This study examined whether customer care initiatives are being implemented on South African e-commerce web sites. The customer care initiatives are categorised into four sections: • General section which assessed the website's content, • Contact section which assessed vanous contact mechanisms and community development, • Security section which determined the security aspects of the web site, and • Ordering section which assessed the payment options, shipping and tracking the order. A search engine was used to generate a random sample of web sites that engaged in e-commerce. The web sites were then assessed against a checklist to determine if the 58 customer care initiatives were present or not. In order to capture the data, a generic Internet browser was developed so that the top half of the screen comprised the web site and the lower half of the screen contained the checklist. As the initiatives in the checklist were captured, the data was transferred into a database where it was later analysed both in the database and in a spreadsheet. The results revealed that, on the whole, the web sites fared well in the General section particularly with respect to the designs of the web sites. However, it was apparent that more commitment is needed in the Contact, Security and Ordering sections of web site design. The main recommendations include greater management commitment towards the more costly technologies such as encryption software to increase the security of online financial transactions and protect personal information; the inclusion of shopping basket technology and the inclusion of search facilities on the web sites. To a lesser extent there needs to be more commitment towards the creation of communities via the web site. / Thesis (M.B.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2005.

South African Breweries-Beer Division referred to as SAB, is a subsidiary of SABMiller plc. SAB manufacture, market and distribute alcoholic beverages and alcoholic fruit beverages (AFB's) throughout Southern Africa. Their strategy is to drive volume and productivity in major markets, optimise and expand market positions, seek value-adding opportunities to enhance their position as a global brewer and grow their brands in the international premium segment (http://www.SABMiller.com/pdfs/SABMiller%20Factsheet%20Update%20Feb%202004.pdf). However, the current Liquor Act (Liquor Act No. 27 of 1989) is being revised and is under going many changes. It makes provisions for shebeens, retail chain stores, petrol stations and supermarkets to become licensed to trade in alcoholic products. The imminent changes are meant to promote the development of a responsible and sustainable liquor industry in a manner that facilitates the entry of new participants (http://www.saccct.org.za/liguorpres.html). "One of the key issues for discussion as the provinces' drafted legislation for the retail licenses was how to encourage the normalisation of illegal retailers, or shebeens. An estimated 200 000 shebeens are currently outside the regulatory net," said Deputy director-general Astrid Ludin (http://business.iafrica.com/news/260060.htm). Given the above, it is estimated that the customer database of SAB will increase substantially. This study concentrates solely on shebeens as "the entry of new participants". Will SAB be adequately prepared to meet and satisfy their customer demands and operational obligations? Will they be adequately resourced or do they start planning now? Do they have anything to worry about? This study investigates SAB's readiness to service a substantially increased customer base. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2004.

A survey was undertaken for a contract cleaning company in Durban. In order to preserve the confidentiality of the information contained in this dissertation, a fictitious name, Kleen Co, has been used. The aim of the survey was to find further similarities within the existing segments. At present, the traditional geographic and industry-type bases of segmentation (namely healthcare, hospitality, offices and shopping centres in various regions) are used. Recent literature suggests that similarities can be sought in three areas: 1. expectations of service; 2. perceptions of service; 3. unique benefits of the service. In the survey, clients were asked to rate their expectations and perceptions for six attributes (price of the cleaning service, customer service, quality of cleaning, innovativeness of cleaning methods, assessment of cleaning requirements, and consistency of the cleaning service) . They were also asked to rate the relevance of four reasons for outsourcing (cheaper to outsource, need for specialised cleaning, company policy to outsource, and labour problems). The results indicate that price and innovation can be used as further bases for segmentation for the following segments: • offices and healthcare have the same high expectation for price; healthcare and hospitality have the same high expectation for innovation; • shopping centres and hospitality have the same low expectation for price; • offices and shopping centres have the same low expectation for innovativeness; • healthcare and hospitality have the same high perceptions for price and innovation; • offices and shopping centres have the same low perceptions for price and innovation. For outsourcing are concerned, the following reasons were found: • offices: all reasons are relevant except for price of service. • healthcare: need for specialised cleaning and labour problems are relevant; price of service and company policy are irrelevant; • shopping centres: price of service and company policy are relevant; need for specialised cleaning and labour problems are irrelevant. • hospitals: all reasons are relevant except company policy to outsource. Although the main aim of the survey was to identify new segments, client satisfaction was also measured. Clients were asked whether they had raised a complaint with the company and, if so, how satisfied they were with the outcome. This was done in order to test the loyalty of clients, the hypothesis being that the longer the client had been with Kleen Co, the more satisfied they would be with the outcome of their complaints - and more loyal. However, the data reflect that clients who have been with the company for more than four years are no more satisfied in this regard than clients who have been with the company for shorter periods of time. / Thesis (MBA)-University of Natal, Durban, 2001.

