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“A Study on Service Quality with Special Reference to Apco

Hyundai Kasaragod”

Submitted to
University of Calicut
In partial fulfilment of the requirement for the award of the Degree of

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION


2009 – 2011

Submitted by

Manjesh Kumar K
Reg No. – FIAJMBA024
Batch 2009-2011
Email: manjeshkumar3@gmail.com
Under the Guidance of
Prof. Prajith P K
Faculty , FIMS

FAROOK INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES


FAROOK COLLEGE (PO) ,CALICUT 673 632
Acknowledgement
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I express my deepest gratitude to Mr. Satheesh Sathyan, (Sales Manager of Apco
Hyundai Kasaragod) for giving me an opportunity to do this project in APCO Vehicles
(India) Pvt .Ltd. The experience over there was valuable and has increased my confidence.
Over all the exposure over there was a remarkable one. I express my individual gratitude to
Mr.Rakesh EP, (Service Manager) who helped me in each and every stage of my work. I
thank all the staff members of APCO Vehicles (India) Pvt .Ltd., Kasaragod, with out whose
help and support this would have ever been possible.

I express my gratitude to Dr.Sainul Abideen, Director, Farook Institute of


Management studies who had encouraged me to undertake this project.

I own my greatest debt of gratitude to my guide Prof. Prajith PK who provided


me all the guidance to make this project a successful one.

I would like to take this opportunity to bestow my due appreciation to my parents


and friends for their moral and financial support for completing this project report.

I would also like to thank all my friends for their engagement and helpful hand in
successful completion of my work.

MANJESH KUMAR K

Declaration

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I, Manjesh Kumar K student of MBA IIIrd Semester, studying at Farook Institute of
Management Studies, Farook College ,Kozhikode, hereby declare that the project report on
“A study on service quality with special reference to Apco Hyundai Kasaragod”
submitted to University of Calicut in partial fulfillment of Degree of Master’s of Business
Administration is the original work conducted by me.

The information and data given in the report is authentic to the best of my knowledge.
This project report is not being submitted to any other University for award of any other
Degree, Diploma and Fellowship.

Place:

Date: MANJEH KUMAR K

Sl. No Table of Contents Page No


Chapter 1 Introduction 1
1.1 Introduction 2

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1.2 Company profile 3
1.3 SWOT analysis 4
1.4 About HMIL 7
1.5 Dealers profile 9
1.6 Statement of problem 11
1.7 Objective of study 11
1.8 Data source 12
1.9 Research instrument used 12
1.10 Tools used for analysis 13
1.11 Period of study 13
1.12 Limitation of study 13
Chapter 2 Theoretical review 14
2.1 Introduction 15
2.2 Service Quality 16
2.3 Five dimensions of service quality 18
2.4 Characteristics of Service Quality 19
2.5 Conceptual model 20
2.6 Quality and satisfaction 21
2.7 Service Quality through customer services 22
2.8 Setting Quality Standard 24
2.9 Quality Management in Automobile Sector 24
2.10 Factors Influencing Service Quality in 25
Automobile Sector
2.11 Measurement of Service 27
2.12 Researching Service Quality 28
Chapter 3 Data analysis and Discussion 32
Chapter 4 Findings, Recommendations, Conclusions 48
4.1 Findings 49
4.2 Recommendations 51

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4.3 Conclusions 52
4.4 Appendices 53
4.5 Bibliography 56

Sl. No List of Tables Pg. No

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3.1 Age of the Respondents 33
3.2 Media used for booking vehicle service 34
3.3 No. of days taken for vehicle delivery after service 35
3.4 Complaints are constructively handled 36
3.5 Technical knowledge of the staff 37
3.6 Staffs are willing to listen customers individual point of view 38
3.7 Workmanship of the service machine 39
3.8 Responds towards customers query 40
3.9 Service charges are reasonable 41
3.10 Rank of the service quality dimensions in Apco Hyundai 42
3.11 Dependency of Apco for future service 43
3.12 Measure of satisfaction of Hyundai customers 44
3.13 Mann-Whitney test : Service quality rate and vehicle delivery time 45
3.14 Mann-Whitney test statistics 45
3.15 Mann-Whitney test : Service quality and staffs provided services 46
3.16 Mann-Whitney test statistics 46
3.17 Kruskal-Wallis test : Service quality in complained handled 47
3.18 Kruskal-Wallis test statistics 47

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Sl. No List of Figures Pg. No
1.1 HMIL Sales growth 8
2.2 Conceptual model of service quality 21
3.1 Age of the Respondents 33
3.2 Media used for booking vehicle service 34
3.3 No. of days taken for vehicle delivery after service 35
3.4 Complaints are constructively handled 36
3.5 Technical knowledge of the staff 37
3.6 Staffs are willing to listen customers individual point of view 38
3.7 Workmanship of the service machine 39
3.8 Responds towards customers query 40
3.9 Service charges are reasonable 41
3.10 Rank of the service quality dimensions in Apco Hyundai 42
3.11 Dependency of Apco for future service 43
3.12 Measure of satisfaction of Hyundai customers 44

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CHAPTER 1
Introduction

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1.1 Introduction
Services are commodities that cannot be stored or disappear in use, or as activities that
require personal contact. The distinct characteristics of services are intangibility; perish
ability, heterogeneity of the product, and simultaneously of production and consumption.
Two economic units are required for a service to be produced – the consumer and the
producer. While the consumer cannot retain the actual service after it is produced, the effect
of the service SERVICES Services as commodities that cannot be stored or disappear in use,
or as activities that require personal contact. The distinct characteristics of services are
intangibility, perishability, heterogeneity of the product, and simultaneity of production and
consumption. Two economic units are required for a service to be produced – the consumer
and the producerWhile the consumer cannot retain the actual service after it is produced, the
effect of the service can be retained. Managing a service operation requires the manager to
understand the service concept, service delivery system, and service levels. As the consumer
has a key role in the definition and evaluation of all three elements, it is imperative that
service managers have a clear understanding of consumer expectations and perceptions.
Services may be provided by private or public agencies. These characteristics enhance the
importance of certain marketing strategies that are unique to services marketing, such as
service customization, managing evidence, making the service tangible, and synchronizing
supply and demand patterns.

Quality is an extremely difficult concept to define in a few words. At its most basic,
quality has been defined as conforming to requirements .This implies that organizations must
establish requirements and specifications; once established, the quality goal of the various
function of an organization is to comply strictly with these specifications. Many analyses of
service quality have attempted to distinguish between objective measures of quality and
measures which are based on the more subjective perceptions of customers.

A development of this idea by Gronroos identified ‘technical’ and ‘functional’ quality


as being the two principle components of quality. Technical quality refers to the relatively
quantifiable aspects of a service which consumers receive in their interactions with a service
firm. Because it can easily be measured by both customer and supplier, it forms an important
basis for judging service quality. Examples of technical quality include the waiting time in an
automobile service work shop and the reliability of their services. This, however, is not the

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only element that makes up perceived service quality. Because services involve direct
consumer-producer interaction, consumers are also influenced by how the technical quality is
delivered to them. This is what Gronroos describes as functional quality and cannot be
measured as objectively as the elements of technical quality. In the case of the queue in a
automobile service work shop, functional quality is influenced by such factors as the
environment in which queuing takes place and consumers perceptions of the manner in which
queues are handled by the staff.
Service quality is a highly abstract construct, in contrast to goods where technical
aspects of quality predominate. Many conceptualizations of service quality therefore begin by
addressing the abstract expectations that consumers hold in respect of quality. Consumers
subsequently judge service quality as the extent to which perceived service delivery matches
up to these initial expectations. In this way, a service which is perceived as being of mediocre
standard may be considered of high quality when compared against low expectations, but of
low quality when assessed against high expectations. Analysis of service quality is
complicated by the fact that production and consumption of a service generally occur
simultaneously, with the process of service production often being just as important as the
service outcome.
A further problem in understanding and managing service quality researcher study the
level of service quality in Apco Hyundai Kasaragod. Here researcher use questionnaire for
measuring level of service quality for the improvement of company. Once the customer
expectation are understand that helps for continuous development of service quality.

