Shake-up for bad service culture

MID-May sees the launch of a pilot project for a new telephone-based customer care system which, if successful, will allow tourist bodies and hospitality groups such as hotels and restaurants to determine not only how customers rate their service, but to develop a clear demographic picture of their clients. Neville Prinsloo, managing director of Aizan Technologies, South Africa - the Canadian-based company that developed the system - told Travel Now that the system will be piloted on a national basis, in partnership with the Federated Hospitality Association of South Africa (FEDHASA) and an as yet undisclosed hotel group. "The system, using prize incentives to entice the customer, requires that a customer call a specified telephone number and telephonically complete a questionnaire, including questions about the nationality of the client and the duration of his stay," explained Prinsloo. The answers to the questionnaire are then faxed or emailed to the hotel from Aizan's central computer server. According to him, if the responses go outside set parameters (such as a complaint), the hotel or restaurateur is instantly alerted so that immediate action can be taken - before the guest leaves the facility. "The result is that a satisfied, rather than a disgruntled customer, walks out of the hotel - and one who'll be back". The other advantage of installing the system, says Prinsloo, is that it enables game lodges and camps which are scattered over vast areas to gather accurate information on their clients, which previously had been "almost impossible" to obtain. The system does not require additional hardware or software and it can be driven from the client's own computers and infrastructures. "We charge a minimal set-up fee and then bill monthly for actual time spent online." (Adele Mackenzie)