South Africa's re-integration into the global economy and the international political arena has brought about an active growth of business locally and internationally. Local companies are expanding into new markets and regions which require them to follow internationally acceptable and approved waste disposal policies in their production of goods and services. To achieve compliance, it is necessary that companies have the appropriate support and backup from waste disposal companies. Also, increasing pressure from environmental groups and government agencies makes it a prerequisite that a company's waste is properly disposed of in the most efficient, lawful and economical way. This research dissertation is aimed at identifying the key factors that impact on the levels of service in the waste industry and an attempt at evaluating the effects of the service levels to determine what actions are necessary to improve the levels of service in the waste industry. As a result, this research was carried out amongst producers of waste in certain areas of KwaZulu-Natal. Various techniques were evaluated in researching how to measure service quality. The most reliable measuring instrument to gauge service quality was found to be the SERVQUAL system. This measuring instrument was evaluated and then modified to suit the particular needs of the waste industry. The SERVQUAL system is a multi-item scale for measuring consumers perceptions of service quality. A sample of 75 companies was selected and senior management was interviewed. Based on the statistical analysis, the discrepancy between service expectations and service delivery in the waste industry is wide. Urgent attention needs to be focused on service delivery, especially reliability, assurance and responsiveness by waste disposal companies. / Thesis (MBA)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.

Call Centres employ frontline staff commonly known as service consultants who interact with customers within the service oganisation.In order for organizations to ensure that they derive satisfaction from interactions with frontline employees as part of their main objectives, they make use of a human resource practice widely known as performance appraisals or assessments in order to determine if employees’ performance during their interactions with customers produce organization’s desired outcomes i.e. satisfied customers. Organizations use performance appraisals for multiple purposes chiefly amongst them being developmental and administrative. This study sought to investigate perceptions held by employees towards the purposes or objectives of the system employed in their organization to assess their service interactions with customers, their perceptions of fairness of the system, and how such fairness relates to their satisfaction with the assessment outcomes. A survey approach was used to collect data and the instrument used was a self-administered questionnaire. There were 410 questionnaires distributed via email to employees working within service assurance call centres situated in Bloemfontein, Cape Town and Gauteng. A total of 117 questionnaires were returned by the respondents. Data collected was managed and analysed using the SPSS program. The findings of the study indicated that employees perceive the uses of assessing their service interactions with customers as both developmental and administrative, perceive fair outcomes and procedures used in determining the outcomes, they are satisfied with assessment outcomes, view the system used to assess their interactions as effective and trustworthy. The fairness of outcomes and procedural fairness variables were found to be strongly and positively related to satisfaction with assessment outcomes. Both fairness variables were found to have a unique contribution towards the prediction of the satisfaction with assessment outcomes variable. The main recommendation of the study is that management need to consider increasing fairness in the decisions involving employees’ performance as it has been found that such increase results in a positive increase on the employees’ satisfaction with outcomes generated from the assessment or evaluation of their service interactions with customers. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2010.

This dissertation investigated the quality of service delivery at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) Pietermaritzburg campuses. According to du Toit (2004:182) student satisfaction is important in the Higher Education sector due to its role in effective enrolment management. It is essential for student perceptions of service quality to be evaluated and managed by the university. Iacobucci, et al (1995:277) emphasized that service quality and customer satisfaction are important concepts to academic researchers studying consumer evaluations as a means of creating competitive advantages and customer loyalty. According to the South African Department of Education (2004:3), the creation of a new merged institution must ultimately be accompanied by standardised service levels. Hence this study attempted to investigate the service levels of the merged institution in Pietermaritzburg. The research set out to measure service expectations of higher education as well as measure service perceptions at the DUT. The research also set out to establish the SERVQUAL gap, which causes unsuccessful service delivery (Gap 5) and examine the dimensions which contribute to Gap 5. A SERVQUAL analysis was undertaken on the two Pietermaritzburg campus, viz. Riverside and Indumiso campus. The study found that on average customers had high expectations in tangibles, reliability and assurance dimensions and their highest perceptions were found in the assurance dimension. The study also found that management of DUT need to apply a varying degree of attention to the dimensions between the two campuses. The key recommendation to management of DUT was to introduce a Total Quality Management (TQM) system and a service marketing management plan. In addition to implementing this, management also needs to develop a service-minded workforce. / Thesis (M.B.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2006.

Pietermaritburg Electricity provides electricity to all residents living within its area of license which is mainly within the Msunduzi Municipality boundary. PE has in excess of 66 000 customers, 600 of which are industrial and commercial. PE customers service is regulated by the Batho Pele - 'People First' White Paper on Transforming Public Service Delivery published on 18 September 1997. This White Paper dictates how the service will be provided by public service institutions to public members. This research will endeavour to investigate customer care offered to industrial and commercial customers by Pietermaritzburg Electricity within the context of Batho Pele Principles. A sample size of 242 was chosen and 238 of the sample responded 10 of which were spoilt. 228 responses were analysed and an attempt to understand the performance of PE as far as customer service is concerned was made. A meeting was held with PE's senior management to understand their commitment as far as customer service offered to industrial and commercial customers is concerned within the context of Batho Pele Principles. The survey responses as well as the management responses were analysed and conclusions and recommendations were drawn. / Thesis (M.B.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2006.