1.2 Company Profile


The beginning of Hyundai Motor Company dates to April 1946 when founder, Ju-
Yung Chung established Hyundai Auto Service in Seoul, South Korea at the age of 31
years. The name Hyundai was chosen for its meaning which in English translates to
“modern.” The Hyundai logo is symbolic of the company's desire to expand. The oval shape
represents the company's global expansion and the stylized "H" is symbolic of two people
(the company and customer) shaking hands.

Hyundai Motor Company was founded by Ju-Yung Chung and younger brother Se-
Yung Chung in December 1967. In 1968 the company entered into a contract with Ford
motor company to assemble the Ford Cortina and Granada for the South Korean market and
continued to produce them until 1976. Hyundai completed construction of the Ulsan plant in
six months and achieved the shortest groundbreaking to first commercial production of any of

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Ford’s 118 plants. The eight year journey provided Hyundai with assembly knowledge,
blueprints, technical specifications, production manuals, and trained Hyundai engineers.

Hyundai Motor Company achieved much in 2010 despite the challenging business
climate. Numerous sections of the world media have praised Hyundai's high quality.
Improvements in customer satisfaction and a continuous sales growth demonstrate Hyundai
Motor's ability to increase its market share. Hyundai's success, watched closely worldwide, is
a result of continuous and aggressive innovations that have been implemented on behalf of
customers. Customer satisfaction is our number one value. Hyundai Motor Company
considers its most important mission to be bringing the enjoyment of elegance and
confidence to its customers, rather than just selling products. Hyundai strives to bring its
customers luxury and style. Therefore, Hyundai will continue to stabilize its global
management by establishing an effective cooperation system among production bases around
the world. Hyundai Motor Company's management goal in 2010 is customer–oriented
management and continuous execution of global management.

1.3 SWOT analysis of Hyundai motor company


Now a day’s Automobile industry presents a galaxy of varieties and models meeting all
possible expectations and globally established industry standards. SWOT analysis will bring
the efficiency and effectiveness of Hyundai Motor Company.

(a) Strengths

Following are the strengths of Hyundai motor company.

The quality advantage:

Hyundai owners experience fewer problems with their vehicles than any other car
manufacturer in India (J.D. Power IQS Study). TheSantro was chosen the best in the
premium compact car segment and the Getz in the entry level mid - size car segment across
several parameters.

Buying experience like no other:

Hyundai has a sales network of 250 state-of-the-art showrooms across 189 cities, with a
workforce of over 6000 trained sales personnel to guide their customers in finding the right
car. Their high sales and customer care standards led the company to achieve higher
nameplate in the J.D. Power CSI Study.

Quality Service across 1036 Cities:

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In the J.D. Power CSI Study Hyundai scored the highest across all 7 parameters: least
problems experienced with vehicle serviced, highest service quality, best in-service
experience, best service delivery, best service advisor experience, most user-friendly service
and best service initiation experience. The 92% of Hyundai owners feel that work gets done
right the first time during service. The J.D. Power CSI study also reveals that 97% of
Hyundai owners would probably recommend the same make of vehicle, while 90% owners
would probably repurchase the same make of vehicle.

(b) Weaknesses

Following are the weaknesses of Hyundai motor company.

Commodity price risks

Hyundai commodity price risks to higher costs due to changes in prices of inputs such
as steel, aluminium, plastics and rubber, which go into the production of automobiles. In
order to mitigate these risks, the company continues its attempts to enter into long term
contracts based on its projections of prices. In a volatile commodity market, where your
company gives top priority to ensuring smooth availability of inputs, long term contracts are
helpful. They also help minimize the impact of growing input prices. Conversely, long term
contracts dilute the benefits, if any, of a decline in input prices.

Exchange rate risk

The company is exposed to the risks associated with fluctuations in foreign exchange
rates mainly of import of components & raw materials and export of vehicles. The company
has a well structured exchange risk management policy. The company manages the exchange
risk by using appropriate hedge instruments depending on the prevailing market conditions
and the view on the currency.

(c) Opportunities

Following are the opportunities of Hyundai motor company.

Leading growth:

As the market leader, company led the growth in the passenger car sector last year.
Hyundai sales went up 30% to 4,72,000 units. This is the highest annual sale since company
began operations 20 years ago. Hyundai also gained market share, mainly on account of its
performance in the competitive A2 segment where it increased its share from 40.3% in 2005-
06 to 47.7% in 2006-07. The record sales performance was reflected in the financials. Net

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Sales (excluding excise) grew by 31% to Rs 93,456 million. Operating Profit Margin
increased from 0.8 % in 2005-06 to 4.7 % in 2006-07. Profit after Tax jumped 270% to Rs
5421 million.

(d) Threats

Following are the threats of Hyundai motor company.

Risk factors

In the course of its business, Hyundai is exposed to a variety of market and other risks
including the effects of demand dynamics, commodity prices, currency exchange rates,
interest rates, as well as risk associated with financial issues, hazard events and specific assets
risk. Whenever possible, we use the instrument of insurance to mitigate the risk.

Business risks

The automotive industry is very capital intensive. Such investments require a certain
scale of operation to generate viable returns. These scales depend on demand. Although
2009-10was year of continued growth for the Indian economy, whether this growth
momentum will continue has to be seen.

(e) Conclusion

Automobiles have become an indispensable part of our lives, an extension of the


human body that provides us faster, cheaper and more convenient mobility every passing day.
Behind this betterment go the efforts of those in the industry, in the form of improvement
through technological research. What actually lie behind this betterment of the automobiles
are the opinions, requirements, likes and dislikes of those who use these vehicles. These
wheeled machines affect our lives in ways more than one. Numerous surveys and research
are conducted throughout the world every now and then to reveal one or the other aspect of
automobiles, be it about the pollution caused due to vehicle population in cities, or rising
motor accidents and causes, vehicular technology and so on.

1.4 About HMIL


Hyundai Motor India Limited (HMIL) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hyundai
Motor Company (HMC), South Korea and is the largest passenger car exporter and the
second largest car manufacturer in India. HMIL presently markets 6 models of passenger cars
across segments. The A2 segment includes the Santro, i10 and the i20, the A3 segment
includes the Accent and the Verna, the A5 segment includes the Sonata Transform.

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HMIL’s fully integrated state-of-the-art manufacturing plant near Chennai boasts of
the most advanced production, quality and testing capabilities in the country. To cater to
rising demand, HMIL commissioned its second plant in February 2008, which produces an
additional 300,000 units per annum, raising HMIL’s total production capacity to 600,000
units per annum. In continuation with its commitment to providing Indian customers with
cutting-edge global technology, HMIL has set up a modern multi-million dollar research and
development facility in the cyber city of Hyderabad. It aims to become a centre of excellence
for automobile engineering and ensure quick turnaround time to changing consumer needs.

As HMC’s global export hub for compact cars, HMIL is the first automotive company
in India to achieve the export of 10 lakh cars in just over a decade. To support its growth and
expansion plans, HMIL currently has a 290 strong dealer network and 540 strong service
points across India, which will see further expansion in 2011.

Figure No:1.1 HMIL sales growth

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Source: Internet

(a) Current growth rate of HMIL


Hyundai Motor India, country’s second largest auto manufacturer recorded a 14.2%
growth in the month of September, 2010.HMIL’s total sales for September, 2010stood at
51,441 units as against 53,802 units in September, 2009 registering a decline of 4.4%. The
domestic sales accounted for 31,751 units as against 27,803 units in September, 2009 while
the exports dipped by 24.3% from 25,999 units in September, 2009 to 19,690 units in
September, 2010.

