CHAPTER 1

1.1 INTRODUCTION

‘Quality’ in a service organization is a measure of the extent to which the service delivered meets
customer’s expectations because to the customer, quality is all about Meeting or exceeding their
expectation.

The National quality institute web site defined quality as follows:

In fact, quality can be achieved at all price levels – if the need and desires of the customers are
met, and exceeded.

The nature of most services is such that the customer is present in the delivery process. This
means that the perception of quality is influenced not only by the service outcome but also by ‘the
service processes. Reliance fresh is a store, which provides services to the customers. In this
project it is estimated that to what extent the quality service is by reliance fresh and what role does
the marketers play in delivering high quality goods and services to get the target customers. For
research work both primary and secondary data are used. Customer to know their perceptions and
belief fills questionnaire. Then in this report service quality model is explained which highlights
the gaps that cause unsuccessful delivery of service. On the basis of this model five determinants
of service quality are- Reliability, Responsiveness, Assurance, empathy, tangibles.
1.2 SERVICE QUALITY MODEL

The model highlights the main requirements for delivering service quality.

It identifies five gaps that cause unsuccessful delivery.

1). Gap between consumer expectation and management perception.

2). Gap between management perception and service quality specification.

3). Gap between service quality specification and service delivery.

4). Gap between service delivery and perceived service.

5). Gap between perceived service and external communication.

1). RELIABILITY- The ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately.

2). RESPONSIVENESS- The willingness to help customers and to provide prompt service.

3). ASSURANCE – The knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to convert trust
and confidence.

4). EMPATHY – The provision of caring individualized attention to customers.

5). TANGIBLES – The appearance of physical facilities, equipment, personnel, and

communication materials.
1.3 What is customer Satisfaction?

Customer satisfaction, a business term, is a measure of how products and services supplied by a
company meet or surpass customer expectation. It is seen as a key performance indicator within
business and is part of the four perspective of a balanced Scorecard.

In a competitive marketplace where businesses compete for customers, customer satisfaction is

seen as a key differentiator and increasingly has become a key element of business strategy.

1.4 MEASURING CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

Organization are increasingly interested in retaining existing customer while targeting non
customers; measuring customer satisfaction provides an indication of how successful the
organization is at providing products and /or services to the marketplace.

Customer satisfaction is an ambiguous and abstract concept and the actual manifestation of the
state of satisfaction will vary from person to person and product/service to product/service. The
state of satisfaction depended on a number of both psychological and physical variable, which
correlate with satisfaction behaviors such as return and recommend rate. The level of satisfaction
can also vary depending on other options the customer may have and other products against which
the customer can compare the organization’s products.

Because satisfaction is basically a psychological sate care should be taken in the effort of
quantitative measurement although a large equality of research in this area has

recently been developed. Work done by Berry (Bart Allen) and Brooder between 1990 and 1998
defined ten ‘Quality values which influence satisfaction behavior, further expanded by berry in
2002 and known as the ten domains of satisfaction. These ten domains of satisfaction include:
Quality value, Timeliness, Ease of access, Environment, inter- departmental Teamwork, Front
Line service behavior commitment to the customer and innovation. These factors are emphasized
for continuous improvement and organizational change measurement and are most often utilized to
develop the architecture for satisfaction measurement as an integrated model.

Work done by Parasuraman,, zeithmal and Berry (Leonard L) between 1985 and 1988 provides the
basis for the measurement of customer satisfaction with a service by using the gap between the
customers’ expectation of performance and their perceived experience of performance. This
provides the measure with a satisfaction “gap” which is objective and quantitative in nature. Work
done by Cronin and Taylor propose the “confirmation” / disconfirmation theory of combining the
“gap” described by parasuraman, Zenithal and Berry as two different measures into a single
measurement of performance according to expectation. According to Garbrand, customer
satisfaction equals perception of performance divided by expectation of performance.
1.5 COMPANY PROFILE
Reliance Retail

Type Supermarket

Founded 30 October 2006

Headquarters Mumbai, India

Mukesh Ambani,
Key people
CEO

Industry Retail

Website www.ril.com

Reliance Fresh is the convenience store format which forms part of the retail business of Reliance
Industries of India which is headed by Mukesh Ambani. Reliance plans to invest in excess of Rs.
25000 crores in the next 4 years in their retail division. The company already has in excess of 560
reliance fresh outlets across the country. These stores sell fresh fruits and vegetables, staples,
groceries, fresh juice bars and dairy products.A typical Reliance Fresh store is approximately
3000-4000 square. Feet and caters to a catchment area of 1-2 km.Giant Corporation like walmat
and reliance has started to try and take over the Indian retail sector. The entry of the giant
corporate retails in India’s food market will have direct impact on India’s 650 million farmers and
40 million people employed in tiny retail. More than 6600 mega stores planned with Rs. 40,000 by
2019.
1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The service provider takes responsibility for delivering, operating and/or maintaining customer or
service assets at specified levels of warranty, under a service agreement

