DETERMINING THE STRATEGIES USED TO ENHANCE CUSTOMER

SATISFACTION: A CASE STUDY OF PWANI UNIVERSITY RESOURCE

CENTRE.

BY

OGWEYO PETER OGALO

H12/PUC/0469/12

A Project Report Submitted to Pwani University, School of Humanities and Social sciences,

Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

for the Award of the Degree of Bachelor Science in Hospitality and Tourism Management.

May 2016

i

DECLARATION

Declaration by candidate

This Academic project report is my original work and has not been presented for a degree in any

other University.

Signature……………………………….. Date………………………………..

OGWEYO PETER OGALO

Registration number: H12/PUC/0469/12

Declaration by supervisor

This Academic project report has been submitted for review with my approval as University

supervisor.

Signature……………………………….. Date………………………………..

DR. PEPELA

Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management

ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to acknowledge all individuals who assisted me to complete this Academic project,

particularly my supervisor Dr. Pepela for technical guidance, assistance and support as well as

Ms Lusweti for consistent training and motivation on Project proposal and report writing. I

acknowledge the well-wishers and those who supported me morally like Reverend Mildred,

Nelson Mulama and Sharon Anahinga.To the Almighty God for grace, love, life and knowledge.

iii

DEDICATION

I dedicate this project to the Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Red Buffalo

restaurant employees, the family of Irene Akoth, the family of Dr Muruka, the family of Owuor

Serwa and God for the love and knowledge

iv

ABSTRACT

Customer satisfaction is a measure of how goods/products and services supplied by hospitality firm meet or surpass customer expectations. The key issue being investigating is the strategies used by small and medium enterprises were using in enhancing customer satisfaction. However customer satisfaction can be used to promote competitive advantage, profit maximization and increase production matching service quality to customer satisfaction challenges many firms particularly from quality of staff and service delivery which affect customer satisfaction directly. Furthermore the study had limited literature on guest houses. It was a mixed method approach and the research made use of a case study of Pwani University Resource Centre (Guest House) with the purpose of determining the strategies used enhance customer satisfaction. There were four specific objectives which were to find out how service delivery, communication, problem solving and quality of staff enhanced customer satisfaction. A case study research design was used to get data from the field. The method of primary data collection was through administering closed ended questionnaires. The questionnaires were drop and pick later. Secondary data were obtained from theses and journals. Non-probability sampling technique (convenient sampling) was applied on a sample size of 37 which included managers, employees and consumers. Data collected was analyzed using Microsoft Excel spread sheets .Information was presented by the use of graphs, tables and charts. The researchers found out that quality of staff and service delivery ,communication and problem has no significant statistical different which translated to accepting of null hypothesis .Therefore the investigated strategies enhance customer satisfaction at independent level as per the interpretation of ANOVA analysis on the variables. The researcher furthermore found that communication and problem solving were positively related and the chi square found that quality of staff and service had statistical significant difference. The study had implication to the hospitality decision makers and hospitality institutions where the adaptation of sustainable customers’ satisfactions strategies and their elements should be adopted. They should adopt the sustainable customer satisfaction model.

Key words: Service delivery, Quality of staff, Customer satisfaction, communication and problem solving.

Table of Contents

v

DECLARATION......................................................................................................................................... ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.......................................................................................................................... iii

DEDICATION............................................................................................................................................ iv

ABSTRACT................................................................................................................................................v

LIST OF TABLES.............................................................................................................................................x

LIST OF FIGURES..........................................................................................................................................xi

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS............................................................................................................................xii

1.0 INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................................................1

1.2 Background of the study....................................................................................................................1

1.3 Problem statement.............................................................................................................................2

1.4 Purpose of the study..........................................................................................................................3

1.5 Specific objectives.............................................................................................................................3

1.6 Hypotheses........................................................................................................................................3

1.7 Assumption of the study....................................................................................................................4

1.8 Significance of the study...................................................................................................................4

1.9 Justification.......................................................................................................................................4

1.10 Scope of the study............................................................................................................................5

1.11 Study limitations..............................................................................................................................5

1.13 Theoretical framework.....................................................................................................................5

1.14 Cognitive dissonance theory by Fetinger -1957...........................................................................5

1.15 Conceptual framework.....................................................................................................................6

1.16 Definition of operational terms........................................................................................................6

LITERATURE REVIEW............................................................................................................................7

2.0 Introduction.......................................................................................................................................7

2.1 Customer satisfaction........................................................................................................................8

2.2 Service delivery.................................................................................................................................8

2.3 Communication.................................................................................................................................9

2.4 Quality of staff...................................................................................................................................9

2.5 Problem solving...............................................................................................................................10

2.6 Customer orientation.......................................................................................................................10

2.7 Reward and recognition...................................................................................................................10

2.8 Monitoring customer satisfaction....................................................................................................11

vi

2.9 Summary of literature review..........................................................................................................11

Figure 2.0 source :own model: literature review gaps......................................................................11

Explanation of the model..................................................................................................................12

METHODOLOGY....................................................................................................................................13

3.0 Introduction.....................................................................................................................................13

3.1Research approach............................................................................................................................14

3.1.0 Research design............................................................................................................................14

3.2 Research variables...........................................................................................................................14

