Models and theories of customer

satisfaction
This chapter presents an overview and critical analysis of relevant literature on the topic. It covers
customer satisfaction concepts, theories and models, service quality concepts and models and
customer behavioural intentions referral concepts and models.
2.1 Definition of Service
Services are deeds, performances and processes provided or coproduced by one entity or person
for and with another entity or person (Zeithaml et al, 2009). This definition of service includes core
service, products and product-service bundles. Vargo and Lusch (2004) provided a more inclusive
definition of service with the derived service perspective, suggesting that all products and physical
goods are valued for the inherent service (value derived) they provide not the goods itself. Services
differ from product due to their intangibility, heterogeneity, simultaneous production and consumption
and perishability (Zeithaml et al, 2009). The automotive service industry is mainly involved in
delivering pure service, with car servicing, MoT tests, accident repairs, among others.

Struggling with your essay?

We can help!
We can help get your coursework back on track, take a look at our services to learn more about how
we can help.
Essay Writing Service Essay Marking Service Place an Order

Custom Written Work

Guaranteed on Time
Get The Grade You ordered
2.1.1 Classification of Services
Zeithaml et al (2009) classified products into three categories using the works of economists;
Search qualities - attributes that consumers can determine before purchasing the product. Search
qualities include colour, style, price, fit, feel, hardness and smell. Example of products are clothing,
automobile, furniture and jewellery
Experience qualities - attributes that can be determined only after purchase or during consumption.
Examples include taste and wearability and examples include vacation packages and restaurant
services.

Credence qualities - attributes that consumer may find very difficult to evaluate (mainly due to
insufficient technical knowledge) even after purchase and consumption. Examples include wheel
alignment (auto repair), medical operation, etc.
The figure below presents the qualities in a continuum from easy to difficult to evaluate. It is viewed
in a continuum because some services may be very difficult to place in a distinction category. An
automotive repair is more of credence qualities as most customers do not possess the technical
knowledge to evaluate the service. This makes it necessary for garages and dealer to engage
customers to reduce perception of poor quality.
Figure 2.1: Service classification continuum (Zeithaml et al., 2009)
2.2.0 Customer Satisfaction (CS)
Customer satisfaction emerged as a distinct area of inquiry in the 1970s (Churchill & Surprenant,
1982), and companies both big and small have realised the strategic benefits of service quality and
customer satisfaction as competition become more intense and global. The achievement of
customer satisfaction has become a good business practice that businesses strive to achieve
(Szymanski & Henard, 200 cited in Yu et al, 2005).
2.2.2 Definition of Customer Satisfaction
Several definitions have been offered for customer satisfaction over the past three decades.
Anderson et al. (1994) suggested two definitions of customer satisfaction, in accordance with the two
broad classes of customer experiences identified by the literature - transaction specific experiences
and cumulative experiences (Mittal et al, 1999 cited in Zeithaml et al, 2009). With a transactionspecific experience, customer satisfaction is defined as the post-choice evaluative judgement of a
specific purchase occasion. Whereas a cumulative experience, customer satisfaction is determined
as a result of a customer's evaluation of his or her total purchase and consumption experience over
time. Oliver (1997) cited in (Zeithaml et al, 2009) defined satisfaction as
"...the consumer's fulfilment response. It is a judgement that a product or service feature, or the
product or service itself, provides a pleasurable level of consumption related fulfilment".
It is the ability of the service or product to meet the customer's needs and expectations. Fornell et al.
(1996) in their CSI model defined customer satisfaction as a function of customer expectations,
perceived quality, and perceived value.
2.2.3 Why is Customer Satisfaction Important to Businesses?
Customer satisfaction helps companies in many ways, some of which include:
Customer satisfaction information helps companies to evaluate their ability in meeting customers'
needs and expectations effectively (Zeithaml et al, 2009).
It also helps companies to analyse the performance of an offering to customers in order to identify
areas for improvements as well as what areas customers consider to be very important to them
(Zeithaml et al, 2009).

Companies can predict customer retention and loyalty as well as organisational profitability through
satisfaction surveys. Research has suggested that customer satisfaction leads to company
profitability (Bei & Chiao, 2001; Heskett et al., 1997). Studies have shown a positive correlation
between customer satisfaction and customer retention and loyalty (Zeithaml et al., 1996; Heskett et
al., 1997). Reichheld (1990) asserted that customer satisfaction accounted for about 40% of
customer retention. In the automotive service industry, customers who are satisfied with a dealer
might buy multiple vehicles as their income and status increase (especially high value vehicles) and
also keep going back to that dealer for every service throughout their lifetime. The figure below
depicts the relationship between satisfaction and customer loyalty.
Customers who are satisfied with a company's offering may tell others about it - positive word-ofmoth, just as dissatisfied customer also bad mouth the company to other. Goodman (2009)
suggested that dissatisfied customers tell on average ten people about the company as against 5
people by satisfied customer. Goodman (2009) also asserted that it cost five times to attract a new
customer than to maintain a current customer. Therefore it is imperative for service businesses to
satisfied customer on a consisted basis.

This essay is an example of a student's work

Disclaimer
This essay has been submitted to us by a student. This is not an example of the work written by our
professional essay writers.
Who wrote this essay Request removal Example Essays

2.2.4 Determinants of Customer Satisfaction

Several studies have identified the factors that influence customer satisfaction over the years
(Fornell et al., 1996; Yu et al 2005; Zeithaml et al., 2009). These factors are mostly similar in what
aspect of customer satisfaction they are measuring; some of them include customer's expectation,
perceived service quality, product quality, perceived value, price, among others. Some of these
studies will be looked at in detail, examining their merits and demerits.
Determinants of CS using CS indexes
Fornell et al. (1996) developed the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) based on the
Swedish Customer Barometer. The ACSI is an economic indicator based on modelling of customer
evaluations of the quality of goods and services produced and purchased in the United States. Its
main purpose according to Te-King Chein et al. (2003) is to gain an insight into the interaction
between the customers and businesses, to enable better planning and decision making. The ACSI is
a cause-and-effect model showing drivers of satisfaction on the left side (customer expectations,
perceived quality, and perceived value), satisfaction in the centre, and outcomes of satisfaction on
the right side (customer complaints and customer loyalty, including customer retention and price
tolerance) as shown in the figure below.

