Tourism, a service business, is Scotland's main source of income. Yet the words "Scottish" and "service" rarely belong in the same sentence. Service in this country is abysmal.

It is abysmal because the people in the service businesses including tourism don't understand that they are there to serve the customer. It is all about Customer Service. Satisfied customers are the only product of a succesful business. If you don't satisfy your customers, you will fail.

Satisfied customers will return, they will tell their friends and your business will grow and prosper.

In 2005 Scottish Enterprise paid a hypnotist £16,000 for a presentation at Gleneagles to managers in Tourism. They should have saved the money. Have each of the attendees ask the person who is standing in front of them (their customer) if they were satisfied with the service they received. If the answer is no, find out why and do something to correct the problem.

This is a middle and upper management problem. The staff on the front line aren't properly trained or supervised.

Management is obsessed with making marginal savings which show up on the bottom line and earn substantial bonuses. A short term gain at the long term cost of bad customer service.

There is no simple big fix to this problem. It is the accumulation of a multitude of small acts coming from the attitude that the Customer is the most important person in the relationship. Satisfy each and every Customer for success. Disappointed Customers are the road to failure.

VisitScotland has an annual budget of £38 million. Fix the problems at home. Build "word of mouth" success. Save the money. Save the £16,000 and the £38 million.

In the American State of Oregon in the 1970s, Gov Tom McCall generated international publicity with a policy of "Come visit, but don't stay" and "Don't Californicate Oregon". This simple message identified Oregon as a special place. Cost - zero.