1.5 Dealer Profile

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Apco Hyundai, a part of the noted corporate conglomerate Apco Group, was started
at Calicut in January 2008. Within a short span they were able expand their operations and
established their unique presence in the entire North Kerala .They have recently started their
operations at Kasaragod. Their focus is to provide their customers with unique Sales and
Service experience and their mission to be with them always and ensure a life-long
association with our organization.
APCO Hyundai is the exclusive dealership of globally renowned Hyundai Passenger
Cars with fully integrated 3-S (Sales, Service and Spares) facilities at Calicut and Kasaragod
offering peerless customer service in the region. The fully air conditioned showrooms are
endowed with a world class display of a wide range of Hyundai passenger cars.
At both the 3-S facilities we have a well trained and efficient work force and the much
needed sophisticated infrastructure to cater the demands of the customers round the clock.

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The Project

1.6 Statement of the problem


In today’s intensely competitive, rapidly changing and highly complex environment
characterize by the service quality level of customer service has decreased in recent years,
and that this can be attributed to a lack of support or understanding at the executive and
middle management levels of a corporation and/or a customer service policy. The reason to
choose this as a study is that there is a tendency in the people at kasaragod by giving
complaint for very small reason. There by Apco Hyundai entrusted with me the task of
finding service quality level.

1.7 Objective of the study

(a) Primary objective:


• To study the level service quality at Apco Hyundai Kasaragod.

(b)Secondary objectives:
• To measures how the service components, matches customer expectations.

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• To check the effect of delivery time on service quality.
• To study the association of employee performance and service quality.
• To study the effect of complaint handling on service quality

1.8 Research Methodology


To define any research problem and give a suitable solution for the problem a sound
research is inevitable. Research methodology underlines the various steps involved in the
particular research and systematically solving the problem with the objective of determining
the fact.

(a) Research approach


The researcher adopted conclusive and descriptive to study service quality with
special reference to Apco Hyundai.
As the term suggests, conclusive research is meant to provide information that is
useful in reaching conclusions or decision making. The purpose of the conclusive research is
to provide a reliable or representative picture of the population with valid research
instrument.
Descriptive research describes data and characteristics of the population being
studied. Descriptive research answers who, what, where, when, and how. The descriptive
design deals with facts and characteristics concerning with individual respondents.

(b) Data Source:

Primary data:
The primary data was collected with the help of a structured, non disguised
questionnaire. The data collection was done by making the existing customers of Apco
Hyundai, kasaragod fill the questionnaires .The researcher also used unstructured personal
interview to gather information required for the purpose of the study.

Secondary data:
The research relied upon many secondary sources for getting a clear picture of the
environment. Secondary sources were previous study reports, journals, magazines,
newspapers, books with a view to supplement the primary data. The wide scope of the World
Wide Web was used to collect the detailed information about the topic. The study of
secondary sources made the structuring of questionnaire easy.

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1.9 Research Instrument used
In order to get relevant information from the customers, questionnaire was used as
research instrument .The questionnaire are design to get the specific information about the
specific problem so that the data after analysis and interpretation results in a better
application of the problem .Hence the questionnaire for this study is prepared in the form of
structured both closed ended and open ended consisting the series of formal questions to
elicit clear relevant responses from the respondents.

(a) Sampling plan


Sampling plan includes sampling units used in the survey. It also includes sampling
size and sampling procedure for the survey.

(b) Sample size


The sample size undertaken in this research study is 50.
(c) Sample units
Every single individual undertaken in the research study is called the sampling unit. In
this research study sampling unit is every single individual who gets his vehicle serviced at
Apco Hyundai.

(d) Sampling procedures

The primary consideration in purposive sampling is judgement of researcher as to


who can provide the best information to achieve the objectives of the study. The researcher
only goes to those people who in his/her opinion are likely to have the required information
and be willing to share it. Here the researcher collecting the information through
questionnaire.

(e) Contact Method

Direct contact method was used for the study was used this study. Questionnaires
were directly circulated to the respondents of the sample in order to achieve instant response.

1.10 Tools used for analysis


The following are the tools were used for the project.
• Non parametric tests-Man- Whitney test, Kruskal- Wallis test.
• Statistical tools like Mean rank.

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The significance of the results was tested using non-parametric tests- Man-Whitney
test, Kruskal- Wallis test, with the help of the statistical software SPSS.

1.11Period of the study

The period of the study was for 21 days, between October 1st and October 30, 2010,
to complete this project.

1.12 Limitation of the study

• The information provide by the respondents may be biased.


• The study was restricted to single city so findings cannot be generalised.
• Time was major limitation of the study 30 days was a very limited period to conduct a
research with wide scope.
• Some confidential and unrevealed secondary data.

CHAPTER 2

Theoretical Review

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2.1Introduction
(a) Review of literature

Review of literature is the most useful and simple method of formulating the research
problem. The researches done by previous researchers are reviewed and their usefulness is
evaluated to serve as basis for further research. Thus researcher reviews and builds upon the
work of others. The reviews that are collected by the researcher should give an insight into
the field under study. The reviews must explain the need and scope of the study under
consideration.

Customer satisfaction is always influenced by the quality of interactions between


customers and the personnel involved in the contact services .In the last decade, the
movement towards quality had started to spread from the manufacturing sector to the service
sector. The shift of focus to quality is basic for the service business to survive the
competition, get acceptance from society, and be able to achieve its missions.

In principle, the two main things closely related to services are expected quality and
experienced or perceived quality. The first is the customers' expectations of service quality
and the latter is the customers' perceptions of service quality. The customers will always
assess the services they experienced by comparing them with whatever they expected or
wished to receive.

Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry (1985) emphatically pointed out that the concept of
quality prevalent in the goods sector is not extendable to the services sector. Being inherently
and essentially intangible, heterogeneous, perishable, and entailing simultaneity and

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inseparability of production and consumption, services require a distinct framework for
quality explication and measurement.

Zeithaml et al. (1993) explored the gap between expectations and perceptions to better
understand expectations as they pertain to customer assessment of service quality and to
extend the theoretical work that exists in the customer satisfaction literature. Based on their
study, the gap between customer expectations and perceptions as proposed by Parasuraman et
al. (1985) can be conceptualized to reflect two comparison standards: desired service which
reflects what customers want, and adequate service which indicates the standard that
customers are willing to accept.

Jain and Gupta (2004) have done a comparative analysis of two major service qualities
Measurement scales: SERVQUAL and SERVPERF. An ideal service quality scale is one that
is not only psychometrically sound but is also diagnostically robust enough to provide
insights to the managers for corrective actions in the event of quality shortfalls. This study
assesses the diagnostic power of the two service quality scales. Using data collected through
a survey of consumers of fast food restaurants in Delhi, the study finds the SERVPERF scale
to be providing a more convergent and discriminate valid explanation of service quality
construct.

Rajagopal (2008) has analyzed the impact of market orientation strategies and performance
of customer services on customer acquisition, retention and sales of automobiles which
reveals overall performance of automobile dealers in Mexico. The study comprehends
understanding on customer-dealer relationship in the automobile market segment referring to
key factors which establishes service quality encompassing tangibility, responsiveness, trust,
accuracy and empathy. It was found that the customers perceive better quality of relationship
in a given frame of functions that are performed effectively by the dealer lowering the extent
of conflicts thereof. High conformance quality services of dealers and value added customer
relationship to offer high customer satisfaction develop life time customer value and
strengthen the customer-dealer relationship.

