Customer satisfaction for firms and universities in South Korea improved overall in 2017 compared to the previous year, a recent survey by the Korea Productivity Center showed.

KT, Lotte Department Store, Samsung C&T and Chungbuk National University topped the list for their respective industries. 

The National Customer Satisfaction Index in the fourth quarter of 2017 came to 75.6 points, up 0.9 point from that of the previous year, according to the KPC’s survey on 86,494 respondents with experience using the products and services of 321 firms and universities in 74 business sectors.

Hotels scored the highest at 84 points in 2017 among the 74 sectors. Hotels topped the list for six consecutive years. Of all the companies surveyed, nine of the top 12 in the NCSI score came from the hotel sector.

The tax administration sector showed the steepest on-year rise in score, by 5.6 percent.

The privately owned university sector scored the lowest at 68 points. Six sectors -- TV home shopping, beer, domestic and international airlines, small automotive, and dairy products -- showed the sharpest on-year decline in score by 1.3 percent.

Other sectors surveyed in Korea included landline phone services with a score of 77 points, department stores with 76 points, national universities with 75 points and apartment construction with 74 points, 

Among wired telephone service providers, KT topped the list with the score of 77 points.

KT has spearheaded a move to lower telephone bills, according to the state-owned firm, as it allowed its subscribers to enjoy 3,000 minutes of landline phone service at just 5,500 won ($5.2) per month.

In addition to landline phones, KT had 3.45 million subscribers to its internet phone service as of the end of 2016.

Also, KT’s internet protocol television service Olleh TV has the largest number of subscribers in Korea, while its artificial intelligence-powered TV set-top Giga Genie has been emerging as a key player in the internet-of-things market in Korea.

KT attributed its success in its variety of businesses to its customer service center. 

Of firms in the department store sector, Lotte Department Store ranked No. 1 by scoring 77 points.

Lotte Department Store has fostered business growth by partnering with firms devoted to information and communications technology, in a bid to address a changing environment in the wake of the “fourth industrial revolution.”

Its “Smart Pick” enables customers to pick up products purchased online at a selected offline store, and “Smart Shopper” allows customers to scan bar codes of groceries they want to buy and have them delivered to their homes.

On the back of the success in new businesses, the department store chain arm of retail conglomerate Lotte Group has embarked on developing AI-backed chatbots for retail shoppers.

Lotte Department Store is one of the official sponsors of the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games. 

As for the national university sector, on top of the list was Chungbuk National University located in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province.

Scoring 78 points, Chungbuk National University has ranked the highest among 10 flagship national universities for four straight years since 2014.

Chungbuk National University’s stipend of scholarships for students covered 65.1 percent of tuition fees as of 2016, the highest among flagship national universities.

The university has also encouraged aspiring startup founders to take advantage of its in-campus co-working space called “Startup Bunker,” as well as a 1.5 billion won fund for startups and a startup accelerating system.

Of companies in the apartment construction sector, Samsung C&T topped the list by scoring 84 points, the second-highest of all 321 surveyed firms in the nation.

Raemian, an apartment brand owned by Samsung C&T, has proactively reached out to residents in the apartments with customer service, through what is called “Hestia.”

“Hestia” managers have moved to discover residents’ needs and help them fulfill their needs by offering services, ranging from room cleaning services to mobile apps and lounges that accept customer complaints.

Founded in 1957, the KPC, affiliated to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, began announcing the NCSI in 1998.

The index was created under a partnership with local news organization Chosun Ilbo and the University of Michigan, while the survey was sponsored by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

After bottoming out in 2009 at 70.6 points, the NCSI in Korea has begun to pick up since the first quarter of 2010. The annual index was on the rise until 2017. 

By Son Ji-hyoung 
(consnow@heraldcorp.com)