Figure 2.2: ACSI Model (Fornell et al. 1996)

Each of these factors is explained below in accordance with Fornell et al. (1996).
Customer Expectations are customers' anticipation of the level of quality they are to receive from a
company. They emphasise that the
"...market's expectations represent both the served market's prior consumption experience with the
firm's offering - including non-experiential information available through sources such as advertising
and word-of-mouth - and a forecast of the supplier's ability to deliver quality in the future".
They postulated that customer expectations have a direct and positive influence on overall customer
satisfaction with an organisation because of the on-going relationship with customer. It also
influences both perceived quality and perceived value as shown in the figure.
Perceived Quality is a customers' measure of the recent service interaction with the company. They
stated that quality could be measured in terms of how the product meets customer's individual needs
and error-free service delivery - reliability. This is also said to have a direct and positive impact on
overall satisfaction.
Perceived Value is a measure of quality relative to price paid - value for money (Anderson et al.,
1994). They asserted that price has more impact on satisfaction in a customer's first purchase
experience but a lesser impact on satisfaction for repeat purchases.
Customer Complaints are customers who have talked to the service provider about a service that
they were not happy within a specific time. They stated that satisfaction is negatively correlated to
customer complaints - the more satisfied the customers, the less likely they are to complain.
Customer Loyalty is customers' likelihood to purchase their next service with the same organisation
at a given price (price tolerance). Customer loyalty is the critical component of the model because it
equals profitability (Heskett et al., 1997; Reichheld and Sasser, 1990).
The European Consumer Satisfaction Index (ECSI) is also an adapted version of the Swedish
Customer Satisfaction Barometer and very similar to the ACSI. Unlike the ACSI with six variables,
the ECSI has seven variables with "corporate image" being the seventh and optional variable (ECSI
Technical Committee, 1998). It refers to the brand name and what kind of associations the
customers get from the product/company. Eklf (2000) suggested that perceived quality can be
distinguished into perceived product quality and perceived service quality; where perceived service
quality is the assessment of recent consumption experience of associated services like customer
service, range of services and products, conditions of product display while perceived products
quality relates to the attributes of the core product and product. The figure below presents the detail
of the ECSI index.
Figure 2.3: ECSI Model (ECSI Technical Committee, 1998)
The three indexes have set the pace for other countries to follow; they include Russia, Switzerland,
Norway, Taiwan, Germany and Turkey (Eklf, 2000).
Zeithaml et al.'s Customer Satisfaction Model

Zeithaml et al. (2009) suggested a customer satisfaction model. This model has five factors that
drive customer satisfaction; they are service quality (SERVQUAL), product quality, price, situational
and personal factors (such as emotions and moods) as shown in the figure below.

Freelance Essay Writing Vacancies

Looking to become a writer?
Due to high demand for our services we're always looking for new writers. If you're interested in
becoming a freelance writer then why not read more about our freelance writer jobs.
Freelance Writing Jobs

Figure 2.4: Customer Satiafaction Model (Zeithaml et al., 2009)

The concept of product quality is similar to other models presented above. Personal factors such as
customer emotions affect satisfaction either in a positive or negative way (example, Price et al.,
1995; Gremler et al., 2006; Liljander and Strandvik, 1997). Shaw and Ivens (2002) advised
businesses to view customer emotions as a major differentiation factor contributing to customer
satisfaction, especially where customers are actively involved in the service delivery (for example
Disney Land). This may not the same for automotive service; therefore, much will not be said about
customer emotions.
Price as a Determinant of Customer Satisfaction
The factor "perceived value" in the other models presented above is also similar to price but relates
more to an aspect of pricing described as demand-based pricing (Zeithaml et al., 2009). The
influence of price on satisfaction has been given a lot of attention by researchers over the years (for
example Anderson et al., 1994; Salvador et al., 2006).
Salvador et al. (2006) stressed that the concept of price should be expanded to include the actual
cost of the service and other associated costs. They suggested that price has two dimensions: the
objective price paid (monetary) and the cost of obtaining the service (how adequate the fees for the
labour performed by the customer and in comparison with the cost of other services). Zeithaml
(1988) provided a precise classification of price component into objective price, monetary price and
sacrifice. Salvador et al. (2006) suggested that price should include value, benefit and cost, and that
customer received value when the benefit from a product or service is more than the cost of buying
it.
Horovitz (2000) suggested that services be limited to the strategy of 'outpacing' - a service that can
reduce its costs, reinvesting all or part of the savings from lowering the price to customers, and at
the same time maintaining or even increasing the benefits to increase value for the customer.
Some studies (for example Bei & Chiao, 2001; Anderson et al., 1994) have found that the price paid
for a product or service plays an important in influencing customers' satisfaction and loyalty to a
company. Anderson et al. (1994, p. 54) "...customer satisfaction is dependent on value, where value

can be viewed as the ratio of perceived quality relative to price or benefits received relative to costs
incurred". Jiang & Rosenbloom (2005) postulated that customers' perception of price has a positive
impact on satisfaction and behavioural intentions. According to Yieh et al. (2007) asserted that
customer may use price as an extrinsic signal of service quality by a company, for example, where
quality is difficult to assess. This is especially true for automotive service where most customers lack
technical knowledge to judge the service.
Service Quality as a Determinant of Customer Satisfaction
The service quality models (both the gaps model and SERVQUAL) assume that customers come
into a service encounter with a prior expectation, this expectation is then matched with the actual
service experience to determine the service quality of that organisation (Zeithaml et al 1985;
Grnroos 1990). The customer is satisfied if actual service experience meets expected service,
he/she is dissatisfied if actual service falls below expected service and delighted if actual service
exceeds expected service. Studies (for example Rust and Oliver, 1994; Zeithaml et al., 1988;
Boulding et al., 1993; Anderson and Sullivan, 1993; Fornell et al., 1996) have agreed that service
quality is an antecedent to customer satisfaction, therefore adequate discussion of this topic is done
here.
The Gaps model of service quality
Zeithaml et al (1985) identified five service quality gaps that lead to poor quality of services delivered
by an organisation. The model suggests that service quality is the difference between customers'
expectations and customer perceptions of the actual service delivery, referring to this difference as
gaps - an obstacle to achieving quality. The gaps are discussed below as shown in figure below.
Gap 1 - The Listening Gap: difference between customer expectations and company perception of
customers' expectations
Gap 2 - The Service Design and Standards Gap: difference between the company perception of
customers' expectations and the customer-driven service designs and standards
Gap 3 - The Performance Gap: difference between customer-driven service designs and standards
and the service delivery

Struggling with your essay?