2.2 Service Quality


Quality is a strategic tool for attaining operational efficiency and improved business
performance. Importance of quality to service firms and have demonstrated its positive
relationship with profits, increased market share, returns on investment, customer

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satisfaction, and future purchase intentions. Service quality has been described as a form of
attitude, related but not equivalent to satisfaction, which results from the comparison of
expectations with performance. Service quality involves a comparison of expectations with
performance: it is a measure of how well the service level delivered matches customer
expectations on a consistent basis. Service quality has been conceptualized as a function of
consumer expectations towards the service situation and process, and of the output quality
they perceived themselves to have received. The ultimate goal of service quality
measurement is to assist managers in ensuring service quality and customer satisfaction.
Measurement is a necessary step towards devising any action plan. However, because of its
elusiveness and indistinctness, explication and measurement of quality also present problems
for researchers, who often bypass definitions and use one-dimensional self-report measures to
capture the concept.
The emergence of service quality and its assessment has attracted the attention of
numerous researchers in the past two decades or so. In this sense, there are two main lines of
thoughts on measuring service quality an American and European perspective. The focus on
functional quality attributes is referred to as the American perspective of service quality
while the European perspective suggests that service quality considers two more components.
The European perspective considers the quality of a service as perceived by customers
consists of three dimensions: functional (the process of service delivery to customers),
technical (the outcomes generated by the service to the customers), and image (how the
customers view the company). Considering those dimensions, the quality of the service is
dependent upon two variables: the expected service and the perceived service.

Functional quality of a service is often assessed by measures of customers’ attitudes,


as incustomer satisfaction questionnaires. The process of identifying customers’ attitudes
begins with determining customers’ requirements or quality dimensions. There are two ways
of identifying important quality dimensions of services: quality dimension development
approach and critical incident approach. The first one uses different sources of information,
such as opinions of providers and literature. The other one is a process to obtain information
from customers.

2.3 Five Dimensions of Service Quality

Service quality is a perception of the customer. Customers, however, form opinions


about service quality not just from a single reference but from a host of contributing factors.

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Service marketers need to understand all the dimensions used by customers to evaluate
service quality. Service quality dimensions are following.

(a) Reliability
This dimension is shown to have the highest influence on the customer perception of
quality. It is the ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately. When
service delivery fails the first time, a service provider may get a second chance to provide the
same service in the phase called ‘Recovery’. The expectations of the customer are usually
higher during the recovery phase than before because of the initial failure. Thus, the service
provider is likely to come under greater scrutiny, thereby increasing the possibility of
customer dissatisfaction. The reliability dimension, which ensures timely delivery time after
time, helps the service provider to meet the customer expectations fully at the lowest level of
service expectation

(b) Responsiveness
It is the willingness of the service firm’s staff to help customers and to provide them
with prompt service. The customers may have queries, special requests, complaints, etc. In
fact, each customer may have problems of his or her own. While the front-end employee may
have been trained or equipped to deliver standardized services, the customers want them to
go beyond this limit. It is the willingness to help the customer or willingness to go that extra
distance that is responsiveness. The second aspect of responsiveness is speedy response to a
customer request. When response is delayed customers usually loses interest.

(c)Assurance
It defined as the ability of the company to inspire trust and confidence in the service
delivery. It refers to knowledge and courtesy of the service firm’s employees and their ability
to inspire trust and confidence in the customer toward the company. This dimension is
considered vital for services that involve high risk as customers may not be able to evaluate
all the uncertainties involved in the process by them.

(d) Empathy

It refers to the caring, individualized attention the service firm provides each
customer. When service provider puts himself in the shoes of the customers, he may see the
customer’s viewpoint better. When customers feel t5hat the provider is making his best effort
to see their viewpoint, it may be good enough for most.

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(e) Tangibles

It refers to physical facilities, equipment, and appearance of a service firm’s employees. The
job of the tangible and physical evidence of a service is multifunctional. Tangibles provide
the customer proof of the quality of service.

2.4 Characteristics of Service Quality

Marketing experts acknowledge that marketing a service is more difficult than marketing
a tangible product. They identify the following as being characteristic of services:

• Intangibility the service cannot be touched or viewed, so it is difficult for clients to


tell in advance what they will be getting;

• Inseparability of production and consumption the service is being produced at the


same time that the client is receiving it (eg: during a car model search or a legal
consultation).

• Perish ability unused capacity cannot be stored for future use. For example, spare
seats on one aeroplane cannot be transferred to the next flight, and query-free times at
the reference desk cannot be saved up until there is a busy period.

• Heterogeneity (or variability): services involve people, and people are all different.
There is a strong possibility that the same enquiry would be answered slightly
differently by different people (or even by the same person at different times). It is
important to minimise the differences in performance (through training, standard-
setting and quality assurance).

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2.5 Conceptual Model of Service Quality

Conceptual model of service quality reveals expected and perceived service quality
gap between customer and management.

Figure 2.1

Consumer
Word-of-Mouth Personal Needs Past Experience
Communication

Expected Service

Gap 5
Perceived
Service

Service Delivery External


(Including pre Communication
Marketer Gap 4
and post to Consumers
contracts)

Translation of
Gap 3 Perceptions into
Service Quality
Specs
Management Page | 26
Perception of
Consumer
Expectations
Gap 1

Gap 2

Using these 5 dimensions as the evaluation criteria the specification of service quality
becomes the gap between customers’ expectations and their perceptions The five key gaps or
discrepancies on the service provider's side that are likely to affect consumers' perceptions of
service quality are:-

Gap 1: Consumer expectation-management perception gap which is the gap between


consumer expectations of service quality and management perceptions of these expectations:

Gap 2: Management perception-service quality perception gap, that is, the gap between
management perceptions of consumer expectations and the firm's service quality
specifications
Gap 3:Service quality specifications-service delivery gap, the gap between service quality
specifications and actual service quality.
Gap 4: Service delivery-external communications gap, or the gap between actual service
delivery and external communications about the service
Gap 5: Expected service-perceived service gap, which is the gap between expected service
and perceived service.

2.6 Quality and satisfaction


A review of the literature will reveal that the terms ‘quality’ and ‘satisfaction’ are
quite often used interchangeably. While both concepts are related and appear to be merging,
there are still gaps in the understanding of the two constructs, their relationship to each other
and their antecedents and consequences. A distinction has often been made between the two
constructs.
According to Cronin and Taylor ‘this distinction is important to both managers and
researches alike, because service providers need to know whether their objective should be to
have consumers who are satisfied with their performance or to deliver the maximum level of
perceived service quality. satisfaction as a ‘summary psychological state experienced by the
consumer when confirmed or disconfirmed expectations exist with respect to a specific
service transaction or experience’. Rust and Oliver suggested that customer satisfaction or

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dissatisfaction - a ‘cognitive or affective reaction’ –emerges as a response to a single or
prolonged set of service encounters.
Satisfaction is a ‘post consumption’ experience which compares perceived quality
with expected quality, where as service quality refers to a global evaluation of a firm’s
service delivery system. Perceived quality, on the other hand, may be viewed as a global
attitudinal judgment associated with the superiority of the service experience over time. Not
surprisingly there has been considerable debate concerning the nature of the relationship
between the constructs of satisfaction and quality. While the majority of research suggests hat
service quality is a vital antecedent to customer satisfaction there is now strong evidence to
suggest that satisfaction must be a vital antecedent of service quality. Regardless of which
view is taken, the relationship between satisfaction and service quality is strong when
examined from either direction. Satisfaction affects assessments of service quality and
assessment of service quality affects satisfaction. In turn both are vital in helping buyers
develop their future purchase intentions.

So, conclusion is that the key difference between the two constructs is that quality
relates to managerial delivery of the service, while satisfaction reflects customers’
experiences with that service. They argued that quality improvements that are not based on
customer needs will not lead to improved customer satisfaction.

2.7 Service Quality through Customer Service

Customer service is a series of activities designed to enhance the level of customer


satisfaction – that is, the feeling that a product or service has met the customer expectation.
Its importance varies by product, industry and customer; defective or broken merchandise can
be exchanged, often only with a receipt and within a specified time frame. Retail stores will
often have a desk or counter devoted to dealing with returns, exchanges and complaints, or
will perform related functions at the point of sale.

