Due to the growth of our economy and our rising standards of living, customers of today have a larger variety of products to choose from than in the past. This causes an increase in competition which has raised customer expectations on the quality of goods and services they receive (Palmer, 2001 p26). Along with this, the modern customer has become sophisticated, educated, confident and well informed. Hence, they have raised their expectations of the service they intend on receiving. This has placed enormous pressure on service organization's to improve the way they do business with these customers. This "customer transformation" has placed an increasing emphasis on customer service as a means of gaining a competitive advantage. As a consequence of competition becoming global and more intense, many organizations have come to the realization that they cannot compete on price alone. Hence, the level of customer service has a direct impact on an organization's market share, as it determines not only whether consumers will become customers but also whether existing customers will become loyal ones. If service quality is to become the cornerstone of an organisation's marketing strategy, marketers should have the means to measure it. Although research in this field exists, the researcher proposed the need for further research specifically in the area of customer perceptions toward the quality of service they receive. The issues addressed in this study will be of importance to both service managers and future researchers as a customer's evaluation of service quality and, the resulting level of satisfaction is thought to determine the likelihood of a repurchase and ultimately the success of the business. This dissertation is based on the perceptions of customers of Ola Milky Lane and the level of quality customer service they receive. Looking at the business from the customer's viewpoint will help the researcher investigate how current customers feel about the organization as well as their attitude toward the business. The expectations of these customers together with their levels of satisfaction, which shape their perceptions of the customer service, serve as the foundation on which service quality will be evaluated. Moreover, the research study hopes to assist the participating organisation establish whether gaps in service delivery exist, the reasons for their presence and identify possible solutions which can be implemented to close or prevent those gaps from further widening. This will benefit the organization as it can be used as a tool to understand customer perceptions, which can equip them to gauge the effectiveness and efficiency of their relationship programmes. With this motivation in mind, the research study takes a strategic look at the importance of customer service as perceived by customers by means of determining whether the organisation is or is not meeting their expectations. / Thesis (M.Comm.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2008.

Purpose ¿ The purpose of this study is to investigate the customer's perception of service quality within the context of the pharmaceutical supply chain, and look specifically at the supplier/customer relationship. Design/methodology/approach ¿ The research in question focuses on the trading relationship between a pharmaceutical wholesaler and its pharmacy customers. Existing literature shows that quality of the overall service is determined by the customer's perceptions of that service; therefore it is important that the supplier measures the customer's perception of service quality and understands what factors influence that perception and build this into their service delivery. The data were collected via a series of qualitative semi-structured interviews with hospital and retail pharmacies located in the North West of England. Findings ¿ The findings show that pharmacy customers have a range of vitally important to less important criteria associated with good service quality and that pharmaceutical wholesalers as suppliers should aim to excel at the vital and important issues and meet those of lesser importance to satisfy customers expectations of service quality. Research implications/limitations ¿ This reinforces the importance of measuring customer expectations and incorporating outputs into service design to ensure a customer focus to the service provided. Further consideration should be given to adopting the SERVQUAL tool in conducting future research and analysis. Practical implications ¿ Suppliers should be aware that there are vital activities that customers expect to have performed/delivered and that they need to know what these are and excel at these, whilst managing less important criteria effectively. Originality/value ¿ This paper provides an insight into the customer-supplier relationship within the pharmaceutical supply chain in the NHS, which will be of benefit to practitioners and academics in this field.

Includes one computer disk in Work 6 format. / System requirements for accompanying computer disk: Mackintosh or IBM-compatible computer. Other requirments: Microsoft Word 6 or compatible Word Processor. / Bibliography: leaves 241-270. / xiii, 270, [47] leaves ; 30 cm. + 1 computer disk (3 1/2 in.) / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Graduate School of Management, 1999

Thesis (M.B.A. (Rhodes Investec Business School)) - Rhodes University, 2008. / Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master in Business Administration of Rhodes Investec Business School.

Thesis (MTech (Marketing))--Cape Technikon, 1999. / Quality of service, as perceived by the customer, has been shown by research to be a critical factor contributing to organizational performance in recent years. Therefore, the management of service quality is a key variable, and for service quality to be managed, it has to be measured. There have been significant advances in the measurement of service quality in the past fifteen years, resulting in a stream of research, mostly concentrating on the external customers of profit-seeking firms. A key factor driving this research was the development of an apparently reliable, valid instrument for the measurement of service quality. This instrument called SERVQUAL, was developed by US researchers A. "Parsu" Parasuraman, Valarie Zeithaml and Len Berry. It has spawned an enormous debate in the marketing literature, leading to the further exploration and refinement of the dimensions of the service quality construct. While the use of SERVQUAL has been extensively investigated in external markets, and in for-profit firms, less attention has been given to its use, and more importantly, its reliability and validity in internal markets, and in not-for-profit organizations. These settings are becoming increasingly important from a services marketing perspective. Internal markets (where fellow employees are also customers) are being subjected to market testing, and many services previously provided within the organization are being outsourced. In order to survive, many functions such as information systems, training, catering and cleaning are being forced to market their services internally, and this includes assessing service quality, and improving it. Likewise, private and public nonprofit organizations are coming under increasing scrutiny, as donors and taxpayers alike become evermore concerned about the value gained from the expenditures made by these organizations with their funds. In this study, the SERVQUAL instrument was used to measure service quality as perceived by the internal customers of a large IT department within an extensive government organization. The main objectives of the study were to assess the psychometric properties of the SERVQUAL instrument in this setting. It was found that SERVQUAL generally performs well under these circumstances, with regard to reliability, construct, convergent and nomological validity. However, the instrument appears to be problematical in terms of discriminant validity. This is probably less attributable to the measurement situation as to the instrument itself, for the finding mirrors evidence from the literature. The study also identifies implications for management, and opportunities for future research.

