This diploma thesis is focused on evaluating quality of services in field of gastronomy in specific organisations in Brno city. Within this work there is analysis of present condition in organisations and in field of gastronomy also. For evaluating quality of services, based on this analysis, SERVQUAL method is chosen. After application of this method both recommendations and proposed specific systems of quality management for organisations are expressed.

Bakgrund: Konkurrensen inom banksektorn har på senare tid ökat, då digitaliseringen av tjänster har möjliggjort för nya aktörer likt neobanker att etablera sig på marknaden. Kvaliteten på tjänsteerbjudandet har stor påverkan på tjänsteföretagens framgång på marknaden. För att möta kundernas ökande krav på kvalitet bör bankerna ha ett kontinuerligt kvalitetsförbättringsarbete. Det finns därför ett behov att undersöka hur bankkunder ser på kvalitet samt hur banker bör prioritera sitt förbättringsarbete. Syfte: Denna studie syftar till att utforska hur svenska bankkunder upplever tjänstekvaliteten på internetbanken. Syftet är också att utreda vilka delar av internetbanken svenska banker bör prioritera i sitt förbättringsarbete. Metod: Studien har antagit en kvantitativ forskningsstrategi med en tvärsnittsdesign. Forskningsansatsen var deduktiv. Datan samlades in genom en digital enkätstudie baserad på frågor SSTQUAL samt WebQual. Strukturen med frågor kring upplevd och faktisk tjänstekvalitet baserades på SERVQUAL-ramverket. Studien använde sig av partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) samt importance performance matrix analysis (IPMA) för att analysera den insamlade datan. Resultat: Studiens resultat visar att dimensionerna Design samt Bekvämlighet uppvisar den högsta upplevda tjänstekvaliteten. Dimensionerna Kommunikation samt Information uppvisar den lägsta upplevda tjänstekvaliteten. Samtliga dimensioner har ett negativt tjänstekvalitetsgap, vilket indikerar att kundernas förväntningar är högre ställda än vad de upplever att internetbanken faktiskt levererar. Sett till prioriteringsordningen för bankernas förbättringsarbete föreslår studiens resultat följande ordning: 1. Innovation, 2. Kommunikation, 3. Information, 4. Design, 5. Funktionalitet, 6. Säkerhet och 7. Bekvämlighet. Kunskapsbidrag: Denna studie har bidragit till en ökad förståelse för vilka dimensioner av internetbankens tjänsteerbjudande som är viktiga för kunderna och hur kunderna upplever tjänstekvaliteten inom dessa dimensioner. För banker kan studien ge värdefulla insikter om hur kunderna ser på kvaliteten och vilka dimensioner som bör prioriteras i ett förbättringsarbete. / Background: Competition in the banking sector has increased in recent years because of the digitalization of services which has enabled new players like neobanks to enter the market. A company’s service offering has significant impact on the firm’s success. In order to meet customers’ increasing demands for quality service, banks should continuously improve their service offerings. Therefore, there is a need to investigate how bank customers view quality and how banks should prioritize their improvement efforts. Aim: This study aims to investigate how Swedish bank customers experience the quality of service on the internet bank. The purpose is also to analyze which parts of the internet bank Swedish banks should prioritize in their improvement efforts. Methodology: The study has adopted a quantitative research strategy with a cross-sectional design. The research approach was deductive. The data was collected through a digital survey based on questions from the SSTQUAL and WebQual frameworks. The study's survey questions about perceived and actual quality of service were based on the SERVQUAL framework. The study used partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and importance-performance matrix analysis (IPMA) to analyze the collected data. Results: The study results show that the dimensions of Design and Convenience have the highest perceived quality of service. The dimensions Communication and Information show the lowest perceived quality of service. All dimensions have a negative service quality gap, which indicates that customer expectations are higher than what they feel the internet bank delivers. Regarding the order of priority for the banks' improvement efforts, the study results suggest the following order: 1. Innovation, 2. Communication, 3. Disclosures, 4. Design, 5. Functionality, 6. Security and 7. Convenience. Research contribution: This study has contributed to an increased understanding of which dimensions of the internet bank's service offering that are fundamental to customers and how customers experience the quality of service within these dimensions. The study provides valuable insights into how customers view quality and which dimensions banks should prioritize in its improvement efforts.

