Eating and shopping are Singaporeans' favourite past-times. However, in recent years, the retail sector performed poorly. Department stores, the dinosaurs of Singapore's retail scene because of their large size and long establishment, faced difficulty in adapting promptly to the environmental changes. Unless these retailers know how to capitalise on their large size with the right merchandise and service staff, being big can be a barrier. The focus of this thesis is twofold: Firstly, it assesses the potential of excellent customer service as a viable strategy to help these department stores in a fiercely competitive retail market. Another area of interest is to track the current service level of department stores for areas of improvement. Secondly, it is an academic exercise to contribute to the understanding of retailing by examining the impact of customer service in improving sales in a non-western context - Singapore. The earlier chapters outline the forces of change in the retail climate that promote strategic planning in retailing. Literature survey shows that various retail strategies are used to address the different business trading conditions over the years. With the intensification of competition and a saturated market in the 1990s, the effectiveness of using customer service as a functional strategy in increasing sales is examined. Because the scope of study is on downtown department stores, a study on the characteristics and peculiarities of these stores is conducted to better understand the working mechanism of this retail concept. Concepts on customer service are examined to assess how department stores can use this service tool. The later chapters deal with the selection and modification of an appropriate service measurement tool to track the current service level and to propose areas for improvement. Adopting the Servqual model of service quality, an external survey is conducted to examine the shoppers' views on the importance of customer service in their shopping decision and to track the current service performance of downtown department stores in Singapore. Internal audits comprising of a managements' and a front-line staffs' surveys are conducted to seek areas for service improvement. The findings are analysed using the SPSS software and recommendations are proposed. The external survey reveals that 12% of the respondents rated service as their top consideration in affecting their decision on where to shop. Besides, a department store may stand to lose as much as 39% of its customers in the event of poor services rendered. The external survey indicates a service gap for the Singapore's department stores industry. Shoppers rank responsiveness as the most important attribute. However, responsiveness receives the poorest ratings for its performance. Tangibles is ranked as the least important but it receives satisfactory performance rating. CK Tang emerges as the best department store based on its good service performance. Further investigations on the service gap show that managements need to improve on their efforts to solicit feedback from their shoppers in order to respond to their changing lifestyles and preferences. Front-line staffs' survey reveals that a fairer compensation package, more role congruence, more empowerment and a better reward system can minimise Gap 3. Limitations for the surveys are also highlighted and areas for future research work are proposed. Service has become a key factor in this fiercely competitive environment cluttered with many similar retail offerings. These surveys confirm that there is much room for improvement in this service element. This sentiment towards offering excellent service is also shared by Mr. Kazuhide Kimoto, Managing Director of Takashimaya Singapore Limited who feels that good location, varied and quality merchandise and excellent service will ensure a good future for department stores (SRA The Retailer, 1996,7). With the sophistication of today's shoppers who are widely travelled and the easy accessibility of goods through technological advancement, the service element win become increasingly important as they learn more about the western world of retailing. The author feels that giving excellent external customer service is only possible when there is excellent internal customer service. Internal customer service refers to the well-being and positive group dynamics of staff who can work together to help the shoppers. Service stems from service providers. If staff are truly happy, they will be motivated and committed to share the same joy with their external shoppers. Therefore, treating internal staff well promotes external customer service excellence. Given that one happy customer would share his/her experience with five more people whereas one unhappy customer would share with nine others in a TARP study, it pays to solve an external service problem before it surfaces. Therefore, a proactive approach to giving service may mean delighting one's employees first. A service culture which promotes excellent service delivery with a system of service awards and a constant service tracking system are critical for any retailers who want to give good service. Currently, most department stores professed to provide customer service. In reality, the customer service concept in Singapore is not clearly understood and hence, its potential undermined. Most department stores perceive customer service as a list of services to be offered to their shoppers Finally, this thesis contributes to the academic understanding of retailing in Singapore by documenting the retail scene in Singapore from the 1960s to 1990s with emphasis on the downtown department stores and testing the applicability of Servqual model as a tool to track service level in a non-westem region i.e. Singapore. The findings from the 3 surveys conducted on downtown department stores revealed the local shoppers' behavioural preferences, sentiments and the most important service dimension in retail using the Servqual Model, a first report in retail customer service.