The Motor Industry is set in a highly competitive and dynamic global arena constantly shaped by both external and internal forces. From an organisations point of view many of the external or macro forces are largely uncontrollable. Against this backdrop, players in the South African Motor Industry need to find new methods of differentiating themselves from competitors – One manner of performing this strategy is for Motor Dealerships to understand, meet or exceed customer requirements. In this research, the literature survey revealed the concepts of Total Quality Management (TQM) and fail-safing, the meaning of superior customer service and the importance of customer loyalty and retention. Customer service excellence levels of three Williams Hunt dealerships in the Port Elizabeth – Uitenhage metropole were measured by utilizing the SERVQUAL instrument for calibrating service quality. Customer expectations and perceptions were determined by means of the empirical study which yielded a service quality “gap.” From analysis of this gap and related findings, suggested improvements were suggested as a guideline for dealerships to utilise with the aim of improving customer service levels.

The study focused on the taxi industry as a services industry due to its contribution to the economies of both developed and the developing countries. The purpose of this study was to investigate ways to improve service delivery in the South African taxi industry. This industry is one of the underperforming industries in South Africa with regard to service quality due to over-serviced taxi routes and a lack of information about the needs and desires of the taxi commuters. The primary objective of this study was to investigate how to improve the service quality of taxi operators in the Nelson Mandela Bay by applying theories and concepts of services marketing and total quality management (TQM). More specifically, the study investigated whether taxi drivers have the required knowledge of services marketing and service quality, and what service quality challenges taxi drivers and commuters face. The sample consisted of 20 taxi drivers and 101 student commuters using taxis on the Port Elizabeth routes. The empirical results showed that taxi drivers perform unsatisfactorily on the four TQM elements: leadership, employee involvement, product/ process excellence and customer focus. The results also reflected the general perception in the Eastern Cape that taxi service quality is poor. Of the five service quality dimensions (tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy), the taxi drivers performed the best in reliability and the worst in empathy. The empirical results further suggested that taxi services do not meet the expectations of commuters, as deficits were reported between expectations and perceptions of actual service quality. The different quality dimensions used in the measurement of taxi service quality and their empirical results could provide a guideline to taxi service leadership and government on the critical aspects of taxi service quality.

The purpose of this research was to measure users' satisfaction with computer support in the higher education environment. The data for this study were gathered over a 5-week period using an online survey. Subjects (N=180) were members of a college at a major Texas university, which included both faculty and staff. SERVQUAL was the instrument used in this study. Two-ways statistical ANOVA analyses were conducted and revealed three statistically significant differences for Gender, Classification, and Comfort Level.

No / The purpose of this study is to investigate the customer’s perception of service quality within the context of the pharmaceutical supply chain, and look specifically at the supplier/customer relationship. The research in question focuses on the trading relationship between a pharmaceutical wholesaler and its pharmacy customers. Existing literature shows that quality of the overall service is determined by the customer’s perceptions of that service; therefore it is important that the supplier measures the customer’s perception of service quality and understands what factors influence that perception and build this into their service delivery. The data were collected via a series of qualitative semi-structured interviews with hospital and retail pharmacies located in the North West of England. The findings show that pharmacy customers have a range of vitally important to less important criteria associated with good service quality and that pharmaceutical wholesalers as suppliers should aim to excel at the vital and important issues and meet those of lesser importance to satisfy customers expectations of service quality. This reinforces the importance of measuring customer expectations and incorporating outputs into service design to ensure a customer focus to the service provided. Further consideration should be given to adopting the SERVQUAL tool in conducting future research and analysis. Suppliers should be aware that there are vital activities that customers expect to have performed/delivered and that they need to know what these are and excel at these, whilst managing less important criteria effectively. This paper provides an insight into the customer-supplier relationship within the pharmaceutical supply chain in the NHS, which will be of benefit to practitioners and academics in this field.

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements of the Master of Technology Degree in Information Technology, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2014. / The implementation of Microsoft (MS) technologies and solutions as organisational infrastructure within the higher education arena has become a popular choice both internationally and within South Africa. With benefits such as reduced costs, improved productivity and improved service delivery to both staff and students, MS technologies and solutions seem to be the preferred choice for many institutions worldwide. The Durban University of Technology (DUT) was the first university of technology in South Africa to implement all nine MS technologies simultaneously. Since migration to the MS platform in 2009, DUT staff have raised concerns regarding the new solutions, particularly with reference to aspects such as security, accessibility, and reluctance to use self-help tools to improve their IT experience. Migrating from a non-integrated system to an integrated MS platform thus resulted in IT service delivery becoming a contentious issue. . This study discussed: the quality of IT service delivery regarding the MS infrastructure within the DUT; the types of MS technologies and solutions implemented; the resulting impact that these have had on the full time administrative and academic staff at the DUT; and their perceptions and expectations of IT service delivery. Using a mixed methods research approach and underpinned by the modified SERVQUAL framework viz. RATER, the quality of this service was investigated. This study yielded both positive and negative findings regarding expectations and perceptions of the quality of IT services. Results indicated that although staff were generally positive about the migration and satisfied with the resulting IT service delivery, there was room for improvement in terms of the quality of IT services offered by DUT’s Information Technology Support Services Department. Based on the findings, recommendations for improved IT service delivery (ITSD) and IT service management (ITSM) were proposed. It was also recommended that the framework deemed most suitable in the MS dominant IT infrastructure, is the MS Operations framework.