IIC rates Headwater best travel company for customer service

June 27, 2011 - PRLog -- The UK’s leading walking and cycling holiday provider has been rated the number one travel company for its customer service after completing an independent assessment by Investor in Customers (IIC).

Headwater achieved the coveted Three Star IIC Award, the highest possible outcome, with their 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.

Undertaking the assessment for the first time, 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.

Satisfied customers praised Headwater with particularly high scores for the statements ‘I’m glad I went on holiday with Headwater’ and ‘now I have travelled with the company, I will definitely consider them for my next holiday’.

The results show that customers continue to choose Headwater as their first choice for a holiday provider and that they actively recommend the company to friends and family.  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.”

For more information call Headwater on 01606 720199 or book online at http://www.headwater.com

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Note to Editors:

About Headwater
 Established in 1985, Headwater is the leading walking, cycling and canoeing operator for independent and guided holiday options.
 Headwater offers over 120 interest-packed itineraries in Europe, Africa, Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean with a wide choice of hand-picked boutique accommodation, meticulously researched route notes, mouth-watering food and wine choices, flexible daily departures and a Headwater overseas team that delivers a free luggage system between hotels.

About Investor in Customers (IIC)
 Investor in Customers was established in 2006 and offers companies the chance to gain an independently assessed award for customer service excellence.  
 Awards are based on research amongst customers, staff and senior management, alongside an independent assessment conducted by IIC.  The IIC award is based on the aggregation of the results from these four groups.
 IIC uses a 1-3 star rating system for the award and successful companies are able to display the IIC star logo on their website and marketing collateral.  The IIC Award is becoming widely recognised in a number of sectors including travel, financial services, professional services, IT and software.
 The company has more than 1,000,000 question responses in its database and this depth of knowledge in the subject enables IIC to be The Service Standard Experts.  
 Further information can be found at www.investorincustomers.com

For further information on Headwater or press trip opportunities contact:
Suzanne Seyghal, Headwater PR Manager
Tel:   020 8971 2967
Email:   suzanne.seyghal@tuiactivitypr.com

For further information on Investor in Customers contact:
Stacey Callun
Tel:   01395 513330
Email:   stacey.callun@investorincustomers.com