AN Australian tourist has hit out at the "rude" shop staff she has encountered during her stay in Worcester.

Kazza Fleming, who has come to the region to visit her fianc for six months, says she has found unfriendly staff in almost every retail outlet she has visited.

"In the few weeks I have been here so far, I have been disappointed with the level of customer service displayed by many retail outlets in Worcester, both in the city centre and out of town," Ms Fleming said.

"Shop staff in Worcester appear to be rude, have no time for customers, and rarely smile or seem happy in their work.

"It's not good for your tourist industry."

Ms Fleming, from Melbourne, Victoria, said she was appalled at the lack of effort that stores seemed to have put into the area.

"Even in the biggest stores in Australia, staff smile and take the time to chat to you, even when they're busy," she said.

Georgia Smith, Worcester's city centre manager, said she was disappointed by Ms Fleming's findings but said many tourists found customer service in the city to be very good.

"We get a lot of commendations from other tourists who say how friendly people are here," she said.

"We go out of our way to make retailers aware of the importance of good customer service and we will reinforce this point to them.

"It's certainly not something we get a lot of complaints about."

Peter Morgan, a spokesman for the Chamber of Commerce, said customer service was crucial to companies.

"It's how you retain customers and gain loyalty from them," he said.

"Customer service can often be the difference between someone buying a product and not.

"If you are a large, multiple retailer, the company image comes down to the individual on the counter. If they are rude or don't smile, the company's image suffers.

"The larger retailers spend a lot of money on customer service but some smaller ones don't because they can't afford to."