Survey says gaming service improved in Q2

The Gaming Service Index (GSI) released its mid-term report yesterday. Results showed that the quality of service in Macau’s gaming industry is on the rise.
The survey was launched by the Macau Gaming Research Association and was conducted by SGS Hong Kong Ltd.
Representatives from eleven casinos belonging to the region’s six gaming operators joined the survey. The organizer invited mystery shoppers to visit the casinos involved in the survey.
Six operators scored 1.95 out of the total 3.5 in the general service index of Q2, which registered an increase compared to the 1.82 in Q1.
Under the general service index, there are three sub-indexes taken into account, namely the “smiling index,” the “proactiveness index” and the “tolerance index.”
“A positive example of smiling means that croupiers smile when dealing out cards, making customers feel comfortable. Croupiers also chat with guests from time to time. But if they are impolite and have no facial expression, it’s an ill performance,” explained Max Lee Kim Cheung, research manager of SGS Hong Kong Ltd. The “smiling index” registered similar results across Q1 and Q2, when compared to last year’s research. Findings indicated a slight decrease of two percent.
Another sub-index – “proactiveness” – went up by approximately 16 percent in Q2, compared to Q1’s figures. Scoring points in this index means, for example, that “staff in the cloakroom will greet customers before they [the customers] approach the cloakroom,” said Lee. Points are lost when “staff don’t take the initiative to greet customers or don’t stop their work at hand when guests, [or when] staff don’t make eye contact with customers and perform indifferently.”
The third sub-index is “tolerance”, which has seen continuous growth since 2013. The index went up by some 8 percent in Q2, compared to Q1’s figures.
Gaming casino departments are divided into six sectors in the survey, including slot machine, security, treasury, table game, free food and beverages. Besides these categories, customer service, cloakroom, shuttle bus and restrooms are grouped into one sector.
In terms of the “smiling index”, the free food and beverage sector ranked first in Q2 with 0.96 out of 1.5 points. This sector had made a great leap forward, having scored only 0.42 in Q1 this year. Staff in the Security department also ranked well for showing smiles, having scored 0.97 (out of 1.5) points in Q1 and 0.93 in Q2. The table game sector received the lowest scores from 2013 until mid 2014, hovering at just 0.5.
As for the “proactiveness” ranking, the security department continued to hold an advantage, scoring 0.68 (out of 1) in Q2. The score for this index in the table game sector increased by 13 percent in Q2, having scored 0.34 points in Q1.
The security sector registered the best performance on average in terms of the tolerance index, scoring approximately 0.9 from 2013 until Q2 this year. By contrast, the treasury department scored the lowest in this index.
“For some services, less engagement with customers gained a higher score. For example, staff members [involved] in table games have frequent contact with a large number of guests; it may be difficult for them to take the initiative and wear smiles all the time. While for security staff, no matter how many guests they greet, staff members only need to stand there and smile,” Lee reasoned.
Dr L. C. Koo, assistant director of the Macau Gaming Research Association, said that the results indicated that there is room for the casinos to improve their services. “Staff training is only one solution, I think it is more important to boost a consciousness of service within the industry.”
The Gaming Service Index (GSI) is compiled periodically to facilitate trend analysis, in order to monitor the service level of the gaming industry.