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Hong Kong ranked bottom for the first time in an annual global customer service survey as a gloomy economic outlook wiped away the smiles of many local employees.
The survey, conducted byMystery Shopper Service Association, collected data from 61 countries and regions by sending out trained individuals to experience and measure services while posing as potential customers.
Hong Kong placed last out of 37 countries surveyed last year in its “smiling index” – down from third last in 2014. The city achieved a score of 48 out of 100, far below the global average of 83.
Association chairman Anders Wong said the city had failed to improve upon last year’s result as it saw “a 20 per cent drop” in its smiling index score from 2014.
First place in the index was secured by Ireland for the second year in a row. Macau ranked a spot higher than Hong Kong with a mark of 53. China scored 83, ranking 26th and 11 places above the city.
The survey did not include data from Singapore.
Wong believed the major reason for the city’s lacklustre showing was weak economic conditions, citing a sluggish local stock market and still-high property prices discouraging consumers from spending their hard-earned money.
He added it was inevitable that frontline staff would feel frustrated by their shrinking commission fees amid poor sales performances.
Wong also thought high turnover among frontline staff had prompted employees to not take their job seriously. He said this was especially common among younger employees.
“Hong Kong doesn’t have a happy culture,” said Wong.
However, Barry Mak, an associate professor at Polytechnic University’s school of hotel and tourism management, advised the public to interpret the ‘smiling index’ with care.
“It’s not fair to draw the conclusion that Hong Kong is terrible because it ranked last in a report,” he said.
“Do people in London always smile at you? “ Mak asked, adding it was not surprising that people living in large cities were not fond of smiling. He said an absence of smiling was “a by-product” of life in a metropolis.
And in a sign that the gloomy conditions had not yet lifted, the city’s retail sales plunged 13.6 per cent year on year in the first two months of this year – the sharpest slump since 1999.
Industry insiders have warned that large-scale lay-offs and even a tide of shop closures would not be surprising if the situation persisted over the next few months.
(SCMP)
