Manuela Krystyna Ingaldi
Czestochowa University of Technology, Faculty of
Management, Department of Production Engineering and Safety, Poland
E-mail: manuela@gazeta.pl
Submission: 12/28/2018
Revision: 2/8/2019
Accept: 2/27/2019
ABSTRACT
Quality
is an important part of management in every enterprise. It is quality on which
depends whether customers will buy products from a given enterprise, and, thus,
the competitiveness of this enterprise on market. A special case is the quality
of services and its assessment. There are many methods that can be used in such
situations, which are widely described in the literature. It should be
emphasized that in case of service quality, direct customer feedback about a
given service is most often used, that is, the customers actively participate
in this process. However, customers should be asked what method is the most
friendly and least boring for them. The purpose of the paper is to present a
survey on the use of methods of service quality assessment. In the paper
preliminary results of the survey from point of view of customers are
presented. The customers were asked to answer whether they were involved in
such research, what their attitude to such research was, what research methods
they encountered, and what problems occurred during such research.
1. INTRODUCTION
Among
the important factors that need to be properly managed in every enterprise, the
quality of products should be distinguished. It is the quality that determines
the popularity of products on the market and the competitiveness of the
enterprise, and thus its profit obtained from the sale of products.
As
in any kind of process, also in the process of quality management, appropriate
data is needed. This data concerns, inter alia, the quality level of the
research product. In order to obtain such data, one should choose the
appropriate quality assessment method, which will be the most adequate for the
given enterprise and the products it offers (FROST; KUMAR, 2000; MATZLER, et
al., 2004; PARASURMAN, et al., 1985; REICHHELD, 2003; NILSSON-WITELL; FUNDIN,
2005).
However,
it should be remembered that the service quality is more difficult to assess
than the product quality. Services are not tangible, their features cannot be
measured, and the assessment is not free from subjectivity. In the case of
services In the case of services, customers' expectations and their assessment
of the provided services should be taken in to consideration (CHO, et al.,
2016; CIAVOLINO; CALCAGNI, 2015; GUGLIELMETTI, 2001; MBISE; TUNINGA, 2016).
The
service quality management is particularly important due to the very high
competitiveness of the services in the market. It should be remembered that
services are present at every step of our lives. People use some services are
used on a daily basis, others from time to time without even realizing it
(KLIMECKA-TATAR, et al., 2018; STOMA, 2012; ANAND; SELVARAJ, 2013; BITNER, et
al., 1990).
Therefore,
it can be said that selection of the appropriate methods for service quality
assessment is the most important step in the analysis of quality. The success
of using a given method can depend on this choice. Especially that the analysis
of the service quality is carried out in a completely different way than in the
case of material products.
There
are many methods that can be used in such situations, and which are widely
described in the literature. It should be emphasized that in case of service
quality, direct customer feedback about a given service is most often used,
that is, the customers actively participate in this process. Therefore, the
choice of the method will determine what information will be obtained, but also
whether customers will participate in the survey in a reliable and honest way.
The longer the survey is, the less likely it is that the customer will be
willing to participate (WONG, et al., 2011; ULEWICZ, 2014; RIVIÈRE, et al.,
2006).
The
most popular methods of service quality assessment, according to literature,
are Servqual, CIT, Mystery Shopper and different types of indexes. While those
methods, which are often omitted, are for example Servperf, IPA, Kano,
penalty/rewards, problem detecting. Many of them are used by Polish service
enterprises (ABADO, et al., 2007; LUPO, 2015; MAHMOUD; KHALIFA, 2015; CHEN;
BARROWS, 2015; INGALDI, 2018a; INGALDI; ULEWICZ 2018).
Each of these methods has its pros
and cons. Some of them are used by enterprises more often, some less often. By
learning about their functioning, methodology and the possibilities of their
use, it is easier to decide which method to choose. However, it should be
remembered that not all of these methods at a given time and in a given
enterprise can be used.
It should be emphasized that the
research of literature indicated that there was a lack of research regarding
customer feedback, who in most of these methods must participate and who
express an opinion on a given service. And from their opinion, as mentioned
earlier, the quantity and quality of information obtained on the quality of
services depends. Hence the choice of the subject of research by the author.
