The search for service and product quality has come to the forefront of business studies as the most important consumer trend of the past two decades. Studies conducted indicate that the 1990s saw a dramatic change in customer expectations concerning service quality and standards with a corresponding increase in the number of complaints from disgruntled customers. In response to this, many organisations have established customer care and complaints management services to respond to the need of customers. A substantial amount of literature exists on the subject of complaints management and its role in service quality, however, the focus has been on organisations in the private sector. The research undertaken in this paper aimed to investigate the role of complaints management systems (CMS) to evaluate service quality. The focus of this research was on local government with special attention on George Municipality. A literature review was done to establish the importance of service quality for local government as well as to investigate the link between an effective complaints management system and improvement in service quality. Furthermore, it was necessary to investigate the characteristics, design and implementation of an effective complaints management system. A questionnaire was developed in order to obtain primary data from a selected sample group. The data obtained from the questionnaire was statistically analysed and interpreted. The core findings from the analysed questionnaire indicated the following: service quality is relevant in local government; there is no clear method to measure service quality; no formal and structured complaints management system exist, and the implementation of an effective complaints management system will both improve service delivery and provide benefits to all involved. iv This study recommends that: service quality standards and measurement be of strategic importance to local government; customers should be consulted and involved when determining the service quality standards and measurement, and an organised and structured complaints management system that seeks to address all complaints in order to improve the level of service quality to customers be developed. Finally, the success of the CMS will depend on management’s commitment to change on a continuous basis as well as the degree to which management proactively resolves customer complaint through the involvement of the customer.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nmmu/vital:8717 |
| Date | January 2008 |
| Creators | Alcock, Sandra |
| Publisher | Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, Masters, MBA |
| Format | xi, 113 p, pdf |
| Rights | Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University |
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