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Article published 23/12/2022

If you work in Scotland’s tourism sector, you could benefit from a series of free ‘Age Friendly Customer Services’ workshops.

Age Scotland and Business in the Community Scotland are working in together to deliver the workshops between January and March 2023.

In the current environment, finding staff in the tourism industry is a real challenge. At the same time, there are many older workers looking to enter or re-enter the workplace. And while they may not have direct experience in the tourism sector, they have years of lived experience they can share.

Read on to find out how your organisation can offer excellent customer service, and attract and retain lucrative new customers, especially the older market.

According to Age UK research finds...

  • Bad customer service

    1.3 million people in the UK over 65 have experienced bad customer service, or been treated badly, purely because of their age. Those people treated badly said the most common experiences were being patronised and not being taken seriously by customer service staff.

  • Average spend

    By 2040, older people will spend 63p in ever pound spent in the UK economy. The top three growing sectors were recreation and culture, transport and household goods and services. A significant commercial opportunity.

  • Complaints

    A survey by the Institute of Customer Service also found that half of over 65's were reluctant to complain about bad customer service.

    Interestingly it found that only half (47%) of over 65's who had been treated badly said they had lodged a complaint, but three quarters (76%) had told friends and family about their experience. They won't tell you; they'll just tell everyone else.