Perception - the only performance indicator that will matter

摘要

Rightly so, a coherent and quality customer experience continues to be at the centre of all plans with new incentives and penalties for service quality performance likely to be written into the national rail and passenger service contracts. TOCs are sure to be looking for solutions. If TOCs want to be cost effective and avoid costly fines, they will need to level up their service quality regime on trains and at stations. Fast. How does a TOCs service quality delivery impact on customer perception of the journey experience they receive? A mismatch between what customers expect and what they actually experience is bound to have a negative impact on their perceptions and trust in the operator. Take a typical customer who is weary of using rail following the Covid-19 messaging about infection risk when using public transport but has been told trains have a rigorous cleaning regime to ensure they are Covid secure. What impact will there be on that customers perception when they are faced with a cracked tabletop throughout their journey, which has dirt traps with visible soiling? Does that say to the customer that the train has been rigorously cleaned?