Customer service is normally an integral part of a company’s customer value


proposition. In ideological way corporate world says that “customers have memories they
will remember you, whether you remember them or not.” Further, customer trust can be
destroyed at once by a major service problem, or it can be undermined one day at a time, with
a thousand small demonstrations of incompetence.

From the point of view of an overall sales process engineering effort, customer
service plays an important role in an organization's ability to generate income and revenue.

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From that perspective, customer service should be included as part of an overall approach to
systematic improvement. Some have argued that the quality and level of customer service has
decreased in recent years, and that this can be attributed to a lack of support or understanding
at the executive and middle management levels of a corporation and/or a customer service
policy. To address this argument, many organizations have employed a variety of methods to
improve their service quality.
In the customer service phase of the relationship life cycle Service quality
Management supports the following key functional areas:

(a) Interaction Center


Provides inbound and outbound call processing, e-mail management, and activity
management to track, monitor, and enhance all customer contact; supports multiple channels
for customer communication, including telephony and Web.

(b) Internet Customer Self-Service


It offers customers and prospects access to information and customer service
functions via Internet; supports effective customer self service; includes case-logic system
featuring advanced decision support for problem determination and resolution.

(c) Service Management


They Meets varied demands of service management business; handles customer
installations; facilitates simple and complex services; supports services carried out at
customer site or in-house repair centre (depot); supports involvement of external service
providers; integrates contract management; checks customer warranties when services are
performed; calculates services charges; integrates information from materials management,
cost accounting, billing, and accounts receivable; monitors day-to-day operations; helps
decision makers with strategic management issues.

(d) Claims Management:

It facilitates handling of entire claims process.

(e) Field service or mobile service:

It enables rapid allocation of service tools for to meet incoming service requisition
and also timely services to customers.

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2.8 Setting Quality Standard

A precise specification of service standards serves a valuable function in


communicating standard of quality which consumers can expect to receive. It also serves to
communicate the standards which are expected of employees. While the general manner in
which an organization goes about promoting itself may give a general impression as to what
level of quality it seeks to deliver, more specific standards can be stated in a number of ways
which are considered below.
At its most basic, an organization can rely on its terms of business as a basis for
determining the level of service to be delivered to customers. These generally act to protect
customers against excessively poor service rather than being used to proactively promote
high standards of excellence. The booking conditions of tour operators, for example, make
very few promises about service quality, other than offers of compensation if delays exceed a
specified standard or if accommodation arrangements are changed at short notice.
Generally worded customer charters go beyond the minimum levels of business terms
by stating in a general manner the standards of performance which the organization aims to
achieve in its dealings with customers. Now a days automobile companies use Q S 9000. QS
9000 is a customer-driven automotive standard. It focuses on defect prevention, continuous
improvement and reduction of wastage or variation in the supply chain; development of sub-
contractors; product quality, cost, delivery and service. It is based on a preventive
methodology. It uses disciplined problem solving methods.

2.9 Quality Management in Automobile Sector


In times of severe competition, it is of crucial importance to create a competitive
advantage to differentiate from the competitors and to sustain the automobile sector. This
shows that a customer-focused quality management is one way to create a sustainable
competitive advantage. Quality controls along the whole value chain -before, during and after
production- leads to failure free products, which save costs on the one hand and have thus a
positive influence on the company’s revenue. On the other hand failure free products that
meet the customers’ expectations lead to satisfied customers who build up a brand loyalty and
conduct retention sales, which have a positive influence on the company’s sales, market share
as well as the overall image.
Furthermore, it is important to listen to ‘the voice of the customers’ and get an insight
in the customer’s needs and wants. To fulfil or even exceed their expectations leads to
customer satisfaction, which is a key to success in today’s automobile sector. In addition, the

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customer demands in regard of quality are growing continuously and new technologies are
appearing on the markets on a regular basis. Therefore the producers are forced to keep to the
latest technology developments and to get hold on the changing customer needs. But even
without this external pressure, quality improvement is justified from a cost point of view. The
applicability of a customer-oriented quality management is shown in the practical part of this
thesis, when the quality of the Saab models is analysed from the customer’s perspective

2.10 Factors Influencing Evaluation of Service Quality in Automobile


Sector
(a) Advertising Campaigns and Opinions of Friends and Families

There is the perception of quality and value. There is often a disturbing disconnect
between actual quality and value of a vehicle and what the consumer believes to be the
quality and value. Real or not, consumers are cultivating beliefs about different brands and
vehicles based on a feeling or belief about quality and value rather than any quantitative
measurement of such. These beliefs are cultivated from advertising campaigns, aesthetics,
press reports and anecdotes from friends and family.

(b) Long-term Reputation

Long-term reputation is very important for quality perception. In fact, this factor is
mainly responsible for consumer’s perceptions. Opinions of friends and family have strong
influence on quality perception too. If certain members in family prefer one particular brand
and always talk about how good those vehicles are, it creates quality perception in everyone's
mind.

(c) Vehicle Class

The study found that vehicle class plays an important role in quality perception. For
example if a small vehicle achieves expected fuel-economy criteria, lower income group
customers tend to associate it with quality. At the same time, luxury buyers' notions of quality
are inordinately tied to fit-and-finish issues. Vehicle design, particularly interior features and
controls, is considered by consumers to be as important to quality as are defects and
malfunctions. Many consumers base their ideas of quality not on whether things work right or
not in a vehicle, but on design and execution. "If a product is simple and easy to use, many
consumers associate that with quality, regardless of dependability. A preoccupation with
features can create negative or positive notions in consumers' minds--but either type can
powerfully shape perceptions of whether a vehicle is up to snuff.

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(d) Reliability, Repair ability and Durability

The product aspects of reliability, reparability, durability are not only important for
vehicle's performance, but also are significant for quality perception. Repair ability factor
becomes a quality criterion for consumers in two ways. First, some automakers are willing to
stand behind their products for longer than others. Another aspect of reparability is how easy
or difficult it is to get a vehicle repaired. The study found that these aspects often times are
highlighted by a sales person or in the sales literature. Reliability and repair ability helps
determine long-term costs of ownership. The advertisements and sales information about low
maintenance costs, little down-time, and easy to replace standardized parts help to form
perception about quality.

(e) Dealership Performance

How dealers treat their customers is a huge component of vehicle quality in the eyes
of many consumers because owning and maintaining an automobile establishes a relationship
with a manufacturer, and the dealer is generally the face of that relationship. Dealer handling
of consumers, in fact, shapes much of our perception of a vehicle as a quality, stand-up brand.
On the other hand, some consumers have come to rely on specific dealers as guarantors of a
quality relationship, and they're willing to buy a variety of vehicles from them. 4.7 Mythical
Perception

(f) Customer Service Reach

The easy customer service and a long network of customer service centre also
influence the quality perception. If customer service people could explain, over the phone or
by email, how to replace a part, it gives an indication that it has better quality. The better
service capabilities are indication of good quality.

2.11Measurement of Service Quality

Assessment of service quality is depends upon prior expectations of overall quality


compared to the actual performance received. If the recent experience exceeds prior
expectations, customer satisfaction is likely to be high. Customer satisfaction can also be high
even with mediocre performance quality if the customer's expectations are low, or if the
performance provides value (that is, it is priced low to reflect the mediocre quality).
Likewise, a customer can be dissatisfied with the service encounter and still perceive the
overall quality to be good. This occurs when a quality service is priced very high and the

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transaction provides little value. Some of statistical test are used for understanding service
quality. Its theoretical aspects are following.

(a) Mann – Whitney Test


In order to apply the Mann-Whitney test, the raw data from samples A and B must
first be combined into a set of N=na+nb elements, which are then ranked from lowest to
highest, including tied rank values where appropriate. These rankings are then re-sorted into
the two separate samples.

In this test data have already been ranked, these ranks can be entered directly into the
cells headed by the label «Ranks». In this case, please note that the sum of all ranks for
samples A and B combined must be equal to [N(N+1)]/2. If this equality is not satisfied, you
will receive a message asking you to examine your data entry for errors. Data have not yet
been rank-ordered in this fashion, they can be entered into the cells labelled «Raw Data» and
the ranking will be performed automatically.