Banker har i stor utsträckning övergått från traditionella interpersonella leveranser till digitala alternativ, genom användandet av självbetjäningsteknik (SST) (Johns & Perrot, 2008). Detta har medfört minskning av antalet bankkontor, framförallt i Norden (Dallerup et al. 2018; Svenska Bankföreningen, 2020). Samtidigt visar forskning att företagskunder önskar en nära och personlig relation vid anskaffandet av komplexa tjänster (Chalmers & Stubs 2019). Studien adresserade därför detta genom att öka kunskapen om företagskunders uppfattning av tjänstekvalitet vid nyttjandet av banktjänster och interaktioner med deras bank genom följande forskningsfrågor: FF1: Hur kan företagskunders förväntningar på banktjänster beskrivas? FF2: Hur kan företagskunders upplevelser av banktjänster beskrivas? Metoden som nyttjades för detta var en deduktiv kvalitativ ansats med kvantitativa inslag, där semi-strukturerade intervjuer genomfördes baserade på SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al., 1985) och SSTQUAL (Radomir och Nistor, 2012) kvalitetsdimensioner, följt av en tematisk analys. Studiens resultat pekade på följande faktorer som viktiga för hög tjänstekvalitet i banksektorn: God, tillitsfull och personlig relation Tillgänglighet och snabba beslut/handläggning Lokal närvaro/kontor Vidare sågs digital självbetjäningsteknik (SST) som ett fundamentalt behov hos företagskunderna och påverkade upplevd tjänstekvalitet vid banktjänster i liten utsträckning. Konklusionen är därför att det idag är svårt att fullt ut ersätta ansikte-mot-ansikte interaktioner med digitala SST-tjänster för företagskunder. Vid de tillfällen lokala bankkontor stängts ned uppfattade samtliga av studiens respondenter det som negativt och har som en följd antingen bytt bank eller funderar på att göra det. Banker rekommenderas att anpassa sin verksamhetsstyrning i linje med de viktigaste faktorerna för upplevd tjänstekvalitet hos företagskunder.  Framtida studier rekommenderas att undersöka; (1) Om väsentlig ökad utbredning av videomöten under 2020-2021 över tid kan ersätta behovet för lokal förankring och fysiska möten, (2) Huruvida bankers leveransmodell mot företagskunder behöver anpassas och bli mer proaktiv, för att överbrygga de få interaktioner som finns i dagens digitala värld. Detta för att bygga upp de nödvändiga relationerna och tilliten som värdesätts så högt. / Banks has largely shifted from interpersonal service deliveries to digital alternatives through the  use of self-service-technologies (SST) (Johns and Perrot, 2008). This has led to a reduction of bank branches, especially in the Nordic countries (Dallerup et al. 2018; Svenska Bankföreningen, 2020). Simultaneously research shows that banks B2B-customers wants a close and personal relationship as well as interpersonal meetings, especially in the procurement of complex services (Chalmers & Stubs 2019). The study addressed this by increasing the knowledge of B2B-customers perceptions of service quality when using bank services and interactions with their bank through the following research questions:  RQ1: How can B2B-customers expectations of banking services be described? RQ2: How can B2B-customers perceptions of banking services be described?  The method used was a deductive qualitative approach with quantitative elements. Semi-structured interviews based on the quality dimensions of SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al., 1985) and SSTQUAL (Radomir and Nistor, 2012) were conducted, followed by a thematic analysis. The study’s results deemed the following factors as important for high service quality in the banking sector:  Good, trusting, and personal relationship Availability and quick decisions/processing Local presence/branches  Furthermore, digital self-service-technologies (SST) was seen as a fundamental need among the B2B-customers and affected their perceptions of service quality in banking services to a small extent. The conclusion is that its difficult to fully replace face-to-face interactions with digital SST services for B2B-customers. At the times when local bank branches were closed, the study’s respondents perceived it as negative, and as a result they have either changed their bank or were considering doing so. It is recommended for banks to adapt their managerial strategy in line with the most important factors for perceived service quality among B2B-customers. Future studies are recommended to investigate the following: (1) If the significant increase of digital meetings during 2020-2021 over time can replace the need for local presence and physical meetings, (2) If banks delivery model towards B2B-customers needs to become more proactive to increase the number of interactions between the bank and its B2B-customers. To enhance the necessary relationships and trust that they highly value.

