Seattle Ranks Top Five in Customer Service

Emerald City Also Ranks First for Most Knowledgeable Service Providers

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. February 22, 2010

SEATTLE (February 18, 2010) - Seattle was rated number one for the knowledge of its service providers and tied for fourth place for best customer service of the 30 largest U.S. cities, according to a first-time national survey of travelers to U.S. cities.

Rounding out the top five for knowledgeable service providers were Houston, Charlotte, N.C., Las Vegas and San Francisco. The survey also found 85 percent of travelers say customer service is very important to the overall quality of their visit, while only 1 percent say it is not important. The importance of service is somewhat higher among women than men, and increases steadily with the traveler's age.

Customer service is about more than just making people feel good, said Matt Van Der Peet, general manager of the Sheraton Seattle Hotel and chair of the Seattle Convention and Visitors Bureau. There are clear financial benefits to cities that offer quality service to visitors. “Visitors stimulate the local economy, so you would like for them to return and to bring their friends and families,” Van Der Peet said. “Someone might travel to a city for a conference or a business trip, but if they have an enjoyable visit and feel well-cared for, they are more likely to return for a leisure visit and share their experience with others.”

“The ability to offer reliable information in addition to friendly service is a major part of satisfying customers,” said Christine Frishholz, managing director of The Cicerone Group, a national service quality research and consulting firm that conducted the survey. “This is particularly true when people are traveling in unfamiliar areas. It makes a great impression if service providers are not only knowledgeable about their own business, but are also informed about the region and can act as good-will ambassadors.”

Not surprisingly, travelers reported that hotels and restaurants generally give the best customer service. They said their worst experiences tend to involve transportation providers, with taxis, car rental companies and airlines receiving the lowest ratings.

In addition to having the most knowledgeable service providers, Seattle tied for fourth for best customer service. Charlotte, N.C. came in as number one, closely followed by Nashville, Tenn. and Austin, Texas. Also tied with Seattle for fourth place were Portland, Ore. and Las Vegas. Among the top ten cities, none are located in the East, and only one - Columbus, Ohio, which comes in tenth place - is in the Midwest.

Ranking in the bottom five for overall service quality were Detroit (#30), San Jose, Calif. (#29), Los Angeles (#28), El Paso, Texas (#27) and Philadelphia (#26).

The survey was conducted in December 2009 by three U.S. research companies: The Cicerone Group, NetReflector and GMI. The survey was conducted on-line, and was completed by consumers who were at least 18 years old and had traveled to one or more of the 30 largest U.S. cities in the past two years.

About Sheraton Seattle Hotel
The Sheraton Seattle Hotel, recipient of Meetings and Conventions Gold Key Award, is located at 1400 Sixth Avenue in downtown Seattle. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with more than 850 properties in more than 95 countries and 145,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. For more information, please visit www.starwoodhotels.com.

Media Contacts:

Katie Riese / Lorne Richmond
Richmond Public Relations
(206) 682-6979
[email protected]

Christine Frishholz
The Cicerone Group
(206) 280-7279
[email protected]