Service Validation and Testing can be applied throughout the service lifecycle to quality assure
any aspect of a service and the service providers capability, resources and capacity to deliver a
service and/or service release successfully.

Testing is equally applicable to in-house or developed services, hardware, software or knowledge-

based services.

Testing directly supports the release and deployment process by ensuring that appropriate levels of
testing are performed during the release, build and deployment activities.

If evaluates the detailed service models to ensure that they are fit for purpose and fit for use before
being authorized to enter Service Operations, through the service catalogue.

The output from testing is used by the evaluation process to provide the information on whether
the service is independently judged to be delivering the service performance with an acceptable
risk profile.

1.7 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

❖ To know the level of service quality delivery of reliance fresh

❖ To know the customers satisfaction with reliance fresh.

❖ To suggest suitable strategies for upgrading the performance of store.

❖ To know about the customer retention.

❖ To find out the impact of the strategies on the daily business activities in the store.

❖ To analyze the effect of customer retention strategies on the performance of the

employees, top management, sales of the divisions, merchandise turnover etc.
1.8 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

• Converting service quality scale with respect to Indian scenario.

• Testing reliability and validity for all the variables included in the study.

• Secondary data taken from websites and documents, which may not be correct or
manipulated/distorted by someone.
• Every respondent don’t have uniform interest during answering of questionnaire.
• The number of camera installed to control theft is not sufficient.
• The staffs are not given training time to time as a result their efficiency of the work is not very
high.
 CHAPTER 2

2.1 REVIEW OF LITERATURE

History

Post launch, in a dramatic shift in its positioning and mainly due to the circumstances prevaling in
UP, West Bengal and Orissa, it was mentioned recently in news Dailies that, Reliance Retail is
moving out of stocking fruits and vegetables. Reliance Retail has decided to minimise its exposure
in the fruit and vegetable business and position Reliance Fresh as a pure play super market
focusing on categories like food, FMCG, home, consumer durables, IT and wellness, with food
accounting for the bulk of the business.

The company may not stock fruit and vegetables in some states. Though Reliance Fresh is not
exiting the fruit and vegetable business altogether, it has decided not to compete with local
vendors partly due to political reasons, and partly due to its inability to create a robust supply
chain. This is quite different from what the firm had originally planned.

When the first Reliance Fresh store opened in Hyderabad last October, not only did the company
said the store’s main focus would be fresh produce like fruits and vegetables at a much lower
price, but also spoke at length about its “farm-to-fork’’ theory. The idea the company spoke about
was to source from farmers and sell directly to the consumer removing middlemen out of the way.

Reliance Fresh, Reliance Mart, Reliance Digital, Reliance Trendz, Reliance Footprint, Reliance
Wellness, Reliance Jewels, Reliance Timeout and Reliance Super are various formats that
Reliance has rolled out.

In addition, Reliance Retail has entered into an alliance with Apple for setting up a chain of Apple
Specialty Stores branded as iStore, starting with Bangalore.

Controversy

Recently their stores in Jharkand faced the ire of mobs comprising of local vegetable vendors.
They vandalised and attacked the stores claiming that they were stealing their livelihoods

In August 2007, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati ordered to close 10 new stores keeping
view of Law & order situation. In November 2007, Reliance Fresh stores are attacked by
Bharatiya Janshakti Party supporters headed by Uma Bharti.

‘Suicide’ squad against Reliance Fresh outlets

Bhubaneswar: Traders and roadside vendors opposing the opening of Reliance Fresh outlets in
Orissa on Saturday formed a “suicide” squad.
“As many as 100 youth today joined the squad as they prefer to die while fighting rather than
facing starvation,” All-Orissa Roadside Vendors and Small Shop Owners Association president
Pratap Sahu said.

Reports said the vendors formed the squad soon after a meeting PTI

But some vegetable vendors don't want a job at Reliance, if offered one, because they want to be
their own boss.
2.2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research methodology is a way to systematically solve the research problem. It may be

understood as a science of studying how research is done scientifically. In it we study the various
steps that are generally adopted by a researcher in studying his research problem along with the
logic behind them.

