Autolab is a department of the South African Sugar Association, which develops and provides support services for computerised systems installed in the local sugar industry as well as one sugar mill in Zimbabwe. Autolab’s customers in South Africa were surveyed to measure their present levels of satisfaction towards the service provided by Autolab and to identify areas of strengths and weaknesses. The data collected for this formal study was through a quantitative survey research instrument called SERVQUAL. The survey was limited to Autolab’s Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) users who are in contact with the Autolab staff and who will be able to rate their quality of service. These users are mainly the senior employees of the departments that are using the Autolab’s LIMS systems. They represent the population of this study, which are 79 users. A very good response rate of 91 % percent was achieved with 72 questionnaires being completed and returned by the respondents. The results of the survey show that the respondents’ expectations exceeded their perceptions for all the service quality dimensions. However, the difference between expectations and perceptions was significant for all the service quality dimensions except the empathy dimension. This implies that Autolabs’ customers have some level of dissatisfaction with the quality of service they provide. It is hoped that the shortcomings identified in this study will help Autolab to improve the quality of service they provide. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2009.

The marketisation of higher and further education institutions whereby education institutions adopt commercial practices to operate has led to increased competition in the education industry. Various sources of competitive advantage are being searched for aggressively by education institutions in the hope of securing customers and remaining competitive. Service quality has become one of the biggest sources of competitive advantage for higher and further education institutions as it enables the institutions to differentiate themselves from the competition. Development and Training for Adults (DTA) College in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa also faces similar challenges of the need to be competitive in an increasingly competitive environment. The study investigated the customers‟ perceptions and expectations of service quality at DTA College in Pietermaritzburg in order to identify and assess any existing service quality gaps. The SERVQUAL instrument which consists of 22 statements on perceptions and 22 on expectations of service quality was utilised to collect data for the research study at DTA College. A sample size of 58 was used and it was selected through stratified random sampling to maximise representativeness of the sample. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyse the data. Statistical tools that include frequencies, meanscores and tabulations were utilised to present the data from findings. The Wilcoxon signed ranks test was also utilised to further analyse the significance of the gaps. The findings from the study indicated that, a negative service quality gap exists at DTA College. Reliability was the service quality dimension that had the widest gap which indicated that the respondents do not rely on the College as it does not deliver as per promise. Assurance was the service quality dimension which had the narrowest gaps. However, 3 of the 4 assurance gaps were significant according to statistical tests conducted which mean that DTA College has to pay attention to all the service quality dimensions regardless of the gaps being small. Frequent interaction between the college and the customers is recommended for DTA College as it provides the college with important information on customer expectations and perceptions. Continuous employee training to improve the existing skills is also recommended for the college‟s employees as it can have a good impact on meeting the customers‟ expectations of the service quality dimensions. / Thesis (M.Com.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2011.

The study set out to investigate Customer Care in the . Pharmaceutical Industry with reference to Retail Pharmacies in the Mafikeng area. This will be achieved through the following: Highlighting any inadequacy of customer care process at retail pharmacies, determine if the current customer care tools utilised are optimal or not, determine the extent at which such tools are utilised and to determine where accountability lies for customer care within the organisation. Six out of eight pharmacies participated in the study (75%, Four of which are leaders in the market as they are big stable companies and some are franchises. The measuring instruments utilised was a questionnaire because of the descriptive nature of the study. The questionnaire was in a structured format which consisted of two parts, namely, demographics and general questions evaluating the competency of staff and the quality of service.120 respondents participated in filling in the questionnaire over a period of two weeks. Every pharmacy had twenty respondents respectively. The findings revealed that most respondents were satisfied with the service provided , with only a few who were unhappy about certain elements of the questionnaire. However, the overall responses were satisfactorily and unexpected since patients tend to complain about services. The researcher recommends that staff need to be trained on the following, how to be friendly to customers and greet them with a smile. Greet them by name if possible, as it will impress the patient to notice that staff members know him/her by name. To be polite and pleasant when talking to clients. To be trained on product knowledge as it improves competency and confidence of client in a person. Adequate training of staff is important as it ensures provision of quality service to the patients, thus reducing complaints. Even though the results of the study were satisfactorily, it is important for the management of the organisation to concentrate on Few patients who are not happy about the service so as to improve and satisfy as many customers as possible. / (MBA) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2003