(b) Kruskal – Wallis Test

The Kruskal-Wallis test is used to test:


* The null hypothesis H0 according to which k independent samples were drawn
from the same population (or identical populations),
* Against the alternative hypothesis H1 according to which these samples were
drawn from populations sharing the same shape but with different central tendencies
(medians). The observations must be on a numeric or ordinal scale (not
just categorical). The samples do not need to have the same number of observations.

2.12Researching Service Quality


The development of reliable, easy-to-easy measures of service quality represents a
key aspect of consumer behaviour and services marketing research. Indeed, an integral part of
any organization’s attempt to still a ‘quality culture’ is a commitment to a process of
‘continuous improvement’. To support this systematic approach to quality measurement is
needed. This is especially true of ‘pure’ services organizations, as unlike their counterparts in
the manufacturing sector they have fewer objective measures of quality by which to judge
their production. They are following.

(a) Regular customer surveys

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The incidence of surveys into the level of satisfaction that customers have
experienced from service providers is increasing throughout the service sector. The
increasing range of competing services available and customers’ growing awareness of the
fact that they are in receipt of a service for which they pay a price– whether directly or
through taxation – has led them to expect to be consulted and to express an opinion about the
level of satisfaction provided. Today, members of the public are in constant receipt of
literature from a wide range of service providers asking for comments on the quality of
service that they have received. It is probably true to sat that most large service providers in
both private and public sectors have jumped on this quality bandwagon. The assumption that
most people make is that data from such surveys will be used to take corrective action where
expectations are not reached.

(b) Customer panels

These can provide a continuous source of information on customer expectations.


Groups of customers, who are generally frequent user, are brought together by a company on
a regular basis to study their opinions about the quality of service provided. On other
occasions, they may be employed to monitor the introduction of a new or revised service –
for example a panel could be brought together by a building society following the
experimental introduction of a new branch design format. The use of continuous panels can
offer organizations a means of anticipating problems and may act as an early warning system
for emerging issues of importance. Retailers have been involved in the operation of
continuous panels contribute to monitor their level of service provision as well as letting
panels contribute to new product development research. Method is quite dependent on how
well the panel represents consumers as a whole. There has been a suggestion that the number
of people prepared to become members of panels is not rising as quickly as firms’ appetite for
information. The result has been the emergence of ‘professional’ panel members who may
not be representative of service users as a whole.

(c) Transaction analysis

An increasingly popular method of evaluative research involves tracking the


satisfaction of individuals with particular transactions that they have recently been involved
in. This is a root cause for management to judge correct performance, particularly customers’
satisfaction with the contact personnel with whom they have interacted, as well as their

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overall satisfaction for the service.. For example, the Automobile Association surveys
customers who have recently been served by its breakdown service and many building
societies invite customers who have just used their mortgage services to express their views
on the service received via a structured questionnaire. An additional benefit of this research is
its capability to associate service quality performance with individual contact personnel and
link it to reward system.

(d) Perception surveys

These investigations use a combination of qualitative and quantitative approach.


Many professional services organization have employed such studies in order to develop
future market strategies. Their aim is to achieve a better understanding of how customers
view an organization. In other words, to help the firm itself as clients see it. The initial
qualitative stages of a study involve researchers in identifying the attitudes of clients towards
the firm as well as how the firm is perceived by the community at large. Perception studies of
subject include an analysis of the perceptions of a firm’s employees.

(e) Mystery customers

The use of ‘mystery customer’ is a method of auditing the standard of service


provision, particularly the staff involvement in such provision. A major difficulty in
measuring service quality is overcoming the non-conforming of staff with performance
guidelines. This so called service-performance gap is the result of employees being unable
and/or unwilling to perform the service at the desired level. An important function of mystery
customer surveys is therefore to monitor the extent to which specified quality standards are
actually being met by staff.

This method of researching actual service provision involves the use of trained
assessors who visit service organizations and report back their observations. Audits tend to be
tailored to the specific needs of a company and focus on an issue that it wishes to evaluate.
The format of the enquiry is determined jointly by the client and research organization.

(f) Analysis of complaints

Dissatisfaction of customers is most clearly voiced through the complaints that they
make about service provision. For many companies, this may be sole method of keeping in
touch with customers. Complaints can be made directly to the provider or perhaps indirectly

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through an intermediary or a watch dog body. Complaints by customers, referring to
instances of what they consider poor-quality service may, if treated constructively, provide a
rich source of data on which to base policies for improving service quality. However,
customer complaints are at best an inadequate source of information. Most customers don’t
both to complain, remain dissatisfied and tell others about their dissatisfaction. Others simply
change to another supplier and do not offer potentially valuable information to the service
provider about what factors where wrong which cause them to leave.

In truly market - oriented organizations, complaints analysis can form a useful pointer
to where the process of service delivery is breaking down. As part of an overall programme
for keeping in touch with customers, the analysis of complaints can have an important role to
play. The continuous tracking of complaints is a relatively inexpensive source of data which
enables a company to review the major concerns of customers on an ongoing basis and hope
fully rectifies any evident problems. In addition the receipt of complaints by the firm enable
staff to enter into direct into direct contact with customers and provides an opportunity to
interact with them over their matters of concern. As well as eliciting customers’ views on
these issues in particular, complainants can also contribute views about customer service in
general. Many companies have gone to great lengths to make it easy for customers to
complain, for example by creating free phone telephone lines and aking comment cards
readily available.

(g) Employee researches

Research undertaken among employees can enable their views about the way that
services are provided and their perceptions of how they are received by customers to be taken
into account. Data gathered from staff training seminars and development exercises, feedback
from Quality circles, job appraisal and performance evaluation reports, etc. can all provide
valuable information for planning quality service provision. One way in which formal
feedback from staff can be built into a systematic research program is the operation of a staff
suggestion scheme. The proposals which staff may make about how services could be
provided more efficiently and/or effectively certainly do have an important role to play in
moving service quality. Research into employees’ needs can also identification of policies
which improve

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Page | 37
CHAPTER 3

Data analysis and Discussion

Data Analysis and Discussion

Based up on the data collected through the questionnaire the following information
has been tabulated and represented in the graph.

Age of the Respondents

Table 3.1: Age of the Respondents

Age Number of Respondents Percentage


20-30 15 30
30-40 6 12
40-50 10 20
50 & Above 19 38
Total 50 100
Source: Primary Data

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Figure 3.1: Age of the respondents

Source: Primary Data

Inference:
This analysis shows the age group of the respondent comes under the age group of i.e.
20-30 i.e. 30%, 30-40 age group 12%, 40-50 with weight age of 20%, 38% of the respondent
are above the 50.

Media Used for Booking Vehicle Service

Table No 3.2: Media used for booking vehicle service

Media Number of respondents % of Respondents


Telephone 27 54
Internet 5 10
Personally 15 30
Other media 3 6
Total 50 100
Source: Primary Data

Figure 3.2: Media used for booking vehicle service

Source: Primary Data

Inference:
A majority of customers have booking their vehicle for service through telephone and
personally. In the absences of computer knowledge only 10% of customers booking their
vehicle for service through internet. 6% of customers use other media for booking vehicle for
services.

Duration of vehicle service

Table3.3: No of days taken for vehicle delivery after service

No of days Number of respondents % of respondents

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0-1 11 22
1-3 16 32
3-5 14 28
More than 5 days 9 18
Source: Primary Data

Figure 3.3: No of days taken for vehicle delivery after service

Source: Primary Data

Inference:
It can be inferred from the graph that time delivery of the serviced vehicle is good.
With in 3 days more than 50% of vehicles are serviced. 28% respondents are response 3-5
days and 18% of respondents are response more than 5 days.

