Bermuda retailers compare favourably to their US counterparts in quality of service and quantity of goods, according to the new chairman of the Bermuda Chamber of Commerce's retail division.Paula Clarke, who took over her new role last month, was responding to the Department of Consumer Affairs' Consumer Survey 2010, which found that rude sales staff, limited choice of goods and high prices were some of the biggest complaints customers had about shopping in Bermuda.But Ms Clarke, who is CEO of the Gibbons Company, commended the report for providing invaluable information for traders, enabling them to better serve their customers.“It is fantastic that retailers have information because with that we can actually make decisions to service the customer better,” she said.“The more information we get the better it is and I think that every retailer is receptive to new information.“The difference between the 2003 and 2010 survey is that it really indicates that we are heading in the right direction, so from that point of view it is very encouraging.“I think all of the retailers are here to service the customer so we always listen to and respond to their needs and welcome any feedback we get from them.”Ms Clarke said that the level of service in the Island's shops stood up well versus that of America, with friendly, personable and knowledgeable staff ready to attend to the customer's needs. She added that most of Bermuda's stores also had more merchandise per square foot than in the US and held a number of sales throughout the year.Acknowledging that while the figure of 85.3 percent of respondents who bought items overseas was high, Ms Clarke said that retailers were working hard to keep Bermuda dollars in Bermuda and encourage more residents to shop locally in everyone's interests.“If we, as retailers, continue to bring in less goods to Bermuda that effects all businesses from the dock workers who unload the goods to the duty collected by Government to support all of our social services, the trucking industry and all the goods are services that we provide here, so retailers play a very important role in maintaining the vitality of the economy in Bermuda,” she said.“And for that reason we can't afford for them to fail and among other things the Island will not continue to be an attractive place for international business or a tourism destination.“There are a lot of new companies in Bermuda as well as companies who have a lot of experience in retail and everything we do is to bring value for money to the customer and we continue to ask for the support of the locals by looking at what is on offer online, or in the bricks and mortar stores, because the selection of goods and price value is there.”The Gibbons Co was not of one of the stores interviewed as part of the survey, but Ms Clarke revealed that she had already received several calls from customers in response to the findings coming out in support of its staff and service.In her new capacity, she will focus on making sure that the Chamber's retail division continued to have a strong voice in its dialogue with Government and to ensure that retailers worked together towards the same goal of meeting their customers' needs, for both residents and tourists alike - a challenge in itself given the competitive nature of the industry, but one that she believes can be overcome for the greater good.“I am hoping that together we can provide the stimulus that is needed to help our customers understand the value we have to offer in order to continue to boost the local economy and to support employment in all sectors,” she said.“I also hope to be able to have greater communication with all the retailers so that we can share information that will make us better at our jobs as well as information on cost-cutting.”Ms Clarke reckons that the biggest issue facing the sector as a whole is the steady reduction of its customer base due to the number of people who have left the Island in the past 18 months to two years, as well as an ongoing recession which had caused residents to become more cautious about spending their money.But she also believes that retailers are up to the challenge and have been adapting their business models to match the customer's changing economic situation.As far as easing the burden on traders is concerned, Ms Clarke said that anything that could help them to reduce the cost of doing business would be beneficial, particularly in respect to the unlevel playing field with the US in terms of much higher operating expenses.Ms Clarke, who has been an executive member of the Chamber for the past four years, started her career as a trainee at UK catalogue business Argos Distributors, before becoming a buyer for Harvey Nichols in Knightsbridge, London, working with European and American collections.She moved to Bermuda in 1984 as a buyer for Trimingham's and joined the Gibbons Co in 1998 as head of merchandising and took on the role of CEO four years ago.“From when I very first came to Bermuda I recognised that Bermuda had to come in line with US prices and within my first three months I negotiated with vendors in order to effect that change,” she said.“I also realised that the needs of the working woman were not really being addressed so I developed a number of fashion areas at Trimingham's bringing in all price points, and also launched the first Friday Night Trimingham's Extravaganza in 1984 - the first late night shopping in Bermuda.”