The purpose
of the paper is to present a survey on the use of methods of
service quality assessment. In the paper preliminary results of the survey from
the point of view of customers are presented. The
customers were asked to answer whether they were involved in such research,
what their attitude to such research was, what research methods they
encountered, and what problems occurred during such research.
Preliminary
research was carried out between September and December 2017. The research will
be continued throughout 2018. The paper will allow to draw the first
conclusions and possibly indicate the places in the questionnaire, which should
be corrected before carrying out the main research or change the form of data collection.
At
the same time, the research is conducted and analyzed from the point of view of
the service enterprises (INGALDI, 2018b). The final results of the full
research will help the service enterprises to choose right research method and
can be used by various service enterprises.
2. METHODOLOGY
The
research on the use of methods of the service quality assessment was carried
out in the form of a questionnaire. The survey was completed by respondents
from Southern Poland. The questionnaire was developed by the author of this
paper and it is a part of a larger research project.
The
questionnaire consisted of three sections: introductions to the questionnaire,
proper questions and respondents characteristics. The introduction provides a
brief description of the research and a formula with a request to fill in the
questionnaire. In the main part, 19 questions were included. In the first
questions customers indicated the frequency and type of services they use.
They
were also supposed to say something about their approach to the service
quality, where they get information about it and how much this quality is
important to them. Next, they were asked to say whether they participated in
the research about service quality. If yes, then they could go on to answer
further questions. Further questions related to how many times they
participated, in what kind of research, how to assess the ease of response in
each method, what form of information collection suits them, what kind of
questions they like to answer.
They
were also supposed to say what problems they encounter most often during such
researches, whether and why they interrupted or refused to participate in such
a research. In the last part, obligatory for all, the respondents had to
comment on the complaints about services, because they are a great source of
information on quality.
The
respondent data section includes 5 different characteristics of the
participants.
In
the survey different type of questions were used to additionally assess how
people respond to them and if they have will to do it. Not all questions were
obligatory due to the fact that some to respondents could not take part in
service quality assessment.. For the same reason the responses include the
option "I have no opinion" or "I do not know".
A
Google form was used to construct the survey. This enabled a quick correction
in case of stylistic, grammatical errors, etc. It also helped in reaching a
wider group of respondents and facilitated data collection. The link to the
surveys was available through various websites, social networks.
The
pilot research covered 112 respondents. Some of the surveys were omitted
because they were incomplete or had errors, or filled in by people from outside
the surveyed area, which is why 95 correctly completed surveys were finally
taken. In the article, only the most important results are presented due to the
editorial limitation. Their purpose was to check the customers' willingness to
cooperate, how people completed the questionnaire and evaluated the survey
itself.
Respondents
were people living in southern Poland (this feature was checked on the basis of
one of the respondents' characteristics - place of leaving). There were 64% of
women and 33% of men among the respondents. Most of the respondents were people
aged 21 to 30 years, followed by those aged 41 to 50 years. The respondents
were mostly employees or students from schools and universities. Most of the
respondents were people with a university degree or secondary education. These
groups participate the most often in various on-line surveys. They are aware
that their opinions are important and like expressing the opinions about
various topics.
3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
To
confirm that the respondents understand the concept of "service" and
are able to distinguish it from the ordinary material product, at the beginning
they were asked about how often they use various services, and then they had to
list those services. Respondents most often responded (Figure 1) that every day
(32%), several times a week (27%) or several times a day (24%). The most
frequently mentioned services were: transport (of various types), shopping,
Internet, mobile telephony, petrol station, hairdresser, beauty salon,
gastronomy, gas, water and energy supply services. It can be concluded that
they understood the difference between a material product and a service.
Next,
it was checked whether customers paid attention to the quality of provided
services (Figure 2). 49% of respondents answered that they always and 46%
often. However, it cannot be said whether this is the actual situation or
whether it is due to the subject of the survey in which they participated.
|
|
Figure 1: How often do you use different types of
services? [%] (own study) |
Figure 2: Do you pay attention to the quality of
provided services? (own study) |
Respondents
were also asked where they had found information about service providers and
the quality of services they offer (Figure 3). Customers could choose more than
one answers. Most often they pointed to the friends’ advice, their own
experience as well as the websites and online forums. It turned out that
customers do not really believe television or advertisements, despite the large
amount of information provided in this form.
