By David Williams
28 September 2010
Customer service experts have raised doubts that essential
public services such as transport, policing and healthcare could fail during the
2012 London Olympics, risking significant damage to the UK economy.
A survey published today shows that a third of customer
service managers do not believe that public services have the capacity to deal
with the extra demand that the games are expected to bring.
The 2012 Games, being paid for with a £9.3bn budget of
public money, are expected to bring more than half a million visitors to the
five Olympic boroughs in east London.
Jo Causon, chief executive of the Institute of Customer
Services, which conducted the survey, said: ‘It is concerning that a relatively
high proportion of customer service managers have limited confidence in public
amenities.’
More than three-quarters of the 1,000 sample said that a
‘failure to deliver a quality experience’ would damage the UK’s reputation as
holiday and business destination. Meanwhile 63% warn that public service
failure during the games could cause long-term harm to the UK economy.