3.3 Locale of the study..........................................................................................................................14

3.4 Population of the study....................................................................................................................15

3.5 Sample technique.............................................................................................................................15

3.5.1 Sample size...................................................................................................................................15

Table 1.0............................................................................................................................................15

Table 2...............................................................................................................................................16

3.6 Research instrument........................................................................................................................16

3.6.1Questionnaires...........................................................................................................................16

3.7 Validity............................................................................................................................................16

3.8 Reliability........................................................................................................................................16

3.9 Pre-testing........................................................................................................................................16

3.10 Data collection...............................................................................................................................17

3.11 Data analysis..................................................................................................................................17

3.11 Ethical consideration.....................................................................................................................17

3.12 Data presentation...........................................................................................................................18

RESEARCH FINDING AND DISCUSSION...........................................................................................18

4.1.0 Introduction..................................................................................................................................18

4.1.1 Background information from employees.....................................................................................19

Table 3 Background information from employees.............................................................................19

4.1.2 Service quality aspects..................................................................................................................20

Figure3.0...............................................................................................................................................20

4.1.3 Importance of service quality........................................................................................................21

4.1.4 Importance of service quality to the organization and customers..................................................21

Figure 4.0 line graph on importance of service quality......................................................................21

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4.1.5 Employee training in Resource Centre..........................................................................................22

Table 4 Employee training and form used.........................................................................................22

4.1.6 Information in Resource Centre system........................................................................................22

Table 5 Customer information system in Human Resource Centre...................................................23

4.1.7 Demographic Information from customers...................................................................................23

Table 6 Demographic Information from customers.........................................................................23

4.1.8 Descriptive statistics on customer satisfaction strategies..............................................................25

Table 7.0 Aspects of strategies which contributed to customer satisfaction......................................25

4.1.9 Introduction to the description of the table 7.0.............................................................................26

4.1.9.1 Service delivery and customer satisfaction............................................................................26

4.1.9.2 Communication and customer satisfaction...........................................................................26

4.1.9.3 Quality of staff and customer satisfaction.............................................................................26

4.1.9.4 Problem solving and customer satisfaction...........................................................................26

4.1.10 Attributes that contributed most to customer satisfaction...........................................................27

Figure 5.0 attributes that contributed most to customer satisfaction..................................................27

4.1.11 Probability of staying back in the guest house............................................................................27

Figure 6.0 Possibility of staying back in the guest house...................................................................27

4.2.0 Data analysis.................................................................................................................................28

4.2.1 Service delivery and customer satisfaction...............................................................................28

4.2.2 Hypothesis1..............................................................................................................................28

Table 8.0 ANOVA table on service delivery and customer satisfaction............................................28

4.2.3 Communication and customer satisfaction................................................................................29

4.2.4 Hypothesis 2.............................................................................................................................29

Table 9.0 ANOVA on Communication and customer satisfaction....................................................29

4.2.5 Quality of staff and customer satisfaction.................................................................................30

4.2.6 Hypothesis 3.............................................................................................................................30

Table 10.0 ANOVA on Quality of staff and customer satisfaction....................................................30

4.2.7 Problem solving and customer satisfaction...............................................................................30

4.2.8 Hypothesis 4.............................................................................................................................31

Table 11.0 ANOVA analysis on Problem solving and customer satisfaction....................................31

4.2.9 Determine the relationship between selected independent variables and dependent variable. . .31

Table 12.0 Use of chi square.............................................................................................................31

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4.2 .10 Pearson correlation between communication and problem solving............................................32

Table: 13.0.........................................................................................................................................32

DISCUSSIONS.........................................................................................................................................33

4.3.0 Introduction..................................................................................................................................33

4.3.1 Aspect of quality of service..........................................................................................................33

4.3.2 Service Delivery and Customer Satisfaction.................................................................................34

4.3.3 Significance of Communication as a tool to achieving customer satisfaction...............................35

4.3.4 Quality of Staff and Customer Satisfaction...................................................................................35

4.3.5 Effects of solving customer problems on customer satisfaction....................................................36

4.3.6 The relationship between service delivery and quality of staff to customer satisfaction...............37

SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATION.................................................................38

5.0 Introduction.....................................................................................................................................38

5.1 Summary.........................................................................................................................................38

5.2 Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................39

5.3 Recommendations...........................................................................................................................39

5.3.1 Pwani University Resource centre/ related hospitality industry................................................39

5.3.2 Curriculum development..........................................................................................................39

5.3.3 Further research........................................................................................................................40

Figure 7.0 Sustainable customer satisfaction model..............................................................................41

5.3.3.1 Source: own model........................................................................................................................41

6.0 REFERENCE......................................................................................................................................43

APPENDICES...........................................................................................................................................46

7.0 APPENDIX 1......................................................................................................................................46

7.1 SAMPLE QUESTIONNAIRE FOR EMPLOYEES........................................................................46

7.2 SAMPLE QUESTIONNAIRE FOR CUSTOMERS....................................................................................49

7.3Letter of permission from the department of Hospitality and Tourism Management........................52

7.4Excell analysis on customers and employees...................................................................................53

LIST OF TABLES

ix

Table 1.0 ............................................................................................................................................ 15