We can help!
We can help get your coursework back on track, take a look at our services to learn more about how
we can help.
Essay Writing Service Essay Marking Service Place an Order

Custom Written Work

Guaranteed on Time

Get The Grade You ordered

Gap4 - The Communication Gap: difference between the service delivery and the external
communication to customers
Gap 5 - The Customer Gap: the difference between customer's expectations and perceptions of
services provided by an organization.
The first four are known as the provider's gaps which give rise to the customer gap (5). To close the
customer gap, providers must first close the first four gaps in the order presented above. The
understanding of this will enable service businesses to deliver a consistent level of service that
meets or exceeds customer expectation leading to customer repeat business and profitability.
Figure 2.5: Gaps Model of service quality (Zeithaml et al., 1985)
Researchers (Dabholkar et al., 2000; Gronroose, 1990; Teas, 1993) have raised concerns about the
definition and measurement of expectation in the gaps model. They stated that while customer
perceptions can be defined and measured in a straightforward fashion - as customers experience
the service, expectations on the other hand is subject to different definitions and interpretations by
different authors. The meaning of perceived service is similar to the ones offered above. Zeithaml et
al. (2009, p32) described customer perceptions as "...subjective assessment of actual service
experience". Customer expectation will be discussed further as the models above did not offer
enough explanations.
Customer Expectations and the Zone of Tolerance (ZoT)
Boulding et al. (1993) defined customer expectations as "...pre-trial beliefs about a product or
service". Churchill & Surprenant (1982) stated that a customer's expectations are: (1) confirmed
when a product performs as expected, (2) negatively disconfirmed when the product performs more
poorly than expected, and (3) positively disconfirmed when the product performs better than
expected based on the disconfirmation theory (Oliver, 1980).
Tse & Wilton (1988) proposed three definitions of customer expectations. The first is equitable
performance - a normative standard for performance based on implicit relationships between an
individual's cost/investment and anticipated rewards. In this instance, expectations are likely to be
influenced by the price paid, the effort invested, and previous product experiences. The second is
ideal product performance - ideal product performance scenario from a customer's perspective, such
that expectations may be based on previous product experiences, messages gleaned from
advertisements, or word-of-mouth communications. The third is expected product performance product's most likely performance.
Customer's expected service can either be adequate ("minimum tolerable expectation") or desired
("should be" and "can be") service and the amount of variation that customers are willing to accept is
known as Zone of Tolerance (Zeithaml et al 1993). The more important a customer deems a service
encounter or dimension (for example, reliability) to be, the higher the desired service and narrower
the ZoT and vice versa. When service experience exceeds the desired level, customers become
delighted and are dissatisfied when service experience falls below the adequate level.

Johnston (1995) identified three main applications of zone of tolerance: (1) as a description of an
outcome state, (2) of a range of pre-performance expectations and (3) as the satisfactory range of
in-process service performances
The outcome state: the service quality models assume this application with their three outcomes:
satisfaction (adequate service quality), dissatisfaction (poor quality service) and delight (high service
quality).
Pre-performance expectations: this may range from "minimum tolerable" to "ideal" (Miller, 1977)
cited in Johnston (1995) with "desirable" and "adequate" (Zeithaml et al 1993) somewhere in
between.
The in-process service performances: Berry and Parasuraman (1991) suggested that the zone of
tolerance is an in-process service performance and define it as
"...a range of service performance that a customer considers satisfactory. A performance below the
tolerance zone will engender customer frustration and decrease customer loyalty. A performance
level above the tolerance zone will pleasantly surprise customers and strengthen their loyalty".
The definition offered by Berry and Parasuraman (1991) encapsulates the other two, emphasising
the variation of service performance that customers are willing to accept and that customers become
dissatisfied when performance fall below the adequate level. The ZoT is dynamic and changes
according to what the customer deems to be important as well the particular service encounter.
The figure below identifies the factors affecting desired and adequate service with the arrows.
Desired service is influenced by personal service philosophy and lasting service intensifiers.
Predicted service is a somewhat adequate judgement of what a customer is likely to receive in a
particular service interaction and therefore influences adequate service. It is influenced by service
promises (implicit and explicit), word-of-mouth communication by other customer and past service
experience. Other factors that influence adequate service are temporary service intensifiers,
perceived service alternatives, self-perceived service role and situational. Even though not all these
factors are within the control of service firms, they can be influenced through customer education,
making realistic promises, conducting market research, among others (Zeithaml et al., 2009).

This essay is an example of a student's work

Disclaimer
This essay has been submitted to us by a student. This is not an example of the work written by our
professional essay writers.
Who wrote this essay Request removal Example Essays

Figure 2.6: Factors that influence Desired and Predicted service (Zeithaml et al., 2009)
SERVQUAL Scale of Measuring Service Quality

The SERVQUAL model was developed by Zeithaml et al (1988) to measures the quality of service
on five identified quality dimension. This scale is designed to measure the difference between
customers' expectations and perception (gap 5) on a 22-item scale, representing five service quality
dimensions, explained below.
Reliability: how well can the company deliver on its promises dependably and accurately?
Assurance: knowledgeable and courtesy of employees and their ability to inspire trust and
confidence
Responsiveness: willingness to help customers and provides prompt service
Empathy: caring, individualised attention the firm provides its customers
Tangibles: appearance of physical facility, equipment and staff
Brady and Cronin (2001) classified service dimensions into: interaction (attitude, behaviour and
expertise), physical environment (ambient, design and social factors) and outcome quality (waiting
time, tangible and valence).
The model is can be referred to as a diagnostic tool for identifying broad areas of a company's
service quality strengths and weaknesses (Tan and Pawitra, 2001).
Some of benefits of the SERVQUAL methodology are summarised below.
It gives customers the opportunity to offer their views regarding service encounters.
It enables management to look at the perceptions from both business and customers' perspective.
By closing the gaps, businesses can use the information generated to formulate strategies to ensure
customer expectations are fulfilled on a consisted basis (Tan and Pawitra, 2001).
According to Tan and Pawitra (2001), SERVQUAL is limited as it addresses only continuous
improvement in a fast moving world where continuous improvement alone may not ensure business
success unless blended with service and product innovation. Shen et al. (2000) emphasise the need
for innovation as the key to becoming competitive in the global economy. Brito et al., (2007, p. 466)
also suggested that the use of dimensions unlike the attribute themselves are limited in giving
"...specific guidance on where to act in the design or improvement of service operation".
SERVPERF Scale
The SERVPERF scale, also known as "performance only" model, was developed by Cronin and
Taylor (1992) to address the issue with the measurability and definition challenges of the
SERVQUAL scale (as explained above) by eliminating the expectation construct of the SERVQUAL
scale and using only performance. It assumes that respondents providing their ratings have already
unconsciously compared performance perceptions with expectations and measuring expectation
again is redundancy. Evidence was gathered across four industries (fast food, banks, pest control,
and dry cleaning) to support the model. Although the SERVQUAL has enjoyed wide application
across different industries and countries than this model, studies (Brady et al., 2002; Babakus and
Boller, 1992) have suggested that the SERVPERF scale showed superior results when applied in

