrease from 2013. However, the Postal Services sub-sector, essentially SingPost, marked the only significant improvement in the Transport & Logistics sector, increasing 3.8 per cent from last year to also score 71.2 per cent, according to ISES.

The CSISG 2014 Q2 survey was conducted between April and June 2014. The fieldwork garnered a total of 13,002 unique responses about customer experiences in the Transport & Logistics and Education sectors.

ssandrea@sph.com.sg