TYPE OF RESEARCH-
Descriptive research:

In this project descriptive type of research is done. It includes surveys and fact-findigs enquiries of
different kinds. The main purpose of descriptive research is description of the state of affairs, as it
exists at present.

The main characteristics of this method are that the researcher has no control over the variables.
He can only report what has happened or what is happening.

Research design-
Research design is the conceptual structure within which research is conducted; it constitutes the
blueprint for the collection, measurement and analysis of data. AS such the design includes an
outline of what the researcher will do from writing the hypothesis and its operational implications
to the final analysis of data.

Important features of research design-

It is a plan that specifies the sources and types of information relevant to the research problem.
2.3 RESEARCH DESIGN

• NON-PROBABILITY

• EXPLORATORY &DISCRIPTIVE EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH

The research is primarily both exploratory as well as descriptive in nature. The sources of
information are both primary & secondary.

Primary Data:

Primary data is basically the live data which I collected on field while doing cold calls with the
Distributor and shopkeeper, customers, I shown them list of question for which I had required
their responses. In some cases I got no response form their side and than on the basis of my
previous experiences I filled those fields.

Source: Main source for the primary data for the project was questionnaires which I got filled by
the customers or some times filled myself on the basis of discussion with the customers.

Secondary Data:

1 Internet ,

2 Books ,

3 Journals ,

4 Newspaper,

5 Annual report,

6 Database available in the library,

7 Catalogues and presentations.

It is a strategy specifying which approach will be used for analysis and gathering and analysis of
the data. It also includes the time and cost budgets since most studies are done under these two
constraints.
2.4 SAMPLE AND NON-PROBABILITY SAMPLES

A sample is the unit, which is taken down from the population (universe), geographical age levels
and sorted down to perform the experiment or an event.

Sampling design is technique, which is used to draw any random sample from a given population
by statistical method.

Samples are of two types-

• Probability samples

• Non Probability samples

Probability samples are those based on simple random sampling, systematic sampling, stratified
sampling, cluster/area sampling.

Non-probability samples are those based on convenience sample, judgmental sampling and quota
sampling techniques.

1. Deliberate sampling-
Deliberate sampling is also known as purposive or non- probability sampling. This sampling
method involves purposive or deliberate selection of particular units of the universe for
constituting a sample, which represents the universe.

Convenience sampling-
When population elements are se4lected for inclusion in the sample based on the ease of access, it
can be called as convenience sampling.

Judgmental sampling-
In judgmental sampling the researcher’s judgment is used for selecting items, which he considers
as representative of the population. Judgmental sampling is used quite frequently in qualitative
research where the desire happens to be to develop hypothesis rather than to generalize to larger
populations.
2. Simple random sampling-
This type of sampling is also known as chance sampling or probability sampling where each and
every item in the population has an equal chance of inclusion in the sample.

3. Systematic Sampling-
In some instances the most practical way of sampling is to select every 15th name on a list, every
10th house on one side of street and so on. Sampling of this type is known as systematic sampling.
This procedure is useful when sampling frame is available in the form of a list.

4. Stratified Sampling -
If the population from which a sample is to be drawn does not constitute a homogeneous group,
then stratified sampling technique is applied so as to obtain representative sample.

In this technique, the population is stratified into a number of strata and sample items are selected
from each stratum.

5. Quota sampling:
In stratified sampling the cost of taking random samples from individual strata is often so
expensive that interviewers are simply given quota to be filled from different simply given quota
to be filled from different strata, the actual selection of items for sample being left to the
interviewer’s judgment. This is called quotas sampling.

6. Cluster sampling -
Cluster sampling involves grouping the population and then selecting the groups or the clusters
rather than individual elements for inclusions in the sample.

7. Area sampling –
Area sampling is talked about when the total geographical area of interest happens to be big one
under area sampling total area is divided into number of smaller non – overlapping areas, generally
called geographical clusters, then a numbers these smaller areas are randomly selected and all
units in these small areas are included in the sample.

For conducting the research non probability (convenience sampling method is used).
2.5 SAMPLE SIZE AND COLLECTING THE DATA
The sample size of 50 persons is used for the completion of research.

Collecting the data:

In dealing with any real life problem it is often found that date at hand are inadequate, and hence,
it becomes necessary to collect data that are appropriate. There are several ways of collecting the
appropriate data, which differ considerably in context of money costs, time and other resources at
the disposal of the researcher.