conjunction with the SERVQUAL scale through the use of its single-item scale. On the other hand,
research conducted by Quester and Romaniuk (1997) suggested that the SERVQUAL is a better
predictor of service quality than SERVPERF. Carrillat et al. (2007) in their bid to end the years long
debate between the two models, suggested that both model are adequate and equally valid
predictors of overall service quality with the use of meta-analysis. This can be viewed as the final
stopper (hopefully) to more than a decade long debate.
It must however be emphasised that the two models are more complementary than competing and
that the key is adopting a particular model to the business needs. This study would adopt the
SERVQUAL methodology because of it wide usage. This would enable the researcher to compare
the results of this study to other researchers.
Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction in the Automotive Service Industry
Dealerships are vitally important in influencing customers' overall satisfaction because they are the
most important point of contact for both potential and actual customers during the buying and usage
stages (Huber and Herrmann, 2001). There is little research in the areas of automotive service
industry (Brito et al., 2007). Those that were identified by the researcher are discussed below.
Bouman and Wiele (1992) were one of the first to used the SERVQUAL methodology in the
automotive service industry in the Netherlands. Using a sample of 226 customers from 9 difference
car service firms; a 48 item scale was developed to measure service quality. Their analysis identified
the following dimensions:

Freelance Essay Writing Vacancies

Looking to become a writer?
Due to high demand for our services we're always looking for new writers. If you're interested in
becoming a freelance writer then why not read more about our freelance writer jobs.
Freelance Writing Jobs

Customer kindness (friendliness and willingness of front line staff to assist customer with problems)
Tangibles (physical evidence in the form of concrete characteristic of the service)
Faith (information about service process to inspire assurance)
They asserted that only customer kindness (which is in turn influenced by tangibles and faith) has a
direct influence on service quality with tangible and faith having indirect influence. They however
associated the difference of these dimension to the SERVQUAL to the inadequate analysis (p. 13).
Syed & Amiya (1994) identified five factors (using a 27 item measuring scale) in their examination of
services delivered by auto service companies using the SERVPERF methodology. They identified:
(1) perceived fairness of the facility and its personnel; (2) empathy; (3) responsiveness; (4) reliability;
and (5) convenience. They however emphasised that when a task was particularly complex and

customers could not understand it, perceived fairness was found to be significantly more important
than the other factors.
Brito et al., (2007) conducted a survey on customer's choice of car maintenance service provider
after the warranty with the dealer expires - to determine whether customers 1will stay with the dealer
or change to an independent garage. Using the SERVPERF methodology, a sample of 400 car
(economic) owners was drawn from Uberlandia, Brazil. Their analysis identified convenience and
value perception as new dimensions peculiar car maintenance providers in addition to the service
quality dimensions. They also found that customers' choice is influence by value for money, price
honesty (adherence to forecast prices) and mechanical reliability in favour of independent garages,
while the only factor that influences their choice for dealers is better equipments.
Berndt (2009) conducted a study within the South African automotive service industry to determine
service quality dimensions. Using a convenience sample of 761 respondents with car owners of
various brands, the following dimension where identified:
Customer-focused quality (organisation's contact and interaction with the customer)
Tangibles (customer perception of physical evidence)
Delivery quality (the way in which the core service is presented)
Communication quality (communication to customer about the work)
Customer care quality (showing care to customer about service arrangements)
The table below summarises the dimensions identified in the automotive service industry for over the
last two decades.
Table 2.1: Summary of Service Quality Dimensions in the Automotive Service Industry literature
These dimensions are very similar to the SERVQUAL dimensions for example better equipment
relates to tangibles (and in some way assurance), customer care, communication quality, customer
kindness, customer-focus quality, perceived fairness of the facility and its personnel relate to both
responsiveness and empathy dimensions, and delivery quality, mechanical reliability, and better
equipment relate to reliability and assurance. However, faith in service provider, price honesty, and
convenience are peculiar to the automotive servicing industry. This indicates that the SERVQUAL
dimensions (or similar) mostly come out of many service quality researches, further increasing the
popularity of the scale.
Effects of Customer Satisfaction on Behavioural Intentions
Several studies (Zeithaml et al., 1988; Anderson et al., 1994; Cronin et al., 2000; Saha and Theingi,
2009) have linked customer satisfaction to customer behavioural intentions. Fishbein and Ajzen
(1975) defined behavioural intentions as a customer's subjective likelihood of performing certain
behavioural act relative a business. These behavioural intentions when managed well can increase
a firm profitability and long term competitiveness.
Customer behavioural intentions include:

word-of-mouth (both positive and negative)

repurchase intention (repeat business)
feedback to the service provider (usually in a form of complaints or compliments)
Saha and Theingi (2009, pp. 354) have described word-of-mouth as
"...a flow of information about products, services, or companies from one customer to another. As
such, word-of-mouth represents a trusted external source of information by which customers can
evaluate a product or service".
The information is trusted because of the difficulty in trying out a service prior to purchase or
returning a service after experiencing it unlike products. Therefore customers usually depend on the
experience of others before buying a service (most of the time). The information shared could either
be encouraging (positive) or discouraging (negative) other customers from using a service or product
of the firm that being talked about. Goodman (2009) indicated that while satisfied customers tell on
average 5 other people, dissatisfied customer tell about 10 other people. Other researchers (Brown
et al., 2005; Babin et al., 2005; Saha and Theingi, 2009) have found a positive correlation between
customer satisfaction and word-of-mouth communication.

Struggling with your essay?