Figure 3: Where do you find information about service
providers and the quality of services they offer? [%] (own study)
Respondents
were also asked to describe the meaning of the service quality for them (Table
1). It turned out that quality the most common means precision of execution,
price adequate to the service and meeting customer requirements. The precision
of execution and the meeting customer requirements may be related to the fact
that many services are personalized. The customer can choose the individual
features of the service that he wants to use, which is why he draws attention
to this. The price adequate to the service is unfortunately associated with the
salary potential of Polish people who often think about price when purchasing.
Table 1: What does quality mean for you in the case of services? [%] (own
study)
What does quality mean for you in the
case of services? |
Percentage
fraction |
meeting
customer requirements |
66.3 |
a
large range of services |
21.1 |
a
large selection of service features |
22.1 |
the
amount of information available about the service |
33.7 |
possibility
to change the service at various stages of its provision |
18.9 |
speed
of execution |
46.3 |
precision
of execution |
71.6 |
friendly
service providers |
55.8 |
experienced
service providers |
42.1 |
helpful
service provider |
45.3 |
place
of providing the service at the appropriate level |
20.0 |
satisfaction
with the provided services |
42.1 |
price
adequate to the service |
68.4 |
other |
0.0 |
Subsequent
questions concerned directly participation in research on service quality
assessment. Respondents were asked whether they had participated in a research
in which you assessed the quality of services (Figure 4) and if yes, how many
times (Figure 5). 60% of respondents declared participation in such a research,
between which 40% of them several times, 41% do not remember how many times. It
should be remembered that the description of the survey provided the purpose of
the survey, the respondents knew what the questionnaire would be about, which
may explain the result.
|
|
Figure 4: Have you participated in a research in
which you assessed the quality of services? [%] (own study) |
Figure 5: If you participated in a research in
which you assessed the quality of services, how many times? [%] (own study) |
Then
the respondents indicated what form of service quality assessment they had met
(Tab.2). It should be emphasized that the names of specific research methods
could not be given in the survey. The survey is expected to arrive to the
widest possible range of clients, regardless of their knowledge or education.
An ordinary customer can describe the research in which he participated, but
cannot name it.
Respondents
the most often indicated short survey (a few questions about the service),
questions about possible re-purchase and questions about a possible service recommendation
to friends. It is surprising that there is a different percentage in the case
of describing positive and negative events related to the service, although the
difference is not so great, and it is nothing else than the CIT method.
Respondents rarely encountered methods assessing expectations and features of
the actual service (e.g. Servqual, IPA, Kano). Perhaps Polish enterprises
rarely use such methods.
Table 2: What form of service quality assessment have you met? [%] (own
study)
What form of service quality assessment
have you met? |
Percentage
fraction |
Questions
about possible re-purchase |
56.8 |
Questions
about a possible service recommendation to friends |
44.2 |
Short
survey (a few questions about the service) |
58.9 |
Long
survey assessing the features of the service |
10.5 |
Long
survey assessing your expectations and features of the actual service |
8.4 |
Describing
positive events related to the service |
12.3 |
Describing
negative events related to the service |
18.6 |
Assessment
of customer satisfaction |
3.2 |
I
don't remember |
1.1 |
There
are many forms of data collection that can be used in this case. Between the
most customer-friendly (Tab. 3) respondents indicated online survey.
Table 3: What form of data collection according to you is the most
customer-friendly? [%] (own study)
What form of data collection according
to you is the most customer-friendly? |
Percentage fraction |
Direct
conversation straight after the service provision (direct interview) |
37.9 |
Telephone
call after service provision (direct interview after the customer's visit) |
13.7 |
Paper
survey handed to the customer |
27.4 |
Paper
survey placed in the lobby |
16.8 |
Online
survey |
62.1 |
Business
card with a link to an online survey |
17.9 |
E-mail
with questions or survey |
30.5 |
I
don't know |
0.0 |
Other |
0.0 |
If it
comes to completing the online survey, customers feel relaxed, more willing to
answer, do not have a person who takes such a questionnaire from them, so they
do not have to be afraid that someone will connect them directly with the
answers. Anyway, there is a phenomenon on the Internet. It is easier for people
to express themselves, express their opinion, become experts on everything,
often offending others, feeling unpunished.
Among
the types of questions that are used in various surveys (Figure 6), a the most
often respondents indicated closed questions with one or several answers and
assessment scales. They may not want to express themselves in such research,
they do not like expressing themselves in writing. Such questions are answered
more quickly.