Table 2 ............................................................................................................................................... 16

Table 3 Background information from employees ............................................................................. 19

Table 4 Employee training and form used ......................................................................................... 23

Table 5 Customer information system in Resource Centre ................................................................ 23

Table 6 Demographic Information from customers. ........................................................................ 24

Table 7.0 Aspects of strategies which contributed to customer satisfaction ...................................... 25

Table 8.0 ANOVA table on service delivery and customer satisfaction ............................................ 29

Table 9.0 ANOVA on Communication and customer satisfaction .................................................... 30

Table 10.0 ANOVA on Quality of staff and customer satisfaction .................................................... 31

Table 11.0 ANOVA analysis on Problem solving and customer satisfaction .................................... 32

Table 12.0 Use of chi square ............................................................................................................. 32

Table: 13.0 ......................................................................................................................................... 33

x

LIST OF FIGURES

1.15 Conceptual framework ......................................................................................................................... 6

Figure 2.0 source :own model: literature review gaps .............................................................................. 12

Figure3.0 ................................................................................................................................................... 21

Figure 4.0 line graph on importance of service quality .............................................................................. 22

Figure 5.0 attributes that contributed most to customer satisfaction. ......................................................... 28

Figure 6.0 Possibility of staying back in the guest house. .......................................................................... 28

Figure 7.0 Sustainable customer satisfaction model. ................................................................................. 42

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONSSPSS – Statistical Package for Social Sciences

xi

HTM - Hospitality and Tourism Management.

xii

1.0 INTRODUCTIONThis chapter discusses the background of the study, problem statement and purpose of the study,

the objectives of the study, research questions and significance of the study, theoretical

background, conceptual framework and definition of terms

1.2 Background of the study

Customer satisfaction is the degree of satisfaction provided by goods or services of a firm as

measured by the number of repeat customers. It can also be defined as the provision of goods or

services which fulfil the customers’ expectations in terms of quality and service, in relation to

price paid (Sureshchandar, 2002).

Furthermore , Markova, (2010) put it in the research done on proper designing, administering,

and analyzing, the process of monitoring customer satisfaction and service quality is beneficial to

any hotel firm and make all the distinguish between offering a mediocre service and one of

exceptionally high quality since service delivery and quality of staff are some of the key

determinant of customer satisfaction and loyalty, it calls for credible and consistent evaluations

to put employees on watch as per the level of service

High levels of customer satisfaction are important to marketers as both offensive and defensive

tools and are capable of creating a lasting competitive advantage. Therefore, improving

customers’ satisfaction with service is a rapidly rising corporate priority and companies are

increasing investment in tracking customer satisfaction and what drives it. While the majority of

companies are beginning to understand aggregate level trends in customer satisfaction, only a

few companies are able to systematically identify how to change service delivery for the better

(Smith, 2004).

Do you know? While the majority of companies are beginning to understand aggregate level

trends in customer satisfaction, only a few companies are able to systematically identify how to

change service delivery for the better (Smith, 2004).

For hotels and lodges, competition is getting stiffer as the number of accommodation and

catering facilities increase in an attempt to cater for the large number of tourists available in the

contemporary market. Tourists are also diversifying their needs thus causing trends in the market

to keep changing. There is therefore a need for hotels and lodges to enhance customer

satisfaction as a strategy that will enable them to remain competitive in the industry

Some of the confirmed benefits of customer satisfaction that customer value is an important

variable to be considered in service quality and consumer satisfaction developed for both

marketers and researchers, Ad Oh, H. (1999).

According to Qadeer, S. (2014 sound association who on their paper found that customer

satisfaction and the quality of service provided by the companies thus quality of service does

effect the customer satisfaction up to some certain level as both concepts are distinct and the

relationship found between them is casual. Also the quality of service has significant

contribution towards customer satisfaction because it is affected by various factors such as

human interaction, physical environment, value, price, performance. Satisfied customers

represent an “indispensable means of creating a sustainable advantage in the competitive

environment

Do you know what was done on the similar area of study in Tanzania! Findings were that

problem solving, service delivery, communication and quality of staff play an important role in

determining customer satisfaction as per the report by (Ndolo, 2010). The main benefits that can

result from customer satisfaction are Customers stay with the company longer, Customers

deepen their relationship with the company; Customers demonstrate less price sensitivity and

Customers recommend company’s products or services to others

Pwani University Resource Centre its purpose according to the charter given was to strive to

provide quality services to the clients, members of staff and interested group: promptly and

efficient response to enquiries, being innovative in offering requested services to the clients

quickly, courteously and professionally as well as valuing their customers safety, privacy and

confidentiality.

1.3 Problem statement

There are limited academic research done on the strategies used to enhance customer

satisfaction creating a gap on the relevant academic field, at the same time adopting new

strategies as per views of customers and employees through creativity and innovation is an issue

in small and medium hospitality enterprises.

2

When this issue is not looked at, customer satisfaction will be compromised and the hospitality

organisations and institutions will have played a role by failing to look at the looming challenge

in product and service provisions.

Providing quality services to customers in the hospitality firms has not fully met the expectation

of the customers, due to limited marketing, inadequate customer feedback through follow up and

monitoring plans in the establishment.

