This article is from page 39 of the 2008-10-28 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 39 JPG
IT’S top marks all round for the lead- ing tourism enterprises of the region and the accolade has come from the most important source of all – the Kes ae
In what was the most detailed sur- vey of customer satisfaction in the Mid West, over 5,500 visitors gave their verdict on tourism attractions, hotels, restaurants, retail operations, activity centres and hostels.
Ratings on every count were very
Dympna O’Callaghan
“The difference in a good and great company is the leadership provided at management level. With three out of four businesses failing once their founder retires, business owners now recognise the need for effective leadership in their companies and are hungry to improve these skills and apply practical leadership ideas which will improve their impact as a leader, straight away,’
That was the message from Mike Gaffney of Galway-based Leader- ship and Management Development company LEAP, when he addressed a Shannon Chamber leadership sem- inar in Shannon last week.
positive with satisfaction on levels of excellent, very good and good reach- ing 80 per cent and over in every case. In no case did visitors register fair or poor ratings above 10 per cent.
“The survey has proved a price- less marketing tool and guide for the future but in a very difficult year, it has shown that the operations taking part in the survey are getting it right as far as customers from all markets are concerned” said Padraig Cleary, Regional Director for the Tourism Learning Network.
Over forty business leaders from the Shannon area attended this lively seminar and went away not only ques- tioning their leadership styles, but assessing their individual strengths and weaknesses as a leader, having been urged to “Know Thyself’.
Helen Downes, interim chief exec- utive, Shannon Chamber, comment- ed: “This event was timely in light of the current economic downturn. The attendees listened intently to Mike Gaffney’s authoritative words. They certainly left with a lot of food for thought knowing that leadership brings clarity to a business and that success is built on this clarity.
Commenting on the high level of at- tendance at the event, Mike Gaffney
The survey was carried out over a ten week period by over 50 members of the Tourism Learning Network as their major 2008 project in the three- year Failte Ireland programme which is now coming to a close.
The highest score recorded in the Survey was in the restaurant sector where the friendliness of staff won ratings of excellent from 65 per cent of those surveyed, with 28 per cent on very good and just short of 6 per cent on good. The combined positive satisfaction ratings for restaurant
added: “LEAP is delighted to be able to help owners with this pertinent challenge. We are delighted with the response we received from the busi- ness community in the Shannon re- gion to this event and we would like to thank everyone at Shannon and District Chamber who contributed to its success.’
The event ended on a positive note when the event’s sponsor, Smart Tel- ecom, offered Shannon and District Chamber members or new customers a 15% discount.
Shannon Chamber will host similar business-focused events in the com- ing months. Details will be posted on the Chamber website www.shan- nonchamber.ie.
customers surveyed came to 99 per one
The retail sector also scored highly with the friendliness experienced by visitors bringing high ratings while friendliness and hospitality also scored highly for participating ho- tels. Value for money and the warmth of welcome also won strong approval el ebO tease
The main shortcomings identified by visitors related to aspects of ho- tels, hostels and activity centres. The combined total of 18 per cent of cus-
tomers who registered fair and poor ratings for hotel bathrooms was the highest level of negative reaction. A further 13 per cent were not entirely happy with their hotel rooms.
Hostels and activity centres scored high on the scale in overall positive reaction from visitors but were found wanting in other aspects. Hostels were given lower levels of satisfac- tion in value for money while ap- proval levels at activity centres were lower in relation to equipment and value for money.