We can help!
We can help get your coursework back on track, take a look at our services to learn more about how
we can help.
Essay Writing Service Essay Marking Service Place an Order

Custom Written Work

Guaranteed on Time
Get The Grade You ordered
Plethora of studies (for example Jones and Suh, 2000; Bitner et al., 1990; Cronin and Taylor, 1992)
has linked customer satisfaction with repurchase intention of customer. For the purposes of this
study, only the first two customer behaviours will be investigated. The net promoter scale, and life
time value of a customer literature will be reviewed to enable a comprehensive understanding of
these areas.
The Net Promoter Scores (NPS)
The net promoter score was developed by Reichheld (2003) to measure the link between customer
referral behaviour and company growth (and profitability). The basis for this metrics is that
satisfaction is not a good predictor of company growth and that word-of-mouth by customers is the
ultimate determinant. He asserted that customers only recommend you if they are intensely loyal
and put their reputation on the line when they do so. It is calculated by first, asking the one question,

"how likely it is that you would recommend our company to a friend or colleague?" Customer are
asked to rate their response on a scale of 0 - 10 (where, 0 = very unlikely and 10 = very likely).
Customers with response 9 and 10 are called "promoters", those with 7 and 8 are "passively
satisfied" while those with 0 - 6 are called "detractors". The net promoter is the difference between
the percentage promoters and percentage detractors (i.e. NPS = %P - %D) and called it "the one
number you need to grow" (p.54). Evidence from a study conducted by Satmetrix over two year
(2001 and 2002) on over 50 companies from different industries was used to support this conclusion.
This assertion has sparked a debate in both academia and the business world. However, it has been
widely accepted by the business world because it is simple to conduct and easy to measure and
interpret (Reichheld, 2006c).
Some studies (Marketing Week, 2006; Reichheld, 2006c) on the validity of the net promote score
have confirmed the claim. However, a longitudinal study conducted by Keiningham et al. (2007)
using telephone interview with about 16,000 in 21 firms indicated that the NPS did not show superior
results when compared with ACSI. This metric will be used in this study to determine customer
referral; however, its effect on company growth will not be investigated.
Life Value of Customers
This is described as the future cash inflows expected from the continuous relationship with
customers (Reichheld, 2003). Several studies (Goodman, 2009; Reichheld and Sasser, 1990;
Heskett et al., 1997) have link customer satisfaction to how willing customer are to stay with a
service company. Reichheld and Sasser (1990) in their Harvard Review article suggested that the
only way service companies can make profit over the long term is to satisfy customer such that they
are willing to stay with the company over a long period of time.
Unlike scrap for manufacturing companies which is described as product defects (from standard
output), Reichheld and Sasser (1990) described service scrap as customer defection from a
company. They asserted that customer defection may affect profitability, market share, unit costs of
services and other factors related to competiveness. And that keeping customers makes companies
more profitable over time, saying "...as a customer's relationship with a company lengthens, profits
rise" (p. 105).
Through their study of over 100 companies across industries (for example, auto services, credit
card, laundry services, etc.), they suggested that the longer a customer stays with a company the
more profit that it generated from such customer (depending on the industry), as shown in the figure
below.
Figure 2.7: Customers' Profitability over time (Reichheld and Sasser, 1990)
The figure above summarises the overall benefits that companies gain through customer loyalty.
Loyal customer will buy more of a company's services as they stay, the company incurs less
marketing expenditure related to these customer as well word-of-mouth communication by them and
they are also more willing to pay higher for the service. For an automotive services, satisfied
customers may return to the same provider for their future services, buy more products (in terms of
new or used cars) as their income and status increases, tell friends and family about the company

and are less price sensitive because customer trust the service provider and are willing to pay more.
This is especially true for automotive services (with credence qualities) where is very difficult for
customers to evaluate the service delivered and are more likely to stay with a company with higher
perceived trust.

This essay is an example of a student's work

Disclaimer
This essay has been submitted to us by a student. This is not an example of the work written by our
professional essay writers.
Who wrote this essay Request removal Example Essays

Effects Customer satisfaction on Customer Loyalty

According to a study done by Xerox (cited in Heskett et al., 1997), customers who are very satisfied
with the services of firm are 100% more loyal than extremely dissatisfied customers. The term
"apostle" was used to describe very loyal customers because the positive word-of-mouth they
spread on behalf of the company. On the other hand, extremely dissatisfied customer were called
"terrorist" due to their likelihood to spread negative word-of-mouth about the company with a
devastating consequence as this spreads faster than positive recommendations. This assertion is
illustrated by the figure below.
Figure 2.8: Customer satisfaction and loyalty (Heskett et al., 1997)
The zone of defection indicated by the red shaded triangle includes dissatisfied customer (1-3) and
their likelihood to change a service provider. The zone of indifference (4 and 5) shows both satisfied
customers' intentions to either stay with the company or change another provider. The zone of
affection shows the loyalty and referral intentions of very satisfied customers - they are more
satisfied and willing to recommend it to friends or family. The figure shows that satisfaction has a
direct effect on customers' behavioural intentions - both repeat business and referral. And therefore,
service companies should concentrate efforts in moving customers from terrorists to apostles for
high profitability.

Read more: http://www.ukessays.com/essays/marketing/models-and-theories-of-customersatisfaction-marketing-essay.php#ixzz3ZNoRjXgY

Loyalty of a firms customer has been recognised as the dominant factor in a business organizations success. This
study helps us extend our understanding of the relationship between customer loyalty, customer satisfaction, and
image. This is of considerable interest to both practitioners and academics in the field of hospitality management. The
objective of this research is to identify the factors of image and customer satisfaction that are positively related to
customer loyalty in the hotel industry. Using data collected from chain hotels in New Zealand, the findings indicate
that hotel image and customer satisfaction with the performance of housekeeping, reception, food and beverage, and
price are positively correlated to customer loyalty.

Customer Satisfaction in the Hospitality Industry

by Lynda Moultry Belcher, Demand Media

Customer satisfaction is an important facet of the hospitality industry.

Related Articles

Customer Satisfaction in the Wine Industry

How to Improve Customer Satisfaction in Industrial Relations in an Organization
Ways the Media Has Impacted the Hospitality Industry
Customer Service Training in the Catering & Hospitality Industry
Customer Satisfaction Tips for the Service Industry
Three Categories of the Hospitality Industry

If there's any place where customers are likely to be paying attention to the type of service
they receive, it's within the hospitality industry. From restaurants to hotels and everything in
between, your job as a hospitality service provider is to maintain customer happiness and
satisfaction. Keep your customers at the forefront of your operational plans to hold your
hospitality business afloat.
Ads by Google

Start Download
Convert Any File to a PDF - Word, Jpeg, Gif, Rtf - Free Download!

www.fromdoctopdf.com

Customer Expectations
Gone are the days when customers were happy just receiving "please" and "thank you" or
getting service with a smile. Although those go into the recipe for proper etiquette, it's just
not enough. Satisfied customers are looking for a memorable experience and dynamic
service where it counts. From receiving quick service to bending the standard practices -such as extending a guest check-out in a hotel or customizing a menu item in a restaurant -customers want to feel as if their business is appreciated. To be on the receiving end of
customers' satisfactory ratings in surveys and among their network, anticipate their needs
and be able to have your staff deliver accordingly.

