Town must do better

TOURISTS have slammed the quality of service they receive in Lewes shops restaurants and pubs.

An extensive survey of 400 visitors in the summer asked people to rate the range, quality of service and value for money provided in the town.

And the initial results do not make comfortable reading.

On shops, 79 per cent said the range was good or very good and 80 per cent said the quality of the shopping environment was good or very good,

But 46 per cent said the quality of service was poor or average.

On places to eat and drink, 48 per cent said the range was poor or average; 50 per cent said the quality of service was poor or average and 66 per cent said value for money was poor or average.

Almost three-quarters of visitors could not find the public toilets and when they did they were not impressed with their cleanliness.

And while 91 per cent felt the general atmosphere in Lewes was good or very good, 51 per cent felt the feeling of welcome was poor or average.

Said a Lewes District Council spokesman: 'The benchmarking exercise shows the areas that concern visitors, and the poor showing for quality of service and warmth of welcome is a real problem for Lewes.

But there is help at hand for traders in a series of courses being run at the Sussex Downs College in Lewes covering everything from health and safety issues to customer care.

Lewes Chamber of Commerce president Macolm Heaven said he had heard the initial results, which were worrying.

He hoped a further examination of the survey would show how Lewes fared compared to other towns.

And he added: 'I have not yet received all the results but the one statistic which has come out so far is that 46 per cent of those questioned said that the quality of customer service they received in the shops, restaurants and pubs in Lewes was only poor or average.

'This is something we all need to bear in mind, since we cannot prosper if we are turning off 46 per cent of our future customers.

'If Lewes is to become a true tourist destination, then traders have got to find a way of treating customers better.

The 400 visitors surveyed were staying in the area for one or more nights.