This study has investigated the effect of service quality on customer satisfaction and Word of Mouth in the grocery retail industry. The purpose of the study was to measure the dimensions of service quality and see its effect on customer satisfaction and Word of Mouth. The research question was created to investigate the aforementioned effect, expectations vs performance, How does service quality affect customer satisfaction and Word of Mouth? In order to compare expectations and perceived performance the service quality model, SERVQUAL was used. The thesis is a quantitative study and the data was collected through an online questionnaire where 106 respondents participated. The data was analyzed, both through measuring the gap score between expectations and perceived performance and also regressions were made to test the relationship of the variables. The findings of this study shows that service quality does affect both customer satisfaction and Word of Mouth. However the effect of service quality showed to affect customer satisfaction and Word of Mouth differently, where customer satisfaction had a higher explanatory power than Word of Mouth. Furthermore, the expectations exceeded the perceived performance of service quality in all the dimensions. This created a negative overall comparison gap between the expectations and performance. The comparison gap was fairly low and according to the theory it showed both customer satisfaction and positive Word of Mouth in the grocery retail industry in Luleå. The arithmetic mean which was collected from the questionnaire showed a high value of customer satisfaction and Word of Mouth even though a negative overall gap. However, it could be seen that only a few of the SERVQUAL dimensions could show a significant relationship, two with customer satisfaction and one Word of Mouth. / Denna studie har undersökt tjänstekvalitetens effekt på kundnöjdhet och Word of Mouth inom dagligvaruhandeln. Syftet med studien var att mäta dimensionerna av tjänstekvalitet och se dess påverkan på kundnöjdhet och Word of Mouth. Forskningsfrågan skapades för att undersöka den ovan nämnda effekten, förväntningar mot upplevd prestation, Hur påverkar tjänstekvaliteten kundnöjdhet och Word of Mouth? För att jämföra förväntningar och upplevd prestation användes tjänstekvalitetens modellen SERVQUAL. Uppsatsen är en kvantitativ studie och datan samlades in genom ett online-enkät där 106 respondenter deltog. Datan analyserades, både genom att mäta gapet mellan förväntningar och upplevd prestation samt även genom regressioner som skapades för att testa sambandet mellan variablerna. Resultaten för denna studie visar att tjänstekvaliteten påverkar både kundnöjdhet och Word of Mouth. Effekten av tjänstekvaliteten visade sig dock påverka kundnöjdheten och Word of Mouth på olika sätt, där kundnöjdhet hade en högre förklaringskraft än Word of Mouth. Dessutom var förväntningarna högre än den upplevda prestationen av tjänstekvaliteten i alla SERVQUAL-dimensioner. Detta skapade ett negativt jämförelse gap mellan förväntningarna och upplevde prestation. Jämförelse gapet var ganska lågt och enligt teorin visade det sig ge både kundnöjdhet och positiv Word of Mouth inom dagligvaruhandeln i Luleå. Medelvärdet som samlades in från enkäten visade ett högt värde av kundnöjdhet och Word of Mouth även om det totala jämförelse gapet var negativt. Det kunde dock ses att endast ett fåtal av SERVQUAL-dimensionerna kunde visa på en singifikant relation, två med kundnöjdhet och en Word of Mouth.

Dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirement for the Masters Degree in Technology: Marketing, Durban University of Technology, 2011. / Customer satisfaction, customer value and service quality have become the primary focus of service organisations in today’s customer era. The higher education industry is no different. As higher education institutions strive for competitive advantage, customer service and service quality are becoming driving forces. Today, service quality is recognized as one of the most important factors in developing and maintaining successful relationships. Superior service quality leads to enhanced customer satisfaction and increased loyalty. Institutions that focus on superior quality service can enjoy a distinctive competitive edge since improved levels of service quality are linked to higher revenues, higher customer retention and increased market shares. The aim of this research study was to evaluate customer service quality at Varsity Colleges in Westville and Durban North. The SERVQUAL questionnaire was used as the instrument to measure students’ expectations and perceptions according to five quality dimensions. Four hundred and fifty one respondents were selected from the two campuses using non-probability sampling and convenience sampling. Descriptive and inferential statistical techniques were used to analyse the data. Conclusions and recommendations were made from the findings of the research study. The study revealed that students’ expectations of service quality exceeded their perceptions on the five service quality dimensions used in the SERVQUAL questionnaire. Improvements are necessary in certain dimensions of service quality. In order to improve service quality, it is recommended that Varsity Colleges close these gaps by ensuring that apt strategies are put into place in order to improve service quality.