Deliver On Promise
One key factor in keeping your guests engaged and coming back is to deliver as you
promise. From being consistent to making sure they get the same awesome service to doing
what you say you will do, don't drop the ball when it comes to what you say you'll offer.
Customers are more likely to get frustrated when you reel them in on a big promise such as
special services or premium products and it's not the case. Avoid saying that you are luxury
if your services are mediocre or in developing gimmicks that excite customers only to
disappoint them throughout the process of working with you.
Related Reading: Three Categories of the Hospitality Industry

Customer Loyalty
Happy customers are loyal customers. Not only is it important for you to provide stellar
service, but awesome products as well. Make it a point to be on the fast track for keeping up
with trends that your customers may follow such as building personal assistance services for
traveling customers or making special concessions for avid repeat consumers. Be sure you
have items on hand so when your customer needs you and your products, everything's
available. A customer who has to continuously wait for you to do your part may grow tired,

no matter how loyal, and venture off to your competition. Keep customers loyal by focusing
on them at all times.

Let Them Vent

Give your customers an outlet for telling you about poor experiences. When you have
customers who have had a negative experience, make it easy and clear for them to not only
tell you about it but get it off their chest to you and not someone else. Don't patronize
customers when they are disgruntled by shooing them off with little to no plans for recourse.
Make it a point to correct issues that went wrong and look into those that could stand some
improvement. Capture communication methods for keeping in contact with your customers
so that you can alert them when changes and improvements occur.
Ads by Google

Customers Health and Safety certification for Hospitality Industry, Hotels,

Tourists Clubs premises & Stadiums, Public Events Organizers, Festival
premises
In December 2014, a New International Standard for Hospitality premises, massive gatherings
organizers and hotels certification was published with copyright by Swiss Approval.
Tourism is one of the most important sectors of the world economy. Hotels are a significant part of the
hospitality business and, therefore, healthcare assurance considerations have increasingly become
integral to the success of a hotel enterprise.
Massive events of wide attendance, likewise, require dedicated first aid, medical, and other healthrelated services at a higher rate than usual baseline first aid services for public events.

HSTAR I- Blue Service certificate is a seal of trust for any hosting facility ensuring
acute response to medical conditions and acute healthcare needs of its guests.

HSTAR I- Blue Service certification, is a worldwide exclusivity of Swiss Approval

International, providing a Safety Passport to the Hospitality sector in order to
penetrate the International Tourism market.

Hotels Certification for Health Tourists Hospitality

Certification of Hospitality services pertaining to Health/ Medical Tourists management is one of Swiss
Approval International high end certification programs, published in January 2015. This specific set of
criteria for hotels, has integrated quality standards, international best practice and safety principles for
Medical Tourism Friendly Hotels (MTFH), the so called Blue Service for Excellence of Hotels.
This innovative worldwide Standard, is aiming at the effective and highly qualitative management of
health and medical tourists in touristic accommodation premises.

HSTAR II- Blue Service for Excellence certification is a worldwide exclusivity of

Swiss Approval International, providing a unique competitive advantage in Health
Tourism market and a seal of trust in the niche segment of Medical Tourism.
HSTAR II increase RELIABILITY and TRUST in hospitality services, that they:

Effectively Serve sensitive guests with chronic diseases, ensuring functional conditions
for guests with regular health needs or increased safety concerns

Safely accommodate Medical Tourists and/or International Patients at their premises.

Since 2007, our experts implement the new classification system for Hotels and Pansions - Rooms
to let, on behalf of National Authorities and a strong experience has been acquired in terms of hospitality
premises classification, aiming at an international qualification and approval, related to the level of
services delivered by the Hospitality enterprise.
Swiss Approval classification and certification for Hospitality premises, is following the existing National,
International or Clubs quality requirements systems, giving the Stamp of conformity and reliability for the
hospitality services being delivered.

Hotels Star classification by Swiss Approval International, guarantees transparent,

objective and qualified assessment of the Hospitality sector and undisputable
positioning of the hotels services.

As the tourism industry continues to grow at a rapid scale, its multifaceted relationship with the
environment and host communities is becoming increasingly evident. Although consumer awareness is
rising, there is a lack of understanding of what sustainable tourism means.
Swiss Approval International brings on the certification table the New Approach for Tourism Industry, as
stated by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), in order to contribute to the clarity regarding
ambiguity surrounding the potential threats that tourism can have on the environment, culture and
residents of tourist destinations, as well as exploring and encouraging the many opportunities to have a
positive impact, by addressing issues like poverty alleviation and cultural and natural preservation.
Swiss Approval International is a member of GSTC, actively demonstrating its commitment to the
principles of sustainability and green growth in tourism sector.
Travel is an imperative part of our society and has the potential to create positive transformations in the
communities and destinations that people visit. Tourism stimulates the local economy by generating jobs,
incentivizing local production and bringing in consumers and volunteers.
However, this progression can only be possible in the future with the support of Sustainable Tourism. As
the travel industry continues to grow, current travel practices are beginning to create negative impacts on
the environment and local communities. It is our obligation to strength all efforts to foster sustainable
tourism by developing the resources and training needed to encourage sustainable practices. In turn, this
creates a demand for sustainable products and services contributing in an alternative way of social and
economical development.

From satisfaction to delight: a model for the hotel industry

Article Options and Tools

View:

HTML
PDF
References (19)

Cited by (Crossref, 32)

Cited by (Scopus, 31)

Add to Marked List

Download Citation

Track Citations

Author(s):
Edwin N. Torres (Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Purdue University, West Lafayette,
Indiana, USA)
Sheryl Kline (Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Purdue University, West Lafayette,
Indiana, USA)
Citation:
Edwin N. Torres, Sheryl Kline, (2006) "From satisfaction to delight: a model for the hotel
industry",International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 18 Iss: 4, pp.290 - 301
DOI
http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/09596110610665302
Downloads:
The fulltext of this document has been downloaded 8243 times since 2006
Abstract:
Purpose
This article seeks to develop a managerial model that will aid in the effective management of customer
relations. This study explains in detail the concepts of satisfaction and delight; their antecedents and
potential outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
An extensive review of existing customer delight literature reveals the key concepts necessary for
customer delight to occur.
Findings
Customer delight is a better measure of customer relationship management than customer satisfaction.
Delight is likely to generate positive business results such as wordofmouth communications, loyalty and
increased profitability. Using existing literature a model is developed.

Practical implications
The proposed model can be used by managers to achieve customer delight in their organizations. It can
also be used to gain a better understanding of the process of managing customer relations.

Originality/value
In the last few years the concept of customer delight has been taking precedence over the concept of
satisfaction. Despite such emphasis, there are few published articles relating to this topic in the hotel
industry. The study uses customer delight literature from various industries and attempts to apply such
knowledge to the hospitality industry.