That called for regular follow up about the views of the level of products and services provided

to customers by customers and the take of the of the employees on the strategies employed by

the industry to enhance customer satisfaction. This will solve the challenge of inconveniency in

terms of service quality hence customer satisfaction.

In Pwani University Resource Centre as a developing hospitality establishment there is a need to

investigate the relationship between the staffs and customer with the focus of strategies used to

enhance customer satisfaction. Since there is no other avenues of marketing the establishment

therefore depend on repeat guests or guests to market it to other potential customers.

1.4 Purpose of the study

The aim of this study is to determine the strategies used by Pwani University Resource Centre to

enhance customer satisfaction.

1.5 Specific objectives

To find out how service delivery contributes to customer satisfaction.

To find out how communication between employees and customers contributes to

customer satisfaction.

To establish how problem solving contributes to customer satisfaction.

To find out the role played by quality of staff in enhancing customer satisfaction.

1.6 Hypotheses

1. Service delivery contributes in enhancing customer satisfaction

2. Communication between employees and customers contributes in enhancing

customer satisfaction.

3. There are roles played by quality of staff in enhancing customer satisfaction.

3

4. Problem solving in hospitality contributes to customer satisfaction.

1.7 Assumption of the study

It was likely that respondents were unable to divulge information due to suspicion. There was

enough time for project field research and report writing The researcher curbed financial

challenges within the speculated time and budget. The research expected that the research paper

would be published since the title and content was sensitive and integral in the hospitality sector

that can help in empowering employees. The project contributed vital knowledge to the

researcher to enhance professionalism in the hospitality sector

1.8 Significance of the study

The study provided crucial information should be used by both policy and decision makers

mainly in the hotel industry to enhance income generation for economic development. It also

aimed at providing information that may be accessed by scholars for study purposes. It helped

the research to get degree award in undergraduate studies in Bachelor of Science in hospitality

and tourism. It provided an avenue for further research from the established gap left by the

researcher or in broad scope. Findings could to train hospitality managers, supervisors,

employees and trainees.

1.9 Justification

One of the biggest contemporary challenges of management in service industries is providing

and maintaining customer satisfaction. Service quality and customer satisfaction have

increasingly been identified as key factors in the battle for competitive differentiation (A.,

Markova, et al. (2009, January)

If properly designed, administered, and analyzed, the process of monitoring customer satisfaction

and service quality be beneficial to any hotel firm and make all the difference between offering a

mediocre service and one of exceptionally high quality (Holjevac et al (2009))

Customers in services marketing are the primary market factor and the target of all activities and

efforts. They constitute the basis for defining services marketing plans, objectives and strategies.

Consequently, marketing orientation in service business stems.( Grubor, A. (2011).This research

aims at determining strategies used to enhance customer satisfaction with a clear take of what

4

customer satisfaction as from the stakeholders’ point of view and how effective service quality

strategies influences customer satisfaction

1.10 Scope of the study

The research study is to be conducted in Pwani university resource Centre therefore only

employees, customers of resources Centre are the target respondents of this study.

1.11 Study limitations

The research will use questionnaire written all in English and this will pose problems for non-

English speaking respondents. In adequate resources Inadequate, to conduct research on a broad

scope inadequate experience in the field of academia, It will not be possible to get the views

through open questionnaire from the respondents

1.12 Study delimitations

Researcher conducted the research to employees of Pwani University resource centre which is

accessible by the time frame of research. The researcher has positive attitude and he is interested

in researching. It will conduct research to all the employees in the resource centre The location

of the research is located within the reach of the researcher and assistant research at affordable

cost

1.13 Theoretical framework

It showed the relationship between the study and other studies and the common goal.

1.14 Cognitive dissonance theory by Fetinger -1957

Cognitive dissonance is an uncomfortable feelings caused by holding two contradicting ideas

simultaneously. The theory of cognitive dissonance proposes that people that people have a

motional drive to reduce dissonance by changing their attitudes, belief and behavior or by

justifying or rationalizing them.

The theory has link with topic of the study and objectives, thus the previous experiences,

feelings, knowledge and background of employees might differ with the professional expectation

such as meeting the quality of service or production standards of the organization through

5

maintaining expected quality of staff for prompt service delivery .This introduction of new idea

or conduct is a challenge that gives employees time to cope with.

1.15 Conceptual framework

Elaborated on the original of this study and applicable framework in the hospitality industry

Figure1.0: conceptual framework. Own model

Independent variables intervening variables Dependent variables

Customer satisfaction is the ultimate goal of hospitality industry. Although there were various

underling elements which help in maintaining the process such as empowering employees on

the expectation of the organization, good leadership within the establishment and how

teamwork is embraced in the organization finally the way customers get knowledge of the

products and services offered in the company. Two key players are quality of staffs and the

consistency of service delivery process.

1.16 Definition of operational terms

Customer satisfaction: a marketing term that measures how products or services supplied by a

company meet or surpass a customer's expectation. It provides marketers and business owners

with a metric that they can use to manage and improve their businesses.

