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.

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 (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.

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.

The service industry has been growing fast as national economies grew therefore becoming a major contributor to national gross domestic products (GDP). This growth in the services sector has led to questions around the issue of service quality. The aim of this study was to identify the determinants of service, assess the level of service quality in commercial real estate leasing and identify possible quality improvement measures. In carrying out the study, the service quality model developed by Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry (1988:14), SERVQUAL, was used. The study was based on the leasing services of the broking department of one of the leading commercial real estate companies operating in Durban. The study was restricted to the Durban market. A non-probabilistic sample of 120 customers was drawn from a list of lease transactions concluded in the last one year. From this sample, 84 questionnaires were successfully completed either by way of a face to face interview or by telephone, showing a response rate of 70 percent. Data was collected using a questionnaire based on the SERVQUAL model and adjusted by the researcher in order to be relevant to the commercial real estate industry. The questionnaire comprised two sections each with 22 questions divided into the five determinants of service quality, which are service tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy. The first section of 22 questions was on customer expectations of service while the second section of 22 questions was on customer perceptions of service quality received and factor rating at the end. Factor analysis of survey response data was used to analyze the data and draw conclusions. The study findings are that commercial real estate service quality determinants match those in other industries except for rank and order. In general, service quality was found to be below customer expectations and commercial real estate firms need to work on ways to improve it. The study is limited to the specific settings of customers of property brokers in the Durban commercial real estate market. It is uncertain as to whether the findings can be generalized to other areas. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2010.

The purpose of the study is to evaluate the service quality that the SANBS provides to its customers, by measuring customers’ perceptions and their expectations of service quality provided by the supplier of blood transfusion services. The organization that is used for this study is the South African National Blood Service (SANBS). Specifically the study seeks to: 1. Determine the extent to which customers are satisfied or not satisfied with the service they receive from the SANBS using the ten-dimensional format of SERVQUAL model, modified to the specific service quality requirements of the blood transfusion service industry. 2. Establish customers’ perceptions of the service they receive using a multiple-item scale (SERVQUAL) for measuring consumer perceptions of service quality. 3. Establish customers’ expectations of the service, and compare them to their perceptions of the service they currently receive. The comparison is made along each service quality dimension, across different parts of same service on a geographical basis, and across different customer groups on a customer category (or type) basis. 4. Recommend implementation of appropriate service quality performance improvement procedures where necessary. Study design and methods: The data for the study came from the SANBS’ customer perception and expectation survey conducted in 2005. Questionnaires were sent out to hospitals that use products and services provided by the SANBS in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal Provinces of South Africa. The questionnaire was based on the multiple-item SERVQUAL model for measuring consumer perceptions of service quality, modified and tailored to specific service quality requirements of the blood transfusion service industry. Questionnaires were sent out to 113 (69.3%) hospitals out of a total of 163 blood-utilizing hospitals in the two provinces. Of the 113 hospitals, 92 (81.4%) responded, with questionnaires rendered unusable. The final sample size is 88 and is included in the final study database. The data is analyzed by comparing different parts of the service on a geographical basis namely KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape zones. The data is also analyzed by comparing different customer groups namely the Rural State Hospitals, the Urban State Hospitals and Private Hospitals. Results: The result confirms the research (alternative) hypothesis (H1 : μ1 ≠ μ2), and rejects Ho. The overall expectations ratings are higher than the perceptions ratings, and the KwaZulu-Natal expectations ratings are higher than the Eastern Cape ratings. The expectations of private hospitals and rural state hospitals have a higher rating than that of urban state hospitals and the perceptions of private and urban state hospitals have a higher rating than that of rural state hospitals. The largest service quality gap is the accessibility dimension which relates specifically to approachability and ease with which customers can access staff at different levels of the organization by e-mail, and includes accessing of knowledgeable blood bank personnel and medical staff of SANBS, but may also relate to the distance of hospitals from the nearest blood bank, all of which are situated in urban state hospitals. The mean difference for accessibility is the highest followed by the understanding customer mean difference. The mean differences for the other dimension categories are significantly less than that of the largest two dimensions, but not significantly different amongst themselves. The mean difference for rural state hospitals is the largest followed by private hospitals and urban state hospitals. The mean difference for rural state hospitals is greater than that for urban state hospitals in both zones, but the mean difference for private hospitals is greater in KwaZulu-Natal than in the Eastern Cape. The dimension means of differences for rural state hospitals are greater than that for urban state hospitals. According to the correlations between expectations and perceptions for different dimensions, there is a weak or no linear relationship between expectations and perceptions. Conclusion: This empirical study supports the literature on the provision of service quality, and concludes that there is a statistically significant difference or gap between the services offered by the SANBS as perceived by its customers, and the expectations of its customers. The study substantiates the need for management of blood transfusion services to take into account customer perceptions of service quality and their expectations, and upon identification of gaps, to implement appropriate service quality improvement processes, rather than take a one sided view of their (SANBS’) own perception of service quality.

The increasingly competitive business environment has influenced contemporary organisations to build mutual beneficial relationships with their customers indicating a paradigm shift from transactional marketing. In order to compete in this intense competitive environment, organisations are creating competitive advantage over their rivals through service quality that will influence customer satisfaction which subsequently leads to customer loyalty. Service quality has been found to be the key strategy of success and survival for most organisations like retail supermarkets who want to win the loyalty of their customers because of its positive effect on customer satisfaction. The purpose of this research was to determine the relationship between service quality, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty in the retail supermarket industry. An empirical study was conducted in Grahamstown between two main supermarkets through a survey that determined customers’ perceptions on service quality, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty respectively. The empirical findings of this research study revealed that moderate to strong positive linear relationships exists between the dimensions of service quality (namely physical aspects, reliability, personal interaction, problem solving and policy) and customer satisfaction at the 5% level of significance. Furthermore, this study showed that dimensions of service quality (namely physical aspects, reliability, personal interaction and problem solving) have weak negative linear relationships with price sensitivity dimension of customer loyalty. The study further showed that the dimensions of service quality (namely physical aspects, reliability, personal interaction, problem solving and policy) have weak to moderate positive linear relationships with the purchase intentions dimension of customer loyalty. In addition, all the dimensions of service quality (namely physical aspects, reliability, personal interaction, problem solving and policy) showed moderate positive linear relationships with word of mouth communication dimension of customer loyalty. A weak negative linear relationship between price sensitivity dimension of customer loyalty and customer satisfaction was revealed in this study. Purchase intentions dimension of customer loyalty was also found to have a moderate positive linear relationship with customer satisfaction. In addition, word of mouth communication dimension of customer loyalty showed a strong positive linear relationship with customer satisfaction. There is sufficient evidence that the customers of the two supermarkets in this study have different perceptions on problem solving dimension of service quality. This study further provides sufficient evidence of the significant difference between gender on the levels of customer satisfaction. In addition, this study showed that customers of various levels of education and occupations differ in price sensitivity dimension of customer loyalty. The average scores for word of mouth communication, purchase intentions and price sensitivity dimensions of customer loyalty were found to be significantly different between the two supermarkets investigated in this study. Therefore, for supermarkets to compete effectively in the intense retail supermarket industry in South Africa they have to manage their service quality dimensions so as to influence customer satisfaction and customer loyalty respectively.