Keywords:
Customer satisfaction, Customer relations, Hotels, Human resource management, Customer service
management
Type:
Conceptual paper

From customer satisfaction to customer delight: Creating a new standard of service for the hotel
industry
Article Options and Tools

View:

HTML
PDF
References (36)
Cited by (Crossref, 10)

Cited by (Scopus, 7)

Add to Marked List

Download Citation

Track Citations

Author(s):
Edwin N. Torres (Rosen College of Hospitality Management, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida,
USA)

Sheryl Kline (Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware,
USA)
Citation:
Edwin N. Torres, Sheryl Kline, (2013) "From customer satisfaction to customer delight: Creating a new
standard of service for the hotel industry", International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management,
Vol. 25 Iss: 5, pp.642 - 659
DOI
http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-Dec-2011-0228
Downloads:
The fulltext of this document has been downloaded 5239 times since 2013
Abstract:
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a typology of customer delight in the hotel industry. By doing so, it
identifies patterns by which hotels delight their guests. The paper explores the Torres and Kline model in
light of the data and proposes an addition to the model.

Design/methodology/approach
Content analysis is utilized to analyze letters of customer feedback provided by several hotels. A codebook
was created, letters were coded by two raters and interrater reliability was calculated.

Findings
The most frequently mentioned codes included: taking care of the guest's needs, exceptional friendliness,
professionalism of staff, employees going outside of the call of duty and problemsolving skills. Based on
this information the authors propose the following delight types: fulfillment delight, charismatic delight,
professional delight, comparative delight, problem resolution delight. It was also found that the culture of an
organization has an impact on the type of delight that is most prevalent.

Practical implications
The research conducted helps hotel operators to identify the behaviors and actions that lead their guests
to be delighted. By knowing this information, appropriate steps can be taken in the selection and
development of staff that will lead towards greater customer engagement.

Originality/value
In the hospitality literature, much information exists on what to do to correct negative service experiences.
However, a relatively smaller number of articles highlight how to create great service experiences for the
guests. This article provides a theoretically sound and practically useful framework to delight hotel guests in
the hotel industry.

Keywords:
Hospitality management, Hotels, Customer satisfaction, Customer delight, Hotel operations, Content
analysis
Type:
Research paper
Publisher:
Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Global Journal of Management and Business Studies. ISSN 2248-9878 Volume 3,

Number 5 (2013), pp. 545-548 Research India Publications
http://www.ripublication.com/gjmbs.htm From Customer Satisfaction to Customer
Delight: A New Trend in Hospitality Industry Gaurav Purohit1 and Divya Purohit2 1
International Institute of Professional Studies, Devi Ahilya University Khandwa Road,
Indore, India. 2 Institute of Management Studies, Devi Ahiliya University Khandwa
Road, Indore, India. Abstract Hospitality industry is an ever growing industry; this is
supported by the inflow of tourists figures from different parts of the world. This
industry is extremely competitive as many trend setting hotels have made their
entry in different parts of the world, thanks to the concept of globalization. This
amount of competition does not allow any organization in the industry to be
satisfied simply with customer satisfaction and this has been replaced with the
more vibrant concept of customer delight. This paper elaborates on how the
hospitality industry has moved over the period of time and is struck with the
concept of customer delight. Delight has its impact on the firms financial
statements as well, because it directly leads to customer loyalty. Customer loyalty is
the outcome of customer delight and customer loyalty is the need of every firm for
its successful operation. Hospitality industry is growing exponentially with the rate
of 8% plus and therefore its imperative for every firm not just to generate new
customers but also to retain them. Customer delight if maintained for a
considerable period leads to the generation of goodwill which in turn increases the
Brand value of the firm in hospitality industry. Keywords: Customer Delight,
Customer Satisfaction ,Customer Loyalty and Hospitality Industry. 546 Gaurav
Purohit et al 1. Introduction Customer satisfaction is the perception of the customers
towards the performance of the firm, based on the expectation and the perception
gap the firm can analyse the degree of variation required to satisfy the customers in
terms of the services. Hence it can be accepted as a parameter for improving the
performance of the firm. But the current scenario does not just demand a parameter
for measurement of the performance but requires a little more effort from the side
of the managers and the firm itself. This is validated by the fact that most of the
firms are in the constant business of strategizing to stand at an edge over their
competitors. Market scanning and screening is and essential tool for assessing
where one stands in the race. But those who actually understand the trend have

realized that market has moved far ahead of the time where concepts like customer
satisfaction were used. To delight guests, one must depart from the confines of
hotel lobbies and rooms and take a journey into the minds of guests. With most of
the firms stricking the bear minimum level of satisfaction one needs to give
something extra to the customers, something more than just what is expected. That
little extra brings in the delight factor. Delight determines the amount of extra
efforts taken by the firms. Customer delight involves going beyond satisfaction to
delivering what can be best described as a pleasurable experience for the client.
Patterson (1997). Delight therefore entails a stronger emotion and a different
physiological state than satisfaction. As far as the hospitality industry of the world is
concerned there are a specific standards meant to be maintained by the firms that
desire to be in a certain cadre in the industry. Therefore there would not be any
difference if the firms stick to those bear minimum standards. The need is to
challenge ones own performance and improve it with constant efforts. Customer
delight has to be the prime aim of the hospitality firms . Hospitality industry as such
is known for its direct link with customers and its a known fact that this is the only
industry to refer to them as the guests not the customers or the clients. With this
distinction one can just not do without treating them as god .The valued association
with these guests can not just fetch more customers but also generate a word of
mouth publicity useful for the enhancement of the firms business. The customer
delight is the primary factor responsible for the generation of customer loyalty
factor, because the delighted customers only become the loyal ones. In the
hospitality industry interest in the subject of customer delight has recently emerged
(Torres and Kline, 2006; Crotts and Magnini, 2010; Magnini et al., 2011). The
hospitality industry has evolved as the primary industry of the world for the fact
that it assists the second largest industry and that is the tourism industry. With the
concepts like the sustainable tourism and eco tourism the hospitality industry has
also been give new avenues for growth. The concept of globalisation which allows
an equal opportunity to all the firms in the world to share a common platform ,
makes it even more indispensable for the firms to satisfy the end users to an extent
that they become delighted and then loyal in future . this approach also back up the
financial health of the firm which is bound to improve for the simple reason not
enough resources will be used in developing new customers . From Customer
Satisfaction to Customer Delight: A New Trend in Hospitality 547 The customer
loyalty works on the construct of: Generating a wow reaction Delivery of
unexpected results Personal touch feeling Makes the customer feel valued
Appear genuine First contact point Unexpected positive service brings in a feeling
which is magnificent and can be termed as wow. In this course of action, many
activities are involved like a proper ambience , greetings, welcome, staff
behaviour ,security etc. but many a times it could be brought by a simple gesture of
appeasing them , by sending a subtle message through services- that you are
important! Personal touch feeling is when guest gets to know that he is being
treated as the king on an individual basis. When you value someone you would

