Service watch

Findings from the British Hospitality Association/Scher Benchmark for the first quarter of 2000 show considerable differences in the level of customer service guests will receive depending on which part of the UK they are staying in.

The results were broken down by geographical areas: London, the North, the Midlands, the South, Scotland and Wales. They show that, overall, the highest levels of service can be found in Scotland and the North. In particular, staff displaying good customer service during the booking procedure, and the general cleanliness of hotels, is high in these areas.

Wales achieved the lowest scores. While its standards of cleanliness were among the most impressive in the UK, interaction with guests was poor. Only one-third of staff members tried to establish a guest's needs. This includes, for example, asking if they required a newspaper or dinner reservation.

Staff seeking to help guests during their stay and trying to ascertain their individual needs continues to be the weakest service area for all hotels in the UK. But there have been slight increases in scores since the last quarter of 1999, the biggest improvement being for hotels in the South.

The warmest and friendliest staff can still be found in the North and Scotland, where many hotels are privately owned and often run by the owners themselves.

For more detailed information about the British Hospitality Association/Scher Benchmark contact Jane Cook on 020 7691 2745.

• Below are results from some of the key service areas mentioned. The figures represent the percentage of mystery guests who were happy with the service.

Booking service: 90% 92% 87%

General cleanliness: 94% 93% 95%

Establishing guests' needs: 58% 59% 49%

Staff seeking to help: 59% 63% 67%

Booking service: 87% 95% 86%

General cleanliness: 95% 95% 96%

Establishing guests' needs: 51% 63% 34%

Staff seeking to help: 63% 76% 53%

Next Service watch: 24 August