Complaint management in public services: a case study at local district municipal authority in Malaysia

This paper presents a conceptualization of the complaint management that focuses on daily customers' activities, which influencing the local municipal district authority organization’s public image. The aim of this study is to identify the major concerning areas complaints received by the local municipal district authority organization and to improve the organization’s service quality as perceived by customers. Research was conducted based on organization’s historical data, which acts as public service to all residents in one of the districts in Selangor, Malaysia.Using descriptive and Pareto Analysis, several results have emerged from the data analysis.The types of complaints were identified and classified into topmost contributors of complaints. Next, major concerning areas for topmost contributors were identified.This study has successfully determined areas which the local municipal district authority organization’s should be focusing more to minimize complaints and improving their service. Hence, suggestions were made to aid the local municipal district authority organization to counter the problem arises from the complaints itself

The influence of demographic variables on customers' expectations in restaurants in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa

The restaurant industry in South Africa is undergoing a period of anaemic growth due to the after effects of the 2009 global economic recession. Despite lowering their prices and spending marketing funds on promotions, restaurants seem to be finding great difficulty in meeting customers’ expectations.The purpose of the study was to determine the influence of demographic variables on customers’ expectations in restaurants. The research sample included in the study entailed relevant data that were collected from 400 customers of the eight selected formal full-service restaurants. Descriptive statistical analysis, analysis of variance and t-tests were performed to reach the objectives of the study. The findings show that on a 5 point Likert scale, respondents’ mean expectation scores varied between 3.69 and 4.25. Expectations of customers for food and beverages and service were influenced by their gender, age, monthly income and level of education. However, these demographic variables did not have an influence on the ambience expectations. The only demographic variable that did not influence customers’ expectations was home language. None of the demographic variables had an influence on the ambience expectations of customers. From a managerial perspective, it is important for restaurateurs to focus on customers’ gender, age, monthly income and level of education to meet and/or exceed customer expectations and gain a competitive advantage over other restaurant categories. The contribution of this article is unique in that, for the first time, the influences of demographic variables on customers’ expectations are investigated from the context of restaurants

La calidad de servicio desde un enfoque psicosocial: Estructura, diferencias individuales y análisis multinivel.

RESUMEN El interés por la calidad de servicio responde en buena medida a cambios que se han ido produciendo en nuestras sociedades. Estos cambios impulsan la innovación no sólo en las tecnologías sino también en los procesos y en las estructuras de gestión. Además, los consumidores, por distintos motivos, se muestran cada vez más exigentes en cuanto a la calidad de servicio que reciben. Debido a esto, en los últimos 30 años se ha producido un gran desarrollo conceptual y de investigación con respecto a la calidad de servicio, quedando aún retos por delante, algunos de los cuales se abordan en esta Tesis Doctoral: Estudio 1.-Testing an Integrated Model of Service Quality in Hotels. El modelo SERVQUAL de calidad de servicio ha sido el dominante en las últimas décadas. Sin embargo, los investigadores han diagnosticado sesgos y limitaciones que convendría corregir. Con esto en mente, el Estudio 1 propone y pone a prueba un modelo integrador que intenta corregir algunas de esas limitaciones y que considera la existencia de tres grandes factores de segundo orden: calidad de servicio funcional, calidad de servicio relacional y aspectos tangibles. Este modelo tri-dimensional se compara con otros posibles modelos (unidimensional y bi-dimensional) en dos muestras independientes de diferentes países: España y México. Estudio 2.-Linking Functional and Relational Service Quality to Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty: Differences between Men and Women. Este estudio explora hasta qué punto las diferencias entre hombres y mujeres modulan la relación de la calidad de servicio (tanto funcional como relacional) con la lealtad y la satisfacción del cliente. Los resultados previos han obtenido resultados contradictorios con respecto a la posibilidad de que existan diferencias significativas entre hombres y mujeres a la hora de evaluar la calidad de servicio. Sin embargo, es posible que la diferenciación entre calidad de servicio funcional y relacional permita precisar mejor si estas diferencias existen realmente. Estudio 3.-Un Análisis Trasnivel de las Relaciones de la Calidad de Servicio y la Confirmación de Expectativas con la Satisfacción de los Usuarios. La gran mayoría de estudios sobre calidad de servicio han tenido en cuenta sólo el nivel de análisis individual y han utilizado un solo informante, el cliente. El cliente es la parte central de la calidad de servicio, pero la sola consideración del cliente puede llevar a sesgos, especialmente con respecto al estudio de las relaciones entre calidad de servicio y las respuestas que esta calidad desencadena (satisfacción y lealtad). Usando otro informante (el trabajador de contacto con el cliente) y otro nivel de constructo (el de unidad de trabajo) se pretende comprobar si la calidad sigue manteniendo una relación estadísticamente significativa con la satisfacción, controlando el efecto de otra variable individual como es la confirmación de expectativas. Para ello, se utiliza una muestra de clientes y empleados de restaurantes. Estudio 4.-Calidad de Servicio y Calidad de Vida: Un Estudio en Servicios de Atención a Personas con Discapacidad Intelectual. Estudios anteriores han asumido que la calidad de servicio está directamente relacionada con variables que han de ver con la viabilidad económica de las organizaciones o con la satisfacción de los usuarios. Sin embargo, en otro tipo de sectores la calidad de servicio puede mantener relaciones con variables críticas de corte social, como la calidad de vida de los usuarios que se atienden. Así, este estudio tiene como objetivo examinar las relaciones entre la calidad de servicio, tanto funcional como relacional, y la calidad de vida de las personas con discapacidad intelectual. La muestra está conformada por tutores de personas con discapacidad intelectual que usan centros de atención a este colectivo en la provincia de Valencia, España. __________________________________________________________________________________________________During last three decades, there has been an increasing interest in service quality, based on the assumption that quality offers organizations a competitive and sustainable advantage. In spite of this, challenges still remains ahead, some of which are addressed in this doctoral thesis: Study 1. - Testing an Integrated Model of Service Quality in Hotels. Our Model is composed by tree second order factors: Functional, Relational and Tangibles. This Model will be compared with other two alternatives: one model with an unique second-order general quality dimension; and other with interactional and tangible second-order dimensions. We conducted two independent survey studies, in Spanish and Mexican hotels. Study 2. Linking Functional and Relational Service Quality to Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty: Differences between Men and Women. This study tests differences between men and women in the links from perceptions of service quality to customer evaluations. Two independent survey studies are conducted with the participation Spanish and Mexican hotels. Dependent variables, satisfaction and loyalty, has been studied here. Study 3.- A Trans-level Analysis of Relationships of the Quality of Service and the Confirmation of Expectations with the Consumer Satisfaction. This study examines links from functional and relational service quality perceived by employees to satisfaction beyond the predictive power of customer disconfirmation of expectations. In addition, customers who were assisted by the work units employees were surveyed. Using a cross-level approach, we calculate a random coefficient model. The effect of disconfirmation of expectations has been controlled for, we pretender to show if the functional and relational service quality maintains a significant association with customer satisfaction. Study 4.- Quality Service and Quality of Life: A Study in Health Care for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities. Previous studies have assumed that the quality of service is directly related with economic variables or viability of the organizations like as the consumers satisfaction. However, in other sectors the quality of service can maintain relationships with critical cutting social variables such as quality of life of those who serve. Then, we examine the relationship between the functional and relational quality service, the quality of life for people with intellectual disabilities