Communication: the imparting or exchanging of information or news." direct communication

between the two people or groups will produce greater understanding"

6

Service delivery

Communication

Problem solving

Quality of staff

Team work

Empowerment

Good leadership

Customer orientation

Customer satisfaction

Service Delivery: A framework - is a set of principles, standards, policies and constraints used

to guide the design, development, deployment, operation and retirement of services delivered by

a service provider with a view to offering a consistent service experience to a specific user

customer

Problem Solving: consists of using generic or ad hoc methods, in an orderly manner, for finding

solutions to problems.

Quality of staff: This ability of the staff to deliver services and products according to the

competencies and expectation of professional ethics.

Customer orientation: is a business strategy in the lean business model that requires

management and employees to focus on the changing wants and needs of its customers. In other

words, it's a company-wide philosophy that the customer's wants and needs are the first priority

of all management and employee

Employee empowerment: is giving employees a certain degree of autonomy and responsibility

for decision-making regarding their specific organizational tasks.

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0 Introduction

This chapter looks at the related literature on this research topic. It defines customer satisfaction

and then gives a detailed analysis of the variables that influence customer satisfaction. It then

ends by giving the importance of customer satisfaction.

7

2.1 Customer satisfaction

Customer satisfaction has been a popular topic in marketing practice and academic research

since Cardozo's (1965) initial study of customer effort, expectations and satisfaction. Despite

many attempts to measure and explain customer satisfaction, there still does not appear to be a

consensus regarding its definition (Giese and Cote, 2000). Customer satisfaction is typically

defined as a post consumption evaluative judgment concerning a specific product or service

(Gunderson, Heide and Olsson, 1996). It is the result of an evaluative process that contrasts

repurchase expectations with perceptions of performance during and after the consumption

experience Rust, R. T., & Zahorik, A. J. (1993).

According to Adam, et al. (2015) the study found that International tourists who were satisfied

with the tangibles, reliability, assurance-empathy, and responsiveness dimensions of the upscale

restaurant services showed a higher likelihood of revisiting the restaurants than did their

counterparts who were dissatisfied

According to Sureshchandar (2002), the nature of the exact relationship between service quality

and customer satisfaction is still covered with uncertainty. Many researchers have conducted

research on customer satisfaction by using a single item scale and many others have used

multiple scales. Customer satisfaction is viewed as a multidimensional construct just as service

quality, but should be worked on along the same factors (and corresponding items) on which

service quality .Based on this approach, the link between service quality and customer

satisfaction has been investigated. The results indicated that the two constructs are indeed

independent but are closely related, implying that an increase in one is likely to lead to an

increase in another

2.2 Service delivery

Service delivery is a common term in every service organistion! Do you know that growth and

development of hospitality industry depends on this element as the two key variables service

delivery and customer satisfaction showed significantly relationship which could predict the

growth, improve the quality of services and increase the profit and consequently the revenue as

found by Adesina, K. I., & Chinonso, I. (2015)

8

As Michael (1980) puts it, practicing good service delivery helps customer service

representatives go to the top of the league. The moment a customer needs help, the dedicated

customer service representative should swing into action. The customer should be made to feel

that he is priority number one, not that he is at the bottom of a list and will have to wait his turn.

Before customer service representatives can value their work, management should show them

that they are valued (Langer, 1997).

the firm there is need for empowerment and training to make employees get well acquainted with

the soft and social skills needed in the hospitality industry for example to achieve high service

innovation performance, organizations first need to develop knowledge sharing behaviors plus a

better team culture Hu, et al (2009).

2.3 Communication

Good communication between a company and its clients builds strong relationships between the

two. Obringer (2003) contends that, part of relationship selling involves maintaining regular

contact. If personnel neglect a client who has trust in their integrity as a person and as a

salesperson, that client may finally be forced to turn to a competitor. So the company has to

make sure that it not only builds the relationship, but keeps regular contact and keeps all

channels of communication open Use of accepted channels of communication reduces murmurs

and misunderstanding. As Szuc et al. (2005) noted,

2.4 Quality of staff

Hiring the right people for appropriate positions and ongoing staff training and management are

critical keys to successfully realizing customer satisfaction. Necessary activities include the clear

identification of positions and qualifications, recruiting the best, hiring, training and retaining the

right staff (Kang et al, 2005).

To provide quality service, employees need ongoing training in the necessary technical skills and

knowledge and in process or interactive skills. Most service organizations are quite conscious of

and relatively effective at training employees in technical skills. These skills may be taught

through formal education. Additionally, technical skills are often taught through on-the-job

training (Valerie, et al. (1999) )

9

Results found by Ugboro, et al (2000) reveal that there is positive correlation between top

management leadership, employee empowerment, job satisfaction are facilitated by top

management leadership and commitment to the total quality management goal of customer

satisfaction by creating and organizational climate that emphasizes total quality and customer

satisfaction

2.5 Problem solving

When a customer complains, a company should always offer them a solution to the problem. If a

problem cannot be directly fixed, customers should be offered an alternative to keep them

satisfied. There are many different types of solutions, but they could all turn a disappointed

customer into a happy one. If an exact replacement is not available (or not wanted) try replacing

it with a similar model. A replacement solves any problem with the product, it may cost a

company the value of a new product, but losing the customer will probably cost much more in

the long run Atalik, Ö. (2007).

