A Research for Determining and Prioritising Critical Factors in Delivering Customer Satisfaction and Quality Services in Hospitality Industry
Author(s)
Atiya Parveen* (Lecturer of Marketing and Quality Management, College of Business Administration, Al Yamamah University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia), *Corresponding author's Email
Citation
Parveen, Atiya (2017), “A Research for Determining and Prioritising Critical Factors in Delivering Customer Satisfaction and Quality Services in Hospitality Industry”, MERC Global’s International Journal of Management, Vol. 5, Issue 1, pp. 29-45.
Article history
Submitted: November 10, 2016, Revision received: November 30, 2016, Accepted: December 13, 2016
Over the past few decades, the topic of service quality has been an important focus for practitioners, managers and researcher scholars due to its clear relation to customer loyalty, business performance, customer satisfaction and customer profitability. Quality Guru’s over the years have provided us with various definitions of Quality such as ‘zero defects’ and ‘fitness for use’. The hospitality industry makes use of all these definitions, including recognition of individual definitions. The hospitality industry is divided into three main branches: 1) accommodation: which includes but is not limited to hostels, hotels, inns, motels and destination spas, 2) restaurants and bars: which includes but is not limited to restaurants, cafes, bars and nightclubs, 3) travel and tourism: which includes but is not limited to airlines and travel agencies. This paper aims to focus on the accommodation and restaurant branches of the hospitality industry. Part one introduced the concept of ‘Gaps in an organisation’ and the 10 determinants of service quality and link it to the phases a customer goes through in order to purchase. Based on this concept, the quality improvement tool SERVQUAL has been made clearer to the reader in terms of its usability. Moreover, SERVQUAL has been used in a live case and recommendations based on its score have been established. The SERVQUAL method has been used in an example of a hotel. Part two introduced the Quality Improvement tool known as ‘House of Quality’. The foundation behind its creation has been demonstrated along with the steps on how to implement it. Moreover, the House of Quality has been used in a live case and recommendations based on its findings have been established. The House of Quality has been used in an example of a restaurant.
Keywords
Quality services, Service quality dimensions, Customer satisfaction, Hospitality industry.
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