Primary data can be collected either through experiment or through survey. If the researcher
conducts an experiment, he observes some quantitative measurements, or the data. With the help
of which he examines the truth contained in his hypothesis. But in the case of a survey, any one or
more of the following ways can collect data:

1.By observation:
This method implies the collection of information by way of investigator’s own observation,
without interviewing the respondents. The information obtained relates to what is currently
happening and is not complicated by either the past behavior or future intentions or attitudes of
respondents. This method is no doubt an expensive method and the information provided by this
method is also very limited. As such this method is not suitable in inquiries where large samples
are concerned.

2.Through personal interview:

The investigator follows a rigid procedure and seeks answers to a set of pre-conceived questions
through personal interviews. This method of collecting date is usually carried out in a structured
way where output depends upon the ability of the interviewer to a large extent.

3.Through telephone interviews:

This method of collecting information’s involves contacting the respondents on telephone itself.
This is not a very widely used method but it plays an important role in industrial surveys in
developed regions , particularly, when the survey has to be accomplished in a very limited time.

4.Questionnaires:
The researcher and the respondent do come in contact with each other if this method of survey is
adopted. Questionnaires are mailed to the respondents with a request to return after complaining
the same. It is the most extensively used method in various economic and business surveys. Before
applying this method, usually a pilot study for testing the questionnaire is conduced which reveals
the weaknesses, if any, of the questionnaire, Questionnaire to be used must be prepared very
carefully so that it may prove to be effective in collecting the relevant information.

5. Through schedules:
Under this method the enumerators are appointed and given training. They are provided with
schedules containing relevant questions. These enumerators go to respondents with these
schedules. Data are collected by filling up the schedules by enumerators on the basis of replies
given by respondents. Much depends upon the capability of enumerators so fare as this method is
concerned. Some occasional field checks on the work of the enumerators may ensure sincere work.

The researcher should select one of these methods of collecting the

data taking into consideration the nature of investigation, objective and scope of the inquiry,
financial resources, available time and the desired degree of accuracy. Though he should pay
attention to al l these factors but much depends upon the ability and experience of the researcher.
IN this context Dr. A.L Bowley very aptly remarks that in collection of statistical data
commonsense it ht chief requisite and experience the chief teacher.
 CHAPTER 4

4.1 SUGGESTIONS
1) The supermarkets Reliance Fresh and Food Bazaar should get into improving on the Personal
Interaction and Reliability dimensions. These supermarkets should maintain merchandise when the
customers are in need of them accompanied by error-free sales transactions and records.
Moreover, these supermarkets should perform the services right the first time.

2)Employees in these supermarkets should be trained to have proper knowledge while answering
the queries posed by the customers so that their behaviour instills confidence among customers.

3) FoodWorld and Reliance fresh should improve in the areas of Supermarket’s Policy. These
supermarkets should have more convenient operating hours, ample parking space for the vehicles
of the customers, the willingness of the stores in handling returns, facilities of accepting all major
credit cards/ debit cards etc.

4) Food Bazaar should also get into better Value Added Services like free-home delivery services.
And even, the arrangement of the products in stores can be improved which helps the customers in
finding them easily. Along with that, Food Bazaar should improve on the dimension, Assurance.

5) It has to accept all the payment methods like cash, credit cards, debit cards, food coupons like
Sodexo passes, there should be clear and detailed information on the bills of the purchases, same
checkout and shelf prices, les waiting times in the checkout counters etc. 256

6) Reliance Fresh and More.for you should improve on the quality of the products sold in their
outlets.
 CHAPTER 5

5.1 CONCLUSION

The project was very satisfying experience for me, not only practically and academically but it
also helped me in developing my communication skill and enriched my knowledge also.

In short, it can be concluded that RELIANCE FRESH is a store, owned by Mr. Mukesh Ambani
provides quality services to the customers and customers are highly satisfied. The study shows that
more number of customers is visiting the trendy supermarkets of-late. We are also witnessing a
large number of retailers entering the market in different kinds of formats. This means that there
would be increase in the competition among the existing players as well as the new entrants in the
market. The best way to beat the competition by the existing players is to have a through
introspection into their marketing basics. Since retailing is part of service industry, the dimensions
of service quality can be a good guideline for the supermarkets to re-align their strategies towards
the ultimate consumers. It is the right time to employ some changes in their basics.