2.6 Customer orientation

According to Valerie et al. (1999), many services offer “customer orientation” programs to assist

customers in understanding their roles and what to expect from the process before experiencing

it. Universities offer orientation programs for new students, and often their parents as well, to

preview the culture, university procedures, and expectations of students. Similarly, health clubs

use formal training programs to educate customers on how to use the facilities and equipment..

At the college level students should be trained on how to introduce innovative strategies in

service leadership and maintaining consumer information and satisfaction just like a program

offered by Testa, M. (2016) to his students in level HTM 480 with the main objective of

maximizing employee performance in the service setting by interpersonal communication

training skills and coaching

2.7 Reward and recognition

Ongoing “true moments” surveys are used, whereby customers are called and asked to assess the

level of service they received from the particular employee they interacted with over the phone.

These measurements (multiple customers for each employee each quarter) are then integrated

into the employee’s performance evaluation and rewarded. The measures must be appropriate,

10

the sampling of customers performed fairly and the employees must buy in to the validity of the

results (Valerie et al, 1999).

2.8 Monitoring customer satisfaction

A satisfaction survey can help a company to understand the expectations, identify new customer

requirements or trends in the market and determine what areas of business need investment.

Once these issues have been identified, management of any given company will be able to

implement new practices to improve customer satisfaction. Many businesses systematically

measure customer satisfaction through independent surveys, feedback forms, mystery shopping

and focus groups. Some third party surveys also compare the customer satisfaction of major

competitors, which allows companies to benchmark themselves in their relevant sector

(Borysowich, 2008)

11

2.9 Summary of literature review.

Figure 2.0 source :own model: literature review gaps

Explanation of the model The literature had been discussed the related findings in customer satisfaction from the core

strategies like service delivery, communication ,problem solving and key roles played by

quality of staff in the service industry. Customer orientation, reward and recognition as well as

monitoring customer satisfaction. Some of the gaps established is that the mentioned factors had

limited literature on follow studies to compare the previous and the current study to help in

establishing standard procedure in enhancing customer satisfaction. Most similar studies had not

been done in small and medium hospitality business and institutions had not established

12

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

STRATEGIES.

Service delivery

Problem solving

Communication

Quality of staff

FACILITATORS

Reward and recognition

Empowerment

Good leadership

Teamwork

GAPS BY SIZE OF FIRM/LOCATION

Limited research done small and medium enterprises.

Limited research done in Kenya hotels

GAPS BY QUALITY AND EFFECTIVENESS

Research done comparing independent identified strategy to customer satisfaction.

Other facilitators shown are not shown in most studies.

Limited follow up study on the strategies.

recommendations for development for upcoming professionals in the field of hospitality to help

in solving customers’ challenges and dissatisfactions. There was need for a standard procedure or

evaluation tool that can help staff achieve the required quality for this industry with focus to

customer satisfaction, integrated strategies should be outlines and related objectives set for the

achievement of customers expectations

13

METHODOLOGY

3.0 Introduction

This chapter describes the procedures that were followed in conducting the study.Here,the

researcher gives a description of the research design, study variables, location of the study,

target population, sampling techniques and sample size, study instruments, pre testing of the

instruments, data collection techniques ,data analysis and ethical consideration

3.1Research approach

It used mixed methods ,qualitative and quantitative approach as hospitality is a social science

there was need for both approaches to handle the problem in details by not focusing in one

side but work on it in all possible means as Creswell, J. W. (2013) stated .

3.1.0 Research design

The study used a case study research design because the issue of concern should be analyzed in

details. Case study being an empirical inquiry, which focus particularly on a contemporary

phenomenon within its real-life context as well as between phenomenon and its context are not

clearly evident as mentioned by Yin, R. K. (2013).A case study in Pwani University Resource

Centre took the same concept to look into the issues with insight and with a descriptive pattern.

3.2 Research variables

The research design was specifically investigated of strategies used to enhance customer

satisfaction were service quality attributes, taking the independent variables; service delivery,

communication, problem solving and quality of staff

The intervening variables were; good leadership, teamwork, customer orientation and employee

empowerment.

Conclusively the expected result which is the dependent variable is the ultimate goal of

hospitality industry: customer satisfaction.

3.3 Locale of the study

The study was a case study in Pwani University Resource Centre (guest house) which lies within

Pwani University in Kilifi County, Kenya. It was offered service charter which stated service

14

standard which seek to consistently improve its accommodation, conference, special occasion,

social functions and other services to the needs of the clients .customers could contact them

through complaints@pu.ac.ke or through their website www.pu.ac.ke

3.4 Population of the study

The research population in this study was composed of managers and employees of resource

centre of Pwani University as well as customers who visited and used the hospitality services.

The managers and employees made up a total of 21 while the customers make up an average of

30 customers per day, in house guests and walk in for food and beverage services

3.5 Sample technique

Non-probability sampling was used in this study. Non-probability sampling enabled the

attainment of in-depth information on customer satisfaction and the variables associated with it.

The non probability sampling technique that is to be applied is purposive sampling. Purposive

sampling was used because it will allow the researcher to make use of a preferred case study that

possessed the relevant information with respect to the objectives of the study Barreiro, P. L., &

Albandoz, J. P. (2001): therefore employees who knowledgeable were finally to answer

questionnaire .