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Technology Degree: Operations and Quality Management, Durban University of Technology, 2012. / Over the last decade the institutional framework within which most universities in South Africa operate has undergone major transformation forcing the higher education sector to become more competitive in its approach to attracting and retaining quality students. Against this background, service quality has been put forward as a critical determinant of competitiveness. The purpose of this study therefore was to identify best practice in terms of postgraduate studies and research development and support service delivery in the South African (SA) and Australian (Aus) contexts in order to inform the development of a quality model for postgraduate or research centres (PG/RCs) for universities of technology (UoTs) in SA. Underpinned by the Gap Model of service delivery and an adapted SERVQUAL instrument, this study sought to determine perceptions and expectations of service quality across five dimensions, namely: tangibles; reliability; responsiveness; assurance; and empathy. Questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were used to gather data from PG/RC staff and postgraduate and research students in SA. Various gaps between students’ perceptions and expectations indicating dissatisfaction with PG/RC services particularly among the SA students were identified. The findings revealed that the SA UoTs lag behind the Aus UoTs in terms of communicating their services and forms of support to students and providing satisfactory services according to student expectations. The findings further suggested that issues such as service quality planning and monitoring, establishing recovery mechanisms for service failures, and student-driven service design and standards need to be high on the agenda at higher education institutions to ensure service quality control. All five dimensions of SERVQUAL indicated a negative score or quality gap suggesting that the SA PG/RCs need to urgently the gaps that exist at their institutions; key recommendations were thus made to improve the gaps identified. Based on the literature reviewed, best practice gleaned from the findings of this study, and benchmarking with the Aus UoTs; this study proposed a centralized and decentralized PG/RC model for SA UoTs to provide service quality to its ‘customers’.

Internet banking services have faced a considerable expansion in terms of the number of users in the last few years. This makes Internet as a financial service delivery platform witness a number challenges. One of these is offering better-quality services to existing customers as the quality of service is a key factor in the success of any organisation. Previous research studies indicate that a strong theory to understand this form of service is lacking. A comprehensive review of previous and contemporary literature on service quality suggests the need for the development of a valid instrument for measuring service quality from the end-user perspective in the specific context of Internet banking services. This research study proposes a revised and modified SERVQUAL model which incorporates several variables that reflects the industry-specific attributes of Internet banking services. A survey based research is used to collect primary data on the basis of Internet banking services in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A multiple regression analysis is employed to examine the influence of the adapted determinants on service quality. Focus-group interviews are also conducted as a follow-up to the questionnaire study. The findings of both fieldworks indicate that reliability, responsiveness, website design, and personalisation determine service quality in the Internet banking context. This study presents the main findings derived from the research model which can be used by a wide range of financial institutions, which make use of the Internet in their business dealings, to support each organisation’s decision-making processes. Also, this model can be used as a blueprint for an organisation’s strategic planning. In addition to the research model, the researcher employs Importance Performance Analysis (IPA) that reveals a large of number of implications for the quality of service, which were not obvious prior to undertaking the research. The knowledge of such implications will help managers and decision-makers when they are required to allocate resources to certain tasks or functions.

ENGLISH ABSTRACT: South Africans have over the past few years called for more affordable banking. Some retailers have looked at the opportunities and entered into the financial services space. The question remains as to why consumers would want to pay bank charges to have a bankcard when the card is actually used to pay for goods at retailers who can deliver the service themselves at a saving to both the customer and the retailer? The aim of this study was to determine customer expectations for a bankcard service offering in the South African food and retail industry with the emphasis on consumer behaviour and expectations, bankcards, services and SERVQUAL. This is a SERVQUAL application and a comprehensive literature of this topic is followed with a questionnaire outlining the expectations for such a service. SERVQUAL measures the gap between expectations and perceptions. In this study only expectations are measured as one of South Africa’s major food retailers was used and they do not offer this service at present. Various hypotheses were constructed to measure the expectations for attributes around this service. The attributes were trust, safety, cost, loyalty, open-loop versus closed-loop and mobile. Customer preference on payment methods was also determined when paying for different basket sizes. The results showed overwhelming evidence in favour of expectations for a bankcard service offering by retailers. This research can be used to address the major challenge South Africans and retailers face with high banking charges and address the challenge everyone has with regards to the risk associated with cash handling. Education on this topic is paramount and this could further pave the way for mobile phones replacing bankcards in the future which have also been researched as part of this topic. Further research is necessary to determine the characteristics of a bankcard product in a retail environment.

