WE have heard so much about the beleaguered tourist industry during the recent foot and mouth crisis, in particular related to that of the Dartmoor National Park, and I am a great believer in supporting local enterprises.
However, I sometimes wonder whether the industry deserves to be successful, given the lack of effort that is put into understanding visitor requirements, quality of service and customer satisfaction. Two incidents brought this home big-style on a recent sunny Sunday.
The first was at a 'country park', where I queued for 20 minutes in order to receive a cup of coffee from two disinterested and unsmiling, unhelpful staff. One extra person on duty could have doubled the sales of the shop, I feel.
Then, we drove across the moor to a well known cream teas establishment, arriving 45 minutes before the official closing deadline, and along with some other arrivals being told they had stopped serving. The official excuse for turning down at least 10 teas was that because of a function later in the evening, they couldn't possibly serve us through till 5.30pm, on a glorious sunny afternoon. What a waste! A return visit there looks most unlikely.
I would have expected that because of the recent lean times, these places would be welcoming us back with open arms and putting extra effort into satisfying their customers. But no, like a lot of the British tourist industry, I fear the attitude is one of short-term greed when times are good, (It's easy to turn people away then) and screams for help when things are not going well.
What they all need to do is concentrate more on fulfilling the customers' needs, and producing a quality service at all times . . . maybe also with a smile. That's the way to attract business in the first place, and keep it.
Nigel Rendle
Ivy Cottage
Buckland Monachorum