However, for the case of customers the researcher did convenient sampling because the

customers were not predicted therefore the ones who were staying during the period of the

research were given questionnaires to answer. Although random sampling was done for the case

of large groups.

3.5.1 Sample size

The expected sample size

15

Table 1.0

Employees Customers

Population 21 Infinite

Sample

size

21 31 52

The researcher expected to work with the sample size ,sample size is a section of a population

which represented a whole population therefore the conclusion which was made was general: as

per the study of Kadam, P., & Bhalerao, S. (2010).During the research collection the research

found that only 6 employees could answer the questionnaires and the sample for customers

remained the same.

Table 2

Employees Customers

Population 21 Infinite

Sample

size

6 31 37

Therefore the targeted population changed: employees and customers which consisted of sample

size of 37 respondents thus 6 employees and 31 customers. The questionnaires were

administered by drop and take after specific period by the researcher in person.

3.6 Research instrument.

The data for this researcher collected data using closed questionnaire which was easy to code and

analyze. It was used because of limited time which could not allow for triangulation.

3.6.1Questionnaires.

Closed ended questionnaire was used since the data to be collected was factual and they were

administered to the employees and customers.

16

3.7 Validity

The questionnaire was drawn from the available literature to ensure content validity and

3.8 Reliability

The reliability of the research instrument had been ascertained by analysis is the data obtained

from pre-testing exercise (pilot study)

3.9 Pre-testing

The researcher took some copies of questionnaires to Mnarani Club for pilot study but failed to

get feed back .Therefore the questionnaires were verified by peers before conducting the actual

field research. The peers found that the question 8 in the employees should before removed

since it does not focus much on the objectives stated. The researcher removed the question and

proceeded to the field.

3.10 Data collection

Data collection is the process of gathering and measuring information on targeted variables in an

established systematic fashion, which then enables one to answer relevant questions and evaluate

outcomes.

The authority was given from the management of Pwani University Resource Centre and the

questionnaires which were filed differently to avoid confusion that was for customers and for

employees. It was drop and take later procedure where the tools were left in the office of the

manger after the agreement .The questionnaires were taken after 3 weeks.

3.11 Data analysis

Analysis of data is a process of inspecting, cleaning, transforming, and modeling data with the

goal of discovering useful information, suggesting conclusions, and supporting decision-making.

Immediately after the field ,the researcher sorted the questionnaire s to get the once which were

not answered and since they were closed ended questionnaires coding was easy and the

information were fed to the Microsoft Excel .some analysis calculation were done manually

and others were assisted by SPSS.The data were small in number and the researcher was

interested in calculating making him more engaged in the research and its practicallity.Most of

presentations were done by tables and Chi square was used to compare independent variables

17

and correlation was also done on two variables to determine the strength between and mostly

analysis of variable was used to confirm the hypothesis.

3.11 Ethical consideration

This is the most common way of defining "ethics": norms for conduct that distinguish between

acceptable and unacceptable behavior.Resnik, D. B. (2011).The researcher adopted such conduct

by asking permission from the university department to tourism and letter of go ahead is to be

asked. Letter of acceptance for research from Pwani University resources Centre the findings

will be used for the purpose of academic research as indicated in the questionnaire. Respondents

were assured that their Consent was sought before the administering questionnaires

confidentiality and anonymity will be uphold on the information obtained from the respondents

3.12 Data presentation

Data is to be presented using tables and graphs. These representation tools were used because of

their preciseness in passing information across as well as their ability to present data in a manner

comprehendible to most individuals.

To the researcher it was the most convenience way to present the information objective however

most people are interested in using charts and graphs to eliminate boredom but once the paper

was written and presented according to the themes with logical flow it will still make sense to the

reader.

18

RESEARCH FINDING AND DISCUSSION

4.1.0 Introduction

This chapter contains the descriptions of respondents background, the analysis of independent

and dependent variables and the verification of hypothesis from finding by customers and

employees as per the questionnaire attached in the in the appendices.

4.1.1 Background information from employees

It showed findings from the gender, age in years, education, development positions and duration

in the place work.

Table 3 Background information from employees

GENDER Male

Female

2

4

33%

67%

33%

100%

AGE(YEARS) 18-25

26-35

36-45

45-60

Over 60

00

01

02

02

00

0%

20%

40%

40%

0%

0%

30%

60%

100%

100%

EDUCATION University

college

Secondary

03

01

02

50%

17%

33%

50%

67%

100%

POSITION Managers

Supervisor

01

02

20%

40%

20%

60%

19

Others 02 40% 100%

DURATION < 5 years.

6-10years

>11 years

01

03

01

28%

60%

20%

20%

80%

100%

A total of six employees answered questionnaires from Pwani University Resource Center

(Guest house).Where 33% were male and 67% were female. There was no employee between the

age 18- 25 and 20 % were between 26-35 while 40% were both met by the age bracket 36-45 and

46-60 and 0% were above 60 years.50 % of the respondent were university graduate while

17% and 33% were college and secondary graduates respectively.20% were managers and 40 %

of the employees interviewed were supervisors while the remaining 40% were other

employees.20% had worked for less than 5 years and 60% had worked for 6-10 while 20% had

worked for more than 10 years.

