Corporate Service Quality Improved Despite COVID-19 Situation

Announcement of the 2020 KS-SQI (Korea Service Quality Index) Second Half Results

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Cheol-hyun] Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, domestic service quality has been found to have improved. On the 3rd, the Korea Standards Association (President Lee Sang-jin) announced the results of the 'KS-SQI (Korea Service Quality Index)' survey, which comprehensively represents the quality level of Korea's service industry and the degree of improvement by company.

As a result of surveying about 70,000 people who experienced services from 238 companies across 49 industries including transportation, education, and platform services, the average score across all industries in the second half of the year rose by 1.3 points from the previous year to 74.7 points (out of 100). This reflects the continuous efforts of companies to provide the best service experience to customers despite the COVID-19 situation. Notably, this year's score increased by 19.9 points compared to the first survey conducted in 2000. The KS-SQI index has shown a steady upward trend since entering the 70-point range in 2011, except for the late 2000s when the global financial crisis caused an economic slowdown.

Scores for all seven dimensions that make up the KS-SQI survey items increased compared to the previous year. Specifically, the 'Accessibility' category, which evaluates the convenience of service provision time and location, rose by 1.6 points (2.6%) from the previous year to 75.3 points, showing the highest growth rate. This is interpreted as the efforts companies have made to improve accessibility to both face-to-face and non-face-to-face services positively impacting the perceived service quality by customers.

The top companies in this survey include Everland (21 consecutive years), LG Arts Center (14 consecutive years), Starbucks (10 consecutive years), and Paris Baguette (10 consecutive years), all recognized for over 10 years for excellence in customer service. Additionally, Lotte Rent-a-Car (9 consecutive years), Lotte Cinema (9 consecutive years), Daegu Metropolitan Transit Corporation (8 consecutive years), and Lotte Hotel (8 consecutive years) were continuously selected as top companies in their respective sectors. Kia Motors rose in ranking from the previous year to claim first place this year, and Coway secured first place in two categories after consistent efforts.

A representative from the Korea Standards Association explained, "Despite the challenging business environment due to COVID-19, companies' diverse efforts to improve service quality have led to a continuous rise in the overall quality level of the domestic service industry," adding, "From various cases, it is evident that in a tough corporate environment, efforts to enhance human services such as service education and on-site process improvement activities are effective in achieving high customer satisfaction relative to costs in a short period."

Meanwhile, next year's KS-SQI survey will be conducted applying the KS-SQI 3.0 model. Lee Sang-jin, President of the Korea Standards Association, stated, "Digital transformation presents a significant opportunity for the service industry," and added, "We aim to evolve the KS-SQI model to present the ideal of a perfected service that simultaneously pursues two seemingly contradictory values: non-face-to-face and human interaction."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.