Gaming service quality shows slight improvement in Q4

The survey was presented to representatives from the gaming operators

The Gaming Service Index (GSI) inched up to 130 in the fourth quarter of 2017, bouncing back from a significant drop in the third quarter. However, it still failed to match the second quarter’s record high of 139 points.

Conducted by the Macau Gaming Research Association and SGS Hong Kong using a 100-point base, this year’s GSI collected 1,200 sets of data from both Cotai and Macau gaming operators.

This year’s sample size totaled 2,400, with mystery customers targeting mass markets of 16 representative casinos.

The study showed that the two indixes demonstrated a similar pattern in 2017, although the Cotai casinos surpassed their counterparts in the Macau peninsula in terms of service. Cotai casinos scored 145 points, while those in the peninsula scored 120 points.

Smiling, proactivity and tolerance were the three sub-indexes used to assess service quality.

At 141 points, the smiling index for the fourth quarter was similar to the third quarter. The proactivity index grew from 117 to 126, still 30 points lower than the figure recorded in the second quarter. The tolerance index edged up to 121 points.

Analyzed by department, Dealers scored the lowest with just over 2 points, while Security scored the highest with around 2.75 points. They were followed by Customer Service, Cashiers and Slot Machines.

Hannah Koo, a committee member of the Macau Gaming Research Association, told the press that raw data is given to gaming operators for them to conduct qualitative research.

“That can give some kind of insight for casino operators so they can monitor their service,” said Koo.

Early this year, the 2017 Smiling Report showed that Macau ranked the lowest among 67 countries and regions in the smiling index for customer service.

However, Koo said their research showed overall improvements in the city’s smiling index, noting a general upward trend for the entire GSI.

“We don’t really have the raw data [of the 2017 Smiling Report] and didn’t explain why [Macau] had [a] low score, so if we have more data it will be easier for us to explain why,” Koo suggested.

“But for our data for the last five years, we see [an] increase in service levels,” she added.

The overall gaming score for the fourth quarter is 2.37 out of 3.50. Koo declined to reveal which operators scored lowest and highest, but said that the operators are aware of their survey rankings.

This year’s report studied both Cotai and Macau peninsula casinos for the first time, which Koo said was a response to clients’ requests.

“Cotai is another main market, whose growth is fast. The Cotai index outperformed [casinos in the] Macau peninsula. This is also another indicator for us to [set] a benchmark,” said Koo.