Complaints are Constructively Handled

Table 3.4: Complaints are constructively handled


Levels No. Of respondent % of respondent
Strongly agree 12 24
Agree 25 50
Can’t say 8 16
Disagree 3 6
Strongly disagree 2 4
Source: Primary Data

Figure 3.4: Complaints are constructively handled.

Source: Primary Data

Inference:

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From this graph it can be easily understand that more than 24% of respondents strongly agree
that their complaints are constructively handled and 50% of respondents agree with this
statement.16% of respondents stay in neutral position. 6%of respondents are disagreed with this
statement and 4% of are strongly disagree. It pointed that company should give special attention to
this area.

Staffs Technical Knowledge

Table 3.5: Technical knowledge of the staffs

Satisfaction level No of respondents % of respondents


Highly Satisfied 35 70
Satisfied 12 24
Neutral 3 6
Unsatisfied 0 0
Highly unsatisfied 0 0
Source: Primary Data

Figure 3.5: Technical knowledge of the staffs

Source: Primary Data

Inference:
From the analysis it can be inferred that more than 70% of the respondents are highly
satisfied with the technical knowledge of the staff. 24% of respondents are satisfied.6% of
respondents take a neutral position. None of them are unsatisfied. Technical knowledge of
staffs contributes for improvement of the service sector in Apco Hyundai.

Staffs are Willing to Listen Customers Opinion

Table 3.6:Staffs are willing to listen customers individual point of view

Opinion No of respondents % of respondents


Yes 36 72
No 14 28

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Source: Primary Data

Figure 3.6: Staffs are willing to listen customers individual point of view

Source: Primary Data

Inference:
It can be inferred from the graph that majority of the customers believe that staffs are
willing to listen individual point of view. Nearly 28% of customers are not satisfied with
statement.

Workmanship of the Service Machine

Table3.7: Workmanship of the service machine

Satisfaction level Number of respondents % of respondents


Highly satisfied 10 20
Satisfied 35 70
Dissatisfied 4 8
Highly dissatisfied 1 2
Source: Primary Data

Figure 3.7: Workmanship of the service machine

Source: Primary Data

Inference:
Nearly 70% of customers are satisfied with the workmanship of the service quality
machine and 8% of customers are not satisfied.

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Responds towards Customer’s Query

Table 3.8: Responds towards customer’s query

Ratings No. of respondents % of respondents


Excellent 6 12
Very good 26 52
Good 12 24
Average 4 8
Poor 2 4
Source: Primary Data

Figure 1.10: Responds towards customers query

Source: Primary Data

Inference:
This figure shows that customers are satisfied with their responds towards query.
More than 80% of customers are above the average level. Only 4% of customers are not
satisfied with work. This major area of concern and the company should give corrective
information to customers.

Service Charges are Reasonable

Table 3.9: service charges are reasonable

Opinion No of respondents % of respondents


Yes 20 40

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No 24 48
Neutral opinion 6 12
Source: Primary Data

Figure 3.9: service charges are reasonable

Source: Primary Data

Inference:
From the analysis it is clear that Service charge are not reasonable. Nearly 48% of
respondents are not satisfied with service charges.12% of respondents are stay in neutral
position. It may leads to customer dissatisfaction in Apco Hyundai.

Rank of service quality dimensions in Apco Hyundai

Table 3.10: Rank of service quality dimensions in Apco Hyundai


Sl Dimensions R1 R R R R Weight Weigh % Ra
No 2 3 4 5 t sum nk
:
1 Tangibles 9 8 9 13 11 (9*5)+(8*4)+(9*3)+(13*2)+ 141 18.66 4
(11*1)
2 Reliability 9 14 10 8 9 (9*5)+(14*4)+(10*3)+(8*2) 156 20.64 3
+(9*1)
3 Responsive 12 8 12 14 4 (12*5)+(8*4)+(12*3)+(14*2 160 21.17 2
ness )+(4*1)
4 Assurance 14 15 8 6 7 (14*5)+(15*4)+(8*3)+(6*2) 173 22.89 1
+(7*1)
5 Empathy 6 5 11 9 19 (6*5)+(5*4)+(11*3)+(9*2)+ 120 15.87 5
(19*1)
Total 756
Source: Primary Data

Figure 3.10: Rank of Service Quality Dimensions in Apco Hyundai

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Source: Primary Data

Inference:
In this graph assurance have 1st rank in service quality dimensions.2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th
is occupied by the responsiveness, reliability, tangibles, empathy respectively. So it pointed
that customers are highly satisfied with assurance of their quality of services.

Dependency of Apco for Future Service

Table 3.11: Dependency of Apco for future service

Opinion No of respondents % of respondents


Yes 43 86
No 0 0
No opinion 7 14
Source: Primary Data

Figure 1.13: Dependency of Apco for future service

Source: Primary Data

Inference:

From the analysis it is inferred that 86% of respondent depend upon Apco for future
service. None of them have no specific opinion that they are not depending upon company for
future service.

Measure of Satisfaction of Hyundai Customers

Table 3.12: Measure of satisfaction of Hyundai customers

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Satisfaction level No of respondents % of respondents
Highly satisfied 10 20
Satisfied 34 68
Neutral 6 12
Unsatisfied 0 0
Highly unsatisfied 0 0
Total 50 100
Source: Primary Data

Figure 3.12: Measure of satisfaction of Hyundai customers.

Source: Primary Data

Inference:

It can be inferred from the graph that majority constituting of 68% of the respondents
are satisfied with the Hyundai Company in all aspect. None of the customers opined that they
are dissatisfied. This indicates of the trustworthiness the brand and the quality of services
they deliver.

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Mann-Whitney Test

Here this non parametric test can be used in order to find out whether any significant difference
exists in mean ranks of the service quality in vehicle delivery time.

Ho: There is no association between vehicle delivery and the service quality rate.
H1: There is an association between vehicle delivery and service quality rate.

Table 3.13: Mann-Whitney test


Ranks
Time
vehicle
delivery N Mean Rank Sum of Ranks
Rate service quality Yes 26 33.00 858.00
No 24 17.38 417.00
Total 50

Source: Primary Data

Table 3.14: Mann-Whitney test

Test Statistics
Rate organization
Mann-Whitney U 117.000
Wilcoxon W 417.000
Z -4.123
Asymp. Sig. (2-tailed) .000
Source : Primary Data

From the table no 3.16, Mann- Whitney test was found to be significant at Mann-Whitney
U=117.00, Z= -4.123, asymptotically significant= .000. Hence we accept H1.This means that there
is an association between service quality and time vehicle delivery.

Mann-Whitney Test

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Here this non parametric test can be used in order to find out whether any significant
difference exists in mean ranks of the service quality and staffs provided promptly services to
customers.

Ho: There is no association between the service quality rate and staffs provided services
H1: There is association between service quality rate and staffs provided services.

Table 3.15: Mann- Whitney test

Ranks

staff
provided
services N Mean Rank Sum of Ranks
Rate service quality yes 21 32.74 687.50
no 29 20.26 587.50
Total 50
Source: Primary Data

Table 3.16: Mann- Whitney test


Test Statistics
Rate organization
Mann-Whitney U 152.500
Wilcoxon W 587.500
Z -3.253
Asymp. Sig. (2-tailed) .001
Source: Primary Data

From the table no 3.16, Mann- Whitney test was found to be significant at Mann-Whitney
U=152.50, Z= -3.253, asymptotically significant= .001. Hence we accept H1.This means that there
is an association between service quality and staff provided services.

Kruskal-Wallis Test

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Kruskal- Wallis is a non parametric test used for finding out whether there is any
significant difference exists in the mean ranks of service quality in complaints are handled.

Ho: There is no association between the service quality rate and complaints are handled
H1: There is association between service quality rate and complaints are handled.

