Barona Valley Ranch Resort and Casino Ranks Highest in Satisfaction With the Casino Experience in Inaugural Study WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif., July 1
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif., July 1 /PRNewswire/ -- A large majority -- 85
percent -- of gaming customers at Indian casinos in Southern California report
that they would prefer a smoke-free environment in these casinos, according to
the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Southern California Indian Gaming Casino
Satisfaction Study(SM) released today.
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The inaugural study measures overall customer satisfaction based on
performance in five key measures (listed in order of importance): gaming
(33%); facility (27%); cage cashier/ticket redemption machine (17%);
arriving/parking (15%); and beverage service (9%).
"Most casino customers have grown accustomed to dealing with large volumes
of cigarette smoke in the air, but an overwhelming percentage indicate they
would prefer to play in a smoke-free environment, which presents a major
opportunity for improvement for casinos," said Sam Thanawalla, director of the
global hospitality and travel practice at J.D. Power and Associates. "While
some establishments have already begun implementing smoke-free gaming areas in
their facilities, customers may not be aware that this is an option. Those
casinos that provide smoke-free gaming areas and also do a good job of
educating consumers about them could benefit from increased attendance and
higher satisfaction."
Barona Valley Ranch Resort and Casino ranks highest in satisfying
customers with a score of 737 on a 1,000-point scale and performs particularly
well in four of five factors: arriving/parking; facility; gaming; and cage
cashier/ticket redemption. Following in the rankings are Viejas Casino (724)
and Pala Casino Spa and Resort (717), respectively. Viejas Casino performs
particularly well in the beverage service measure.
The study also finds that a very low percentage -- approximately 6 percent
-- of Indian casino customers in Southern California are "highly committed" to
any one casino. On average, players make seven visits to Indian gaming casinos
within a six-month period. Casino customers tend to visit more than one Indian
gaming establishment during this time period, rather than return to the same
casino each time.
"Those customers who are highly committed to a particular casino report
that they experienced particularly high levels of enjoyment and excitement
during their casino experience," said Thanawalla. "These highly committed
customers are nearly three and a half times more likely to recommend the
casino to others, and nearly three times more likely to return to the same
casino, compared with customers with low or medium commitment. Some of the
ways casinos can maximize customer levels of enjoyment and excitement are to
offer a wide variety of slot machines and table games, and to ensure that
staff-including dealers, cashiers and beverage servers-are friendly and
engaging. In addition, customers indicate that ease of locating the casino
entrance upon arrival and being able to locate the cashier and ticket
redemption machines are particularly important to overall satisfaction."
The study also finds the following key patterns:
-- On average, Indian gaming casino players in Southern California travel
approximately 64 miles, each way, to visit a casino.
-- Only 1 in 20 casino players (5%) report experiencing a significant
problem during their casino visit. Of those customers who reported their
problem to a casino employee, approximately one-third said their problem was
resolved.
-- Approximately 89 percent of casino customers play slot machines, while
48 percent play table games.
The 2008 Southern California Indian Gaming Casino Satisfaction Study
measures customer satisfaction of gaming players of Indian casinos in Southern
California. Casinos included in the study have a minimum of 2,000 slot
machines. The study is based on 1,766 responses from gaming players who
visited an Indian casino in Southern California between December 2007 and June
2008. The study was fielded in May and June 2008.
About J.D. Power and Associates
Headquartered in Westlake Village, Calif., J.D. Power and Associates is a
global marketing information services company operating in key business
sectors including market research, forecasting, performance improvement,
training and customer satisfaction. The company's quality and satisfaction
measurements are based on responses from millions of consumers annually. For
more information on car reviews and ratings, car insurance, health insurance,
cell phone ratings, and more, please visit JDPower.com. J.D. Power and
Associates is a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies.
About The McGraw-Hill Companies
Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP) is a leading global
information services provider meeting worldwide needs in the financial
services, education and business information markets through leading brands
such as Standard & Poor's, McGraw-Hill Education, BusinessWeek and J.D. Power
and Associates. The Corporation has more than 280 offices in 40 countries.
Sales in 2007 were $6.8 billion. Additional information is available at
http://www.mcgraw-hill.com.
J.D. Power and Associates Media Relations Contacts:
John TewsSyvetril Perryman
Troy, Mich. Westlake Village, Calif.
(312) 248-4119 (805) 418-8103
john.tews@jdpa.com syvetril.perryman@jdpa.com
No advertising or other promotional use can be made of the information in
this release without the express prior written consent of J.D. Power and
Associates. www.jdpower.com/corporate
Customer Satisfaction Index RankingJ.D. Power.com Power Circle Ratings
(Based on a 1,000-point scale) For Consumers
Barona Valley Ranch
Resort and Casino 7375
Viejas Casino 7244
Pala Casino Spa and Resort 7174
Sycuan Casino and Resort7084
Industry Average7013
Morongo Casino Resort
and Spa6973
Pechanga Resort & Casino6963
Chumash Casino 6933
San Manuel Indian Bingo
and Casino 6832
Included in the study, but not ranked due to small sample size are:
Soboba Casino, Spotlight 29 Coachella, Table Mountain Casino and Tachi Palace
Hotel and Casino.
Power Circle Ratings Legend:
5 - Among the best
4 - Better than most
3 - About average
2 - The rest
SOURCE J.D. Power and Associates