Prof. W.J. Schurink

This study investigated demographic characteristics of 240 Chamber of Commerce members in terms of their expectations for customer service in hotels. Subjects reported their age, gender, marital status, race, educational level, income level and ethnicity, and completed a 26-item questionnaire which measured expectations for customer service. Principal components analysis was used to reduce the 26 items to five dimensions of service quality, and multivariate analysis of variance was used to evaluate the effect of the demographic variables on those dimensions. Gender of the customer was found to have a significant effect on the combined dimensions of service quality; other variables were not significant.

Thesis (M. Tech. (Faculty of Management Sciences, Dept. of Human Resources Management) -- Vaal University of Technology / The buzzwords in South African business today is quality service and customer satisfaction. Service quality is an important determinant of customer satisfaction. It is therefore important to measure customer satisfaction and to solicit internal customers perceptions on service received. This research was primarily undertaken to evaluate the quality of services rendered by administrators to Sasol Technology R&D employees. The research is supported by a detailed study of quality and customer service. An adapted internal service quality scale (INSERVQUAL) was used to measure service quality. A thirty item scale was developed, for the empirical study. The instrument was then subjected to a scale purification process through exploratory factor analysis. Both the expectation and perception elements were used in measuring service quality. The five dimensions of service quality namely Accessibility and Tangibility, Assurance, Empathy, Reliability and Responsiveness were identified as internal service quality dimensions. Aspects of Accessibility and Tangibility were incorporated as a single dimension in this study. A six- point Likert scale was used in the questionnaire. The low end of the scale represented a negative response, whilst the high end represented a posit,ive response. With a response rate of 63% from internal customers, the researcher was able to provide evidence that service quality dimensions may influence an employee's perception of the administrators' service quality. The finding in this study also suggests the need for further research to examine customers' expectations in other related services as well as in different culture contexts. The testing of the modified internal customer model of internal marketing developed and described in this study indicates that Access, Assurance, Empathy, Reliability and Responsiveness dimensions may be a useful approach to enhancing service quality.

This study examines the influence of various facets of perceived risk on the attitudes toward really new services (RNS) and adoption intentions. Although there is considerable research examining perceived risk and consumer adoption of innovations, three aspects of the relationship have been neglected. First, much of the research on really new innovations is product-focused with little attention to services. Second, there is limited research examining perceived risk as a multidimensional construct. Third, consumer characteristics that affect the relationship between perceived risks and adoption intentions have not been included in most of the innovation studies. Thus, this study seeks to provide answers to the questions of “which types of perceived risk are more likely to affect adoption intentions of RNS?” and “which consumer characteristics affect the relationship between perceived risks and adoption intentions of RNS?”. The findings of the study show the influence of perceived risk in the service innovations area. We contribute to theory and practice by identifying the specific risks that cause consumers to resist adopting RNS as well as showing the explanatory power of Regulatory Focus Theory (RFT) to understand why consumers react differently when they encounter service innovations. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2017. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

by Lee Hak-lai. / Bibliography: leaf 61 / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1985