Figure 6: Which questions do
you like the most? [%] (own study)
Unfortunately,
during such surveys, customers often encounter many problems (Figure 7). These
are mainly: poorly worded questions (perhaps just written in a language too
difficult to understand), too many questions and no matching answer. The
problem with too many questions may explain the fact that such surveys are not
popular among respondents. This may also affect the interruption or refusal to
participate in the research.
Figure 7: What problems do you encounter during the response? [%] (own
study)
As
far as a survey interruption is concerned (Fig. 8), 70% of respondents
confirmed that they had done it. There are many reasons for such situations
(Tab. 4). Among the most frequently reported, it should be indicated that it
took more time than they had expected, the interviewer was too insistent, the
way to respond questions seemed too complicated. The issue of pressing
interviewers may explain the indication of an online survey as the one that is
the most friendly to the respondents.
Figure 8: Have you even interrupted the survey? [%] (own study)
Table 4: If you have ever interrupted the survey, why? [%] (own study)
If you have ever interrupted the survey,
why? |
Percentage fraction |
It
took more time than I expected |
67.4 |
Too-extensive
questions |
25.3 |
I
was bored |
30.5 |
The
way to respond questions seemed too complicated |
45.3 |
Interviewer
asked at the wrong moment |
23.7 |
One
question made you upset |
7.4 |
The
interviewer was too insistent |
43.2 |
I
don't remember |
6.3 |
Nothing |
0.0 |
Other |
1.1 |
It
was also asked whether respondents have ever refused to take part in such a
research (Figure 9). 87% of respondents confirmed. They usually excused themselves
with the lack of time (Fig. 10).
Figure 9: Have you ever refused to take part in such a research? [%] (own
study)
Figure 10: If you have ever refused to take part in such a research, why?
[%] (own study)
4. SUMMARY
In
the paper the preliminary research on the use of service quality methods from
the point of view of customers was presented. The research covered 95 people
from southern Poland and it had a form of Internet survey. Some surveys were
omitted because they were incomplete or had errors.
Despite
the fact that it was only preliminary research, it was quite popular among
customers, even more than in the case of the same research conducted from the
point of view of service enterprises which was carried out in the same time and
presented in paper (INGALDI, 2018b).
Respondent,
who took part in the preliminary research, claimed that they paid attention to
the quality of services, and they obtained information about the service from
own experience, friends' advices and Internet. According to them the service
should be precisely provided, all their requirements met and price adequate to
the service.
Most
of respondents participated in research on the service quality and its
assessment. Most often, they indicated short surveys or questions about
possible re-purchase. They preferred online surveys, that keep them anonymous,
and their favorite question were closed questions with one or more answers and
assessment scales. Respondents during such a research also encountered many
problems such as poorly worded questions, too many questions or no matching
answers, what is more, they often refused to take part in such a research.
These are the first recommendations for the enterprises that would like to
assess the quality of services they provide.
The
analysis of the results of the preliminary research allowed to indicate several
problems that can occur during the research on the service quality and which
should be avoided. Respondents were reluctant to answer questions that required
writing a response. Only in the case of open questions the answers were given,
though not always. In the case of semi-open questions, the answer
"other" was often marked, but in spite of the field no one gave the
additional answer. A similar situation was observed by the author in the case
of a preliminary research carried out from the point of view of enterprises presented
in paper (INGALDI, 2018b). Despite the fact that such questions give lots of
information to the enterprises, also their representatives often omitted
writing responses.
It
should also be remembered that the use of customers when analyzing the service
quality, their opinions is not easy, because we have no influence on how they
answer questions, whether they do it conscientiously. There is even one thing
more important, what the management of the enterprise will do with the
information obtained in this way.
In
the paper only preliminary results are presented while the research is
continued in 2018 and 2019. At the same time, research will be conducted both
from the point of view of the customer and the service enterprises. In the
future the results from both points of view will be compared and conclusions
will be drawn.
Thanks
to the research, it will be possible to indicate methods of the service quality
assessment most often used by Polish service enterprises, to determine the
manner of conducting such an assessment according to the opinions of customers
and service providers, to determine the most frequent problems faced by
customers and service providers. These results can be used by enterprises from
various parts of the world to design a course of research on the services they
provide.
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