never want to miss an opportunity to make him feel important and that is how the
guest in hospitality should be treated and this could be a delight factor. Of course
not every demand can be met therefore it is the responsibility of the service
provider to make an attempt to explain how interested he is in sorting out the
problem area and meet the demand there after. To be genuine, try to associate with
the guest by sharing a common platform and reporting exactly what can be
delivered . There are special efforts taken on the part of the people from the
industry to make the first impression on the guest because this is what will stay on
with him forever. 2. Conclusion Hospitality industry rests on the concept of
delivering the best service possible to the guest or the client and if they fail to
attempt, there can be serious implications because most of the market players have
risen above the concept of satisfaction and are adamant in delivering services that
may surprise the guest and bring about a feeling that he may live up with for a
longer period. This length of the period will determine whether the customer would
be loyal or not. There are several big wheels in the market and their presence has
made it mandatory for every player or firm to be exceptionally efficient in service
performance. If the customer is delighted and contended he would even be loyal to
the firm in a longer course. This concept of customer loyalty is the outcome of
customer delight. Reference [1] Bowen, J.T.(1997) "A market-driven approach to
business development and service improvement in the hospitality industry",
International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 9 Iss: 7, pp.334
344. 548 Gaurav Purohit et al [2] Kandampully, J.(2006) "The new customercentred business model for the hospitality industry", International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 18 Iss: 3, pp.173 187. [3] Magnini, V.,
Crotts, J. and Zehrer, A. (2010),(a) Identifying drivers of customer delight through
travel blog analysis, Journal of Travel Research, Vol. 49 No. 2, pp. 153-164. [4]
Magnini, V., Crotts, J. and Zehrer, A. (2011),(b) Understanding customer delight: an
application of travel blog analysis, Journal of Travel Research, Vol. 50 No. 5, pp.
535-545. [5] Patterson, K. (1997), Delighted clients are loyal clients, Rough Notes,
Vol. 140 No. 3, pp. 221-34. [6] Torres, E. and Kline, S.F. (2006), From customer
satisfaction to delight: a model for the hotel industry, International Journ

Quality function deployment: An extended framework for

service quality and customer satisfaction in the hospitality
industry

Miyoung Jeonga1, ,
Haemoon Oha2
Show more

Choose an option to locate/access this article:

Check if you have access through your login credentials or your institution
Check access
Purchase $39.95

doi:10.1016/S0278-4319(98)00024-3
Get rights and content

Abstract
Research on service quality and customer satisfaction has become significant in the
hospitality industry. Nonetheless, most previously proposed or introduced research
paradigms have focused exclusively on customers without equally emphasizing the intraorganizational service generation and delivery processes. In contrast, this study considers
both external and internal service management issues and subsequent service innovations
based on the framework of Quality Function Deployment (QFD). QFD and its relationship to
similar concepts are explained. Next, this study provides an overview of the QFD process
and develops a hypothetical application in the lodging industry in order to illustrate future
application and analysis strategies. Some benefits and disadvantages of the QFD process
are discussed as compared to extant service quality and customer satisfaction paradigms.
Finally, suggestions and directions are offered for future applications, with particular interest
in hospitality-specific service management issues.

Keywords

Quality function deployment or QFD;

Customer satisfaction;
Service process;
Service innovations;
Service design;
Service quality
Corresponding author. Tel.: 001 814 234 9799; fax: 001 814 863 4257; e-mail:
mxj116@psu.edu.
Copyright 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Miyoung Jeong is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the School of Hotel, Restaurant, and
Recreation Management at the Pennsylvania State University. Her major area of interest is
the applications and impact of information technology in the hospitality industry.

Haemoon Oh is an assistant professor in the Department of Hotel, Restaurant, and

Institution Management at the Iowa State University. He earned his doctoral degree in
hospitality marketing from the school of Hotel, Restaurant, and Recreation Management at
the Pennsylvania State University. His major areas of research are service quality and
consumer satisfaction.

Customer satisfaction with services: putting perceived value into the equation
Article Options and Tools

View:

HTML
PDF
References (41)
Cited by (Crossref, 314)

Add to Marked List

Download Citation

Track Citations

Author(s):
Gordon H.G. McDougall (Professor of Marketing, School of Business and Economics, Wilfrid Laurier
University, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada)
Terrence Levesque (Professor of Economics, School of Business and Economics, Wilfrid Laurier University,
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada)
Citation:
Gordon H.G. McDougall, Terrence Levesque, (2000) "Customer satisfaction with services: putting perceived
value into the equation", Journal of Services Marketing, Vol. 14 Iss: 5, pp.392 - 410

DOI
http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/08876040010340937
Downloads:
The fulltext of this document has been downloaded 26250 times since 2006
Abstract:
This research investigated the relationship between three elements core service quality, relational service
quality and perceived value and customer satisfaction and future intentions across four services. The
results revealed that core service quality (the promise) and perceived value were the most important drivers
of customer satisfaction with relational service quality (the delivery) a significant but less important driver. A
direct link between customer satisfaction and future intentions was established. The relative importance of
the three drivers of satisfaction varied among services. Specifically, the importance of core service quality
and perceived value was reversed depending on the service. A major conclusion was that both perceived
value and service quality dimensions should be incorporated into customer satisfaction models to provide a
more complete picture of the drivers of satisfaction.
Keywords:
Services marketing, Consumer behaviour, Customer satisfaction, Value, Customer loyalty
Type:
Research paper
Publisher:
MCB UP Ltd

Most Read

Most Cited

Related
The most popular articles from this title:

Last Year

Last 7 Days

The relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction a factor specific approach

Beyond loyalty: customer satisfaction, loyalty, and fortitude

Customer satisfaction with services: putting perceived value into the equation

The relationship between employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction

Developing an integrated vision of customer value

See More

Share

Share on linkedinShare on facebookShare on twitterShare on google_plusone_shareShare on emailMore

Sharing Services

Further Information

About the Journal

Sample Articles

Purchase Information

Editorial Team

Write for this journal

About Emerald

About us

Company information

Working for Emerald

Contact us

How to find us

Policies & Information

Cookie Policy

Privacy Policy

Copyright Policy

Industry Standards

Accessibility