<p>Syftet med denna uppsats är att analysera hur tjänstekvalité inom B2B kan utvärderas samt att analysera om ViewsCapture, en frågeteknik med öppna frågor där respondenten själv kategoriserar sina egna kommentarer, kan tillföra något till befintliga metoder. Vidare avses att koppla samman utvärderingsmetoder med de olika syften företag har för att mäta kvalité.</p><p>Uppsatsen byggs upp av en omfattande litteraturstudie om vad tjänster och tjänstekvalité är, samt varför det är viktigt att utvärdera tjänstekvalité inom B2B. De utvärderingsmetoder som beskrivs i uppsatsen är dels attributbaserade och dels händelsebaserade metoder. Empiridelen består av material från Unified Dialogs AB som har utvecklat frågetekniken ViewsCapture som sedan analyseras tillsammans med befintliga metoder.</p><p>Undersökningen visar att tjänstekvalité handlar om att infria de förväntningar kunden har på en tjänst. Om kunderna skiljer sig signifikant ifrån varandra faller det sig naturligt att mer kvalitativa och mindre standardiserade metoder bör passa bättre. Det beror på att varje kund är unik och tillvägagångssättet många gånger inte är standardiserat, därför är det svårare att på förhand generalisera kring vad företagets kunder finner problematiskt. Genom användning av ViewsCaptures frågeteknik med öppna frågor skapas förutsättningar för att vidareutveckla de befintliga mätmetoderna i syfte att bättre tjäna företags och forskares syften för mätningen. Detta görs exempelvis genom att inhämtning av djupare information från attributbaserade mätmetoder möjliggörs samt att analys av de öppna svaren från en händelsebaserad metod underlättas.</p>

The lack of service delivery by South African municipalities has received much attention in recent years. In South Africa, service quality within local government is perceived as being generally poor. According to the South African Constitution, the mandate of a municipality is to ensure service deliveries through satisfying citizens‟ basic needs. Therefore, an understanding of customers‟ expectations and perceptions is vital for any service organisation’s success. The research undertaken in this study was deemed necessary, given that service delivery by South African municipalities is widely considered to be lacking in various areas. The research was conducted against the backdrop of the White Paper on Local Government that calls for the provision of services to communities in a sustainable manner. The primary objective of the study was to provide a view on the community’s expectations and perceptions of the service quality delivery by the Emfuleni Local Municipality in order to identify any potential service quality gaps. The study follows a descriptive research design approach. The literature review comprised published research relating to service quality and service quality models. The literature review provides information on service quality from the perspective of general service industries, as well as an overview of the current South African local spheres of government. The outcomes of the literature review served to provide the theoretical framework for the empirical study. A questionnaire survey was utilised to gather the required data for the empirical portion of this study. Residents of the Emfuleni Local Municipality formed the sampling frame of this study. The questionnaire included the SERVQUAL measuring scale. Self-administered questionnaires using the mall-intercept survey method were employed as the data collection method. In accordance with the delineated scope of the study, this study was confined to the Vereeniging and Vanderbijlpark pay points of the Emfuleni Local Municipality. The study is cross-sectional in nature (data were collected in December 2010) and, as such, the results are representative of that point in time. The findings indicate that customers of the Emfuleni Local Municipality have negative perceptions of the quality of services delivered by the municipality. A statistical and practical significant difference was computed between expectations and perceptions on all of the service quality dimensions concerning service-quality delivery by the Emfuleni Local Municipality, thereby indicating service quality gaps that need to be addressed. The recommendations provided in this study focus on suggesting possible ways in which municipalities in South Africa in general, and in the Emfuleni Local Municipality in particular, may improve their service-quality delivery in order to decrease the gaps between expectations and perceptions, and doing so, increase customer satisfaction. Recommendations for closing these gaps include increasing marketing research, upgrading and maintaining the physical facilities, improving collaboration, co-ordination and co-operation between departments, keeping up-dated records, improving communication programmes, and implementing management and leadership training for management team. In addition, it is recommended that municipalities recruit qualified personnel who are willing to help, and that they engage in on-going staff training and motivation initiatives. / MCom, Business Management, North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2012