Headwater travel rated best for customer service

Walking and cycling company rated top by Investor in Customers

One of the UK’s leading walking and cycling holiday providers has been rated the number one travel company for customer service after completing an independent assessment by Investor in Customers (IIC).

Headwater, a TUI company, achieved the Three Star IIC Award, the highest possible outcome, with an impressive score of 8.55 out of a possible ten.

The result makes Headwater the number one IIC assessed travel company and places them in the top ten of all companies within IIC’s database.

Over 2000 customers along with Headwater’s staff were asked to complete the survey to give a picture of the company’s customer relationship performance.

Customers were keen to mention the standard of holidays on offer with comments like “Headwater’s holidays are unique because of the quality of guides that they employ”. Another customer said “over the past 20 years of using Headwater, we have always enjoyed the quality of holidays we have had.”

IIC is an independent assessment organisation that conducts rigorous benchmarking exercises. These exercises determine the quality of customer service and relationships across a number of dimensions, including how well a company understands its customers, how it meets their needs and how is engenders loyalty.

Catherine Crone, Managing Director of Headwater, commented: “Personalised service has been very much at the heart of our operations throughout the 26 years that we have been offering interest-packed holidays.”

“In a world increasingly driven by gadgets, gizmos and Google, we’ve tried hard to never overlook the importance of real people and good old-fashioned customer service while continuing to modernise our brochures, website and booking systems.”

“It is therefore a great honour to have received the accolade of being the number one travel company for customer service and to know that there are some things that, as far as holidaymakers are concerned, will never go out of fashion.”

Neil Craig, Managing Director of Investor in Customers, added: “Headwater’s results show they have a very loyal customer base. Some individuals have been on more than a dozen holidays with them and will continue to recommend them over and over again based upon their exceptional experience of the holidays. To jump straight in to the top ten of all companies we have assessed is a tremendous achievement and one that Headwater should be justly proud of.”

Valere Tjolle
Valere is editor of the Sustainable Tourism Report Suite 2011, special offers HERE