In the age of rapidly changing and competitive environments, companies are forced to build strong and long-lasting relationships with their customers. Over the last decades, marketing theory and practice developed a plethora of attempts to describe relevant factors, underlying correlations and complex constructs, explaining the relationship between buyer and seller. For several disciplines, which are part of, describe or influence the relationship between buyer and seller such as a) marketing, b) customer purchase behaviour and c) sales management and personal selling, it appears that trust has a strong impact and therefore is an important variable for building long-lasting relationships. Although there is an extensive source of literature available on appropriate response to trust and its influence on buyer seller relationships, few of these writings contain guidance specifically related to financial services. The objectives of this study are I) to determine general differences regarding the impact of trust in a finance and insurance advice setting, ii) to determine difference of the general importance of trust towards three dimensions, iii) to analyse through which antecedents client-trust is build towards these three dimensions and iv) to identify the role of trust in future interactions between a financial service company and its clients. To achieve these objectives, quantitative research was undertaken in Germany by conducting a mail survey to 1.394 existing clients of an independent financial advisory institution. The phases of research cover a broad literature review combined with informal background research to identify variables that build trustlinvoke the trust building process to examine differences and/or additional variables to the descriptions in the literature. Prospective clients seem to generally support variables provided by the literature findings. The main research phase involves a mail survey to 1.394 existing clients with 321 responses. It is aimed at identifying relevant answers to the issues i)-iv) as described above. The results of the mail survey suggest differences between different client segments according to e. g. their educational background as well as their stage on the life cycle of financial services. Additionally, to validate the empirical findings, interviews were performed with 20 independent financial advisors which are aimed at identifying relevant answers to the above mentioned issues ii)-iv) from an advisor's point of view. The results suggest differences within the group of advisors according to e. g. demographic criteria. The results indicate that trust seems to be an important factor for the relationship between client, advisor and financial service provider.N evertheless,d ifferencesc oncerningt he influenceo f trust on the interpersonal relationship between the client and the financial advisor as well as its influence on the organisational relationship between client and financial service organisation can be observed and have to be addressed in the future. Moreover, also the differences related to the relevance of trust for the internal relationship between the financial service advisor and its organisation needs further attention. A framework of three dimensions of relationship marketing activities is introduced which may assist financial service companies to Implement a trust based relationship marketing approach. This should cover 1) an internal relationship marketing dimension, ii) an external relationship marketing dimension and iii) an interactive relationship marketing dimension. As a result, the company should become more trustworthya nd further more be enabledt o build strongerr elationshipsw ith their clients.

This research portfolio consists of three papers that together investigate the intangible returns generated from customer relationship management (CRM) programmes. / Thesis (DBA(DBusinessAdministration))--University of South Australia,

Thesis (DBA(DoctorateofBusinessAdministration))--University of South Australia, 2003.

Thesis (MBus) -- University of South Australia, 1998

University of Technology, Sydney. Faculty of Business. / Customer contact personnel (CCP) are recognised as a key determinant in the attainment of customer satisfaction and service quality. While they are readily acknowledged as often representing the service in the eyes of the customer, almost no attention has been given to researching the determinants of service behaviour among CCP, from the perspective of CCP. The work of Shamir (1980), over fifteen years ago, acted as a catalyst for the development of the conceptual model of this thesis. Of particular interest was the inclusion of the first empirical examination of propositions concerning relative status and role conflict. The conceptual model of this thesis extended and developed this work by representing relative status as two constructs, perceived self-status and perceived recognition status, then further, developed the discussion to include the dependent variable of this thesis, service behaviour. Additionally, the conceptual model included other key variables suggested by the literature (uniform perceptions and customer orientation), that directly and indirectly influence service behaviour. Airline flight attendants were considered suitable respondents for this research as they hold a high boundary spanning position. The useable data from the survey of 446 respondents represented a 36% response rate. The data analysis undertaken included path analysis and structural equation modelling. Investigation of the data found that greater insight and better managerial diagnostics could be obtained by splitting the sample dependent on the relative status perspective respondents held concerning their perceived self-status, and refining the conceptual model by dividing the dependent variable, service behaviour, into positive and negative service behaviour. The research findings indicated that the customer orientation of CCP had the greatest influence on service behaviour. Importantly, perceived self-status had a moderating influence on service behaviour, with the direction dependent on the status perspective of `not superior' or `superior'. All other variables of the model were generally found to have significant direct or indirect effects on service behaviour, again influenced by direction if they were mediated through perceived self-status. The structural equation modelling also provided acceptable fits to the data. Although, the study examined relationships that essentially had never previously been empirically tested and therefore, in their research infancy, the findings considerably aid our understanding of antecedents of service behaviour among CCP. Further, the findings have significant implications for management in service organisations where their frontline service personnel occupy a service role that is considered subordinate, both to the customer and the company.

This research portfolio consists of three papers that together investigate the intangible returns generated from customer relationship management (CRM) programmes. / Thesis (DBA(DBusinessAdministration))--University of South Australia,

The purpose of this research was to investigate how a process of integrating internal and external customers and technology could be developed and implemented in the building components industry. The research problem revolved around the customer orientation concept, which other industries claim to have implemented successfully. The research problem was conceptualised as lack of internal and external customer orientation.