by Cyril Chi-kin Chow. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1995. / Includes bibliographical (leaves 165-184). / ABSTRACT --- p.i / TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.iii / LIST OF FIGURES --- p.vii / LIST OF TABLES --- p.viii / ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS --- p.x / CHAPTER / Chapter I. --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / The Retail Banking Industry --- p.1 / Retail Banking in Hong Kong --- p.4 / The Present Research Focus --- p.8 / Significance of Research --- p.9 / Organization of Thesis --- p.10 / Chapter II. --- REVIEW OF LITERATURE --- p.11 / Literature on Service Marketing --- p.11 / Services as Activities --- p.12 / Services as Experiences --- p.13 / Services As Molecular Marketing Entities --- p.13 / Services As Processes --- p.14 / Services As Systems --- p.15 / Service Classification --- p.17 / Literature on Quality and Service Quality --- p.19 / Definition of Quality --- p.19 / Approach to Quality Management --- p.21 / Perceived Service Quality --- p.25 / Service Quality Gap Theory ´Ø --- p.26 / Issues in Service Quality Measurement --- p.33 / Literature on Satisfaction / Dissatisfaction --- p.39 / Expectancy Disconfirmation Theory --- p.40 / Attribution Theory --- p.42 / Equity Theory --- p.43 / Dyadic Role Expectation Theory --- p.44 / Catastrophe Theory --- p.44 / Service Quality - Satisfaction Link --- p.48 / "Transactional, Contractual, and Relational Service Exchanges ´Ø" --- p.51 / Transactional Exchange --- p.54 / Relational Exchange --- p.54 / Contractual Exchange --- p.56 / Chapter III. --- TOWARD A GENERIC MODEL OF SERVICE QUALITY --- p.60 / Service Quality Dimensions --- p.60 / Product Quality --- p.62 / Service Recovery Quality --- p.64 / Social and Structural Relationship Quality --- p.66 / Service Quality Measures --- p.67 / Service Adequacy --- p.67 / Service Superiority --- p.68 / Degree of Tolerance --- p.68 / Generic Service Quality Model --- p.70 / Dimensionality --- p.70 / Perceived Quality Importance --- p.71 / Service Satisfaction / Dissatisfaction --- p.74 / Comparison of the Generic Model and PZB Model --- p.74 / Chapter IV. --- RESEARCH METHODOLOGY --- p.77 / Research Design --- p.77 / Focus Group Research --- p.79 / Pretest --- p.82 / Sampling --- p.82 / Operationalization of Measures --- p.83 / Forms of Service Exchange --- p.79 / Service Quality --- p.86 / Satisfaction --- p.87 / Dissatisfaction --- p.87 / Loyalty and Switching Intent --- p.87 / Importance of Quality Dimensions --- p.87 / Survey Response --- p.88 / Response Rate --- p.88 / Respondent Characteristics --- p.89 / Service Exchange Respondent Grouping --- p.90 / Reliability of Measures --- p.91 / Validity of Measures --- p.92 / Convergent and Discriminant Validity --- p.92 / Concurrent and Predictive Validity --- p.94 / Chapter V. --- RESULTS --- p.96 / Generic Service Quality Model --- p.96 / Dimensionality --- p.96 / Noticeable Differences in Service Quality Dimensions --- p.98 / Perceived Quality Importance --- p.100 / Service Satisfaction --- p.102 / Service Dissatisfaction --- p.104 / Model Comparison --- p.106 / Explanatory and Predictive Power --- p.107 / Adequacy of Explanation --- p.108 / Domain of Application --- p.108 / Chapter VI --- SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS --- p.110 / Objectives and Focus of the Research --- p.110 / Operationalization of Constructs --- p.112 / Reliability of Research Instruments --- p.114 / Validity of Research Instruments --- p.115 / Response Rate and Sample Representativeness --- p.116 / Summary and Interpretation of Findings --- p.116 / Significance of the Research Contribution --- p.119 / Contribution to Theory --- p.119 / Contribution to Practice --- p.122 / Contribution to Methodology --- p.124 / Evaluation of Theory from the Philosophy of Science --- p.126 / Directions For Future Research --- p.128 / Better Construct Measurement --- p.128 / Better Data Collection Methodology --- p.129 / Causal Experimental Design --- p.130 / Replication Study Required --- p.130 / Limitations --- p.131 / EXHIBITS / Exhibit 1 All Users' SERVQUAL MSS Factor Structure --- p.132 / Exhibit 2 All Users' Generic Service Quality Model MSS Factor Structure --- p.133 / Exhibit 3 Transactional Users' MSA Structure --- p.134 / Exhibit 4 Transactional Users' MSS Structure --- p.135 / Exhibit 5 Contractual Users' MSA Factor Structure --- p.136 / Exhibit 6 Contractual Users' MSS Factor Structure --- p.137 / Exhibit 7 Relational Users' MSA Factor Structure --- p.138 / Exhibit 8 Relational Users' MSS Factor Structure --- p.139 / APPENDICES / Appendix I Measures --- p.140 / Appendix II Respondent Characteristics --- p.144 / Appendix III Results of One Way Analysis of Variances --- p.145 / III-A Minimum Service Expectations --- p.145 / III-B Desirable Service Expectations --- p.146 / III-C Measures of Service Adequacy (MSA) --- p.147 / III-D Measures of Service Superiority (MSS) --- p.148 / III-E Measures of Tolerance Range --- p.149 / III-F Perceived Service Quality Dimension Weights --- p.150 / III-G Behavioural Intent and Behaviour --- p.151 / Appendix IV Research Covering Letter --- p.152 / Appendix V Questionnaire One (3-Column Format) --- p.153 / Appendix VI Questionnaire Two (2-Column Format) --- p.159 / BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.165 / CURRICULUM --- p.183

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