The accounting higher education sector is becoming increasing competitive, with institutions jostling for position in the eyes of prospective students. Without adequate attention to the quality of education provided, little headway will be possible, and the institution will have to settle for second, or even third, place in the student's mind. Institutions cannot rely on past successes to attract top students, and a new approach is needed. This research presents a possible answer to the quality problem faced at the University of Kwazulu-Natal (Pietermaritzburg campus) in the School of Accounting. It involves the use of SERVQUAL to measure students' satisfaction levels with the quality of service and education received. The approach involves gathering students' perceptions, analyzing them, and making suggestions about the correct path to follow in a bid to enhance the institution's standing in the accounting community. / Thesis (M.B.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2006.

The contact lens market in the United States is a multi-billion dollar market and data indicates that almost 13% of all Americans wear contact lenses (Beales, 2003:paragraph 3). Beales (2003: paragraph 3) states that there are four major manufacturers of contact lenses (e.g., Johnson & Johnson, Bausch & Lomb, CIBA Vision and Cooper Vision) and their channel of distribution is through eye care practitioners (optometrists). Since contact lens companies offer similar products their differentiating characteristic is their service element, service quality in the contact lens industry is important as Wong (2001: paragraph 3) mentions that the contact lens market is about a $2.8 billion industry, with an annual growth of about 6%. Wong (2001: paragraph 4) further states that there is a large international opportunity for contact lens companies and that penetration into this market is much less overseas than it is in the U.S. It is estimated that about one in 5 vision-corrected Americans are wearing contact lenses, in Japan it is about one in 8, in Europe it is roughly one in 15 and in developing countries it is estimated to be one in 100 (Wong, 2001: paragraph 8). Coo ley (2001 paragraph 3) claims that the eye-care industry offers a significant market opportunity as roughly 60% of the American population (164.2 million people) requires vision correction at present and it is estimated that in the longer term virtually everyone will require some form of vision care. The key in this market would be to provide the appropriate product that creates value and addresses the consumer's needs. Weinstein and Johnson (1999:4) mention that "great" companies do not just satisfy the needs of their customers but instead strive to delight and "wow" them by continually creating business experiences that exceed customer expectations. Hence contact lens companies need to find ways to adequately assess customer service perceptions and expectations in order to be competitive. This research sets out to measure service expectations of optometrists with regards to the service that they receive from contact lens suppliers as well as measure service perceptions of optometrists with regards to Ciba Vision. The study also set out to establish the SERVQUAL gap, which causes unsuccessful service delivery (Gap 5) and examine the dimensions i.e. the tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy which contribute to Gap 5. The study found that on average customers have their high expectations in the responsiveness dimension and their highest perceptions in the assurance dimension. The study also found that gaps resulted in all five of the SERVQUAL dimensions with reliability contributing the most to gap 5. / Thesis (M.B.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2006.

Companies seeking competitive advantage in the highly competitive fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry can no longer differentiate themselves from competitors on products and pricing alone. Customer service and the perceived value that customers gain from suppliers is key in staying ahead. The FMCG industry in South Africa (SA) does not place much emphasis on evaluating customer service. This study is an evaluation of the outbound logistics customer service of Unilever Home and Personal Care (UHPC), a multinational FMCG company in SA. The study focuses on attributes of customer service that major retail customers with distribution centres {DC's) consider important and evaluates logistics customer service against key competitors. A survey of three major retail customers' of UHPC was conducted in the major regions of SA. Thirty self-administered questionnaires were sent out to staff at Shoprite, Clicks and Spar DC's across SA. Staff targeted were those associated with inbound logistics and included people as senior as DC Managers to Receiving Controllers. As these are specialised job functions, the sample size comprised of only 30 respondents. A total of 24 responses were analysed to determine the attributes of customer service which UHPC customers consider important and also to determine the perceived performance of UHPC against other competitors. The results revealed that DC customer consider order accuracy, timeliness of delivery, order quality, product availability, order fulfilment, personnel contact, cooperation of supplier, alerts on transportation delays, relationship with supplier and service level agreements to be the ten most important attributes of logistics customer service. The different customer groups did not rank the attributes in the same way. Shoprite and Clicks perceive UHPC's logistics customer service to perform from good to excellent on all 32 attributes whilst Spar felt that UHPC under-performed on 8 attributes. UHPC was highly rated amongst key competitors in the local FMCG industry and outperformed competitors on 28 attributes of logistics customer service. The following areas of improvement were identified for UHPC: order discrepancy handling after delivery, quality/durability of packaging, personal contact knowledge and ability and helpfulness in solving problems and supplier innovation in improving delivery. Recommendations for improvement in UHPC's logistics customer service were made based on the results and the literature review which included repeating the survey at least quarterly on attributes needing improvement so as not having to wait for at least 3 years for another competitor benchmarking survey. / Thesis (M.B.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2005.