Table 3.17: Kruskal- Wallis test

Ranks

Complaints are handled N Mean Rank


Rate service quality strongly agree 11 40.23
agree 27 27.28
can't say 7 11.36
disagree 3 4.50
strongly disagree 2 1.50
Total 50
Source: Primary Data

Table 3.18: Kruskal- Wallis test

Test Statistics
Rate service quality
Chi-Square 35.402
Df 4
Asymp. Sig. .000
Source: Primary Data

Inference:
From the table no 3.18: Kruskal- Wallis test was found to be significant in Chi-
Square=35.402, df=4, asymptotically significant= .000. Hence we accept H1.This means that there
is an association between service quality and complaints are handled.

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CHAPTER 4

Findings, Recommendations and Conclusion

4.1Findings
The findings of this study have important practical implications to management of
quality of the Apco Hyundai automobile services. The results of the study make a valuable

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contribution for enhancing perceived service quality of automobile services. The
measurement technique also serves to identify symptoms and the underlying problems that
inhibit the effective provision of quality services in automobile sector.

• A majority of customers have booking their vehicle for service through telephone and
personally.
• From the percentage analysis it can be easily understand that time delivery of the
serviced vehicle is good. With in 3 days more than 50% of vehicles are serviced.
• There is an association between service quality and vehicle delivery time.
• From the analysis it can be inferred that more than 70% of the respondents are highly
satisfied with the technical knowledge of the staff. This knowledge contributes lot for
improvement of the service sector in Apco Hyundai. Remaining 30% plays crucial
role for satisfying service quality dimensions.
• The study proves that majority of the customers believe that staffs are willing to
listen individual point of view. Nearly 28% of customers are not satisfied with
statement.
• Nearly 70% of customers are satisfied with the workmanship of the service quality
machine and 8% of customers are not satisfied.
• From the research it has been found that customers are satisfied with staffs responds
towards query. More than 80% of customers are above the average level. Only 4% of
customers are not satisfied with work. This major area of concern and the company
should give corrective information to customers.
• Nearly 48% of respondents are not satisfied with service charges. It may leads to
customer dissatisfaction in Apco Hyundai.
• In service quality dimensions graph assurance have 1st rank in service quality
dimensions.2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th is occupied by the responsiveness, reliability, tangibles,
empathy respectively.
• From the Mann- Whitney test was found to be significant at Mann-Whitney
U=152.50, Z= -3.253, asymptotically significant= .001. Hence we accept H1.This
means that there is a association between service quality and staff provided services.
• There is an association between service quality and complaints are handled.
• From the study majority constituting of 68% of the respondents are satisfied with the
Hyundai Company in all aspect. None of the customers opined that they are
dissatisfied. This indicate of the trustworthiness the brand and the quality of services
the deliver.

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4.2 Recommendations
• To set up a complaint handling cell for reducing customer grievances.
• Better to provide customer pick and drop facility. This enhances customer and
company relations.
• Provide spot and home services to customers.

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• Employees are capable of directly contributing to both customer disappointment and
delight .Therefore , it is essential that the dealer have the research and analysis
method that links staff performance engagement directly to the customer
behaviour ,so that they can hire , train, recognise and reward employees for how they
contribute to customer value.
• To conduct customer get together program. It helps for easily understanding
customer’s expectations and perceptions towards service quality in company .It also
contributing for the improvement of services given by the company.
• Service charges are not reasonable. So company should give discounts to customers.
Affordable financing attract and retain customers.
• Identify what leverages top-end customer commitment and advocacy behaviour, and
then build customer experience around it.
• All the issue of the customers regarding sales and service should be dealt with
immediately and over all satisfaction level towards the various services provided by
the dealer should be further raised.
• Communicate often with customers regarding to build loyalty and to gain intangible,
emotional relationship benefits.
• Customer care employees should be given soft skill training to improve the
effectiveness of customer interactions.
• The company should identify ways and means to reduce the service time there by
offering an assured shortest possible time.

4.3Conclusion
In this highly competitive world organizations have no choice but to provide better
services to customer to stay in the market. For an organisation providing services it will be
very difficult to give out the offers to attract customers, so to stay in the market providing
better services is only the option.

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To conclude, this project Apco Automobiles has created a good image in Kasaragod.
Apco is the best dealer of Hyundai. Customers of Apco Hyundai have given positive
response towards overall service quality. Service quality plays a vital in determining
marketing image of every company. Once the attributes of automobile services from the
customer’s perspective are more clearly known and understood, its service providers will be
in a better position to anticipate consumer requirements rather than to react to consumer
dissatisfaction.

4.4 Appendices

Questionnaire

Dear Respondent,

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This is a survey to understand the service quality in Apco Hyundai. The study being
conducted is part of my curriculum. Please fill the questionnaire with care and attentiveness
and to best of your knowledge to help us gauge your likes and dislikes.

Name:

Occupation:

Location:

Vehicle Model:

Year of Purchase:

Annual Family Income: Below 1.2 lakhs 1.2 – 2.4L 2.4L – 5 L Above 5 L

1. How do you book your vehicle for service at Apco?


Telephone

Personally

Internet

Others___________

2. Are you able to book your vehicle on the day you prefer?
Yes No

3. How do you rate organization responds towards customer’s query?


Excellent Very good Good Average Poor

4. No of days taken for vehicle delivery after service


0-1 1-3 3-5 5&Above

5. Staffs provide prompt and timely services to you.


Yes No

6. Do you satisfied with workmanship of the service machine?


Highly satisfied Satisfied Dissatisfied Highly dissatisfied

7. Your complaints are constructively handled

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Strongly agree Agree Can’t say Disagree

Strongly disagree

8. Is the vehicle delivered back to you on time?


Yes No

9. Before picking the vehicle, after servicing, are you being briefed on what works have
been done based on the problems you indicated earlier, and additional work, if any?

Yes No

10. Staffs are willing to listen to your individual point of view.

Yes No

11. Employees deliver appropriate services to you.

Strongly agree Agree Can’t say Disagree

Strongly disagree

12. Rank your responds towards Service Quality dimensions in Apco Hyundai ?

Tangibles Reliability Responsiveness Assurance

Empathy

13. Are you being, called on, after service, to find whether all your vehicle problems

have been resolved or not?

Yes No

14. Do you satisfied with technical knowledge of staffs, for handling the problems?

Highly satisfied Satisfied Neutral Unsatisfied

Highly dissatisfied

15. Do you find the service charges reasonable?

Yes No Neutral opinion

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16. How often do you give your vehicle for service, here?

Almost once a month Once in two months Once in three months

Once in four months Once in six months Rarely

17. Do you depend of Apco for future service?

Yes No Neutral opinion

18. Please indicate your degree of SATISFACTION with the overall services provided by
your APCO HYUNDAI , by placing a check mark X in the relevant box below.

Completely Very Mildly Neither dissatisfied Mildly Very Completely

dissatisfied dissatisfied dissatisfied nor satisfied satisfied satisfied satisfied

19. Which are the areas we can improve upon, to provide you with better service?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
__

4.5 Bibliography
Books
RanjithKumar , Research Methodology, Second Edition , 2005 by Pearson Education
Australia, Copyright 2005.

SHH Kazmi, Marketing Management, First edition , New Delhi 2007,Copyright 2007,SHH
Kazmi.

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V. ParthaSarathy, Service Quality, First Edition 2006, Published by the ICFAI University
Press.

Kanishka Bedi, Quality Management, by Oxford University Press 2006.

PrassannaChandra, Projects, Seventh Edition, by Tata Mcgraw Hill Education Private


Limited. Copyright 2009 by Chandra Prasanna.

Websites

http://www.hyundai.com/companyprofile

http:/www.scribd.com/doc/20072208/Measuring-service-quality-using-SERVQUAL-scale--
A-Case-study-at-DADA-motors-Ludhiana-Punjab

urfindia.com/automobile/automobile-industry.html

http://www.2indya.com/2010/05/26/automobile-industry-in-india/[INDIANPROFILE

http://www.hyundai.com/companyprofile

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