4.1.2 Service quality aspects

The following are the way the employees rated teamwork, training, customer orientation as well

as good leadership

20

Figure3.0

20% of employees agreed that teamwork and empowerment was excellent, while 60% agreed

that it was average and 20% rated it below average. No employee agreed that employee training

and education is excellent as 100% agreed that it was average while 0% rated it below

average.0% rated customer orientation excellent as 83% that it was average as 17% rated it

below average .Good leadership rated 17% under excellent and 66% average while 17% were

convinced .

4.1.3 Importance of service quality

The reason for service quality affected both the customers and the organization as per the feed

back gave by employees.

21

4.1.4 Importance of service quality to the organization and customers

Figure 4.0 line graph on importance of service quality

The line graph shown that value increases from increased production, it drops as from increase

market share to reduction in cost towards organisation.

Taking the pride in the hotel by the guest set the base which increases to maximum at customer

satisfaction and drops systematically towards loyalty.

4.1.5 Employee training in Resource Centre.

Employee training was an essential factor that should be determined and it could help

introducing new technology and ways of producing and presenting products as well as service

techniques.

22

Table 4 Employee training and form used

F % Cf%

Yes 4 67 67

Employee

training

No 2 33 100

In the job 4 100 100

Form of employee

training

On the

job 0 0 100

The employees had shown sincerity about the training and the form training as the 67 % agreed

that there was training and 33% said no the reason could be that they were new in the

establishment and since they were employed E leave of off duty.

The second part of the table 4.5 only 4 respondents turned up means that the employees who had

experienced training in Human Resource never attended to that question. The findings found that

the training had in the job training .The hospitality management might had the in the job training

for convenience and cost effective purposes.

4.1.6 Information in Resource Centre system

Hospitality information technology (IT) to reduce costs, enhance operational efficiency, and

most importantly to improve service quality and customer experience. The article Law, R.,

Leung, R., & Buhalis, D. (2009) demonstrates that IT is increasingly becoming critical for the

competitive operations of the tourism and hospitality organizations as well as for managing the

distribution and marketing of organizations on a global scale.

Table 5 Customer information system in Human Resource Centre

F % Cf%

Customer information systems 5 83 83

23

1 17 10

The results was that 83% agreed that there was customer information centre while 17% said

no .Some of the reasons why some employee had said no may be because they do no understand

what customer information system was.

4.1.7 Demographic Information from customers.

It demonstrated more on gender, age and education level as findings shown in the table

Table 6 Demographic Information from customers.

Frequency Percent Cumulative%

Gender Male

Female

Total

17

14

31

55%

45%

100%

55

100

Age (years) 18-25

26-35

36-45

45-60

Over 60

Total

11

10

06

02

02

31

36 %

32%

19%

6.5%

6.5%

100%

36

68

87

93.5

100

Education level University

College

Secondary

14

12

03

45%

39%

10%

45

84

94

24

Primary

Total

02

31

06%

100%

100

A total of 31 customers answered questionnaires male were more than female in the sample by

55% and 45% respectively. Most of them were youths at the age of 18-25,26-35 with36% and

10% in the same order.36-45 were 6% while 46-60 and 60 and above had contributed 2% each. It

appeared that it was a group on conference and seminar or workshop and maybe those with the

age above 35 were facilitators and supervisors of the

4.1.8 Descriptive statistics on customer satisfaction strategies

The strategies described were service delivery the first 4 elements, communication the

following 4 elements ,role played by quality of staff 5 and the last 4 are for problem solving.

Table 7.0 Aspects of strategies which contributed to customer satisfaction

Rating TERRI BAV AV VGOOD EXC

Weights 1 2 3 4 5

25

Overall service received 1 4 9 12 3 99 6.6 3.19

Speed in which service was

delivered

0 11 5 10 5 102 6.8 3.29

Personalized service 2 4 14 6 4 96 6.4 3.10

Accuracy of the service 1 3 11 12 4 108 7.2 3.48

Ease of contacting personnel 4 7 4 9 7 101 6.7 3.26

Clarity of information 5 3 9 10 3 93 6.2 3.00

Time taken to respond to inquiries 2 8 10 8 3 95 6.3 3.07

How inquiries were dealt with 1 4 14 8 4 103 6.9 3.32

Relevant knowledge of staff 1 0 16 12 2 107 7.1 3.45

Courtesy of the staff 4 4 5 9 8 103 6.9 3.32

Assistance offered by the staff 3 2 5 15 6 112 7.5 3.61

Treatment by the staff as valued

customers

3 6 10 10 2 95 6.3 3.07

Friendliness of the staff 2 1 15 11 2 103 6.9 3.32

The way customers problems were

solved

3 5 4 15 4 105 7.0 3.39

Time taken for problems to be

solved

3 5 8 9 4 93 6.2 3.00

Competent of staff who handled the

problems

3 6 9 11 2 96 6.4 3.10

After the problem was solved 2 6 8 13 2 100 6.7 3.23

4.1.9 Introduction to the description of the table 7.0

The are shown from the scale of 1 to 5 which is terrible, below average, average, very good and

excellent, therefore the following are the mean contributions of the aspects under service

26

delivery. It was used by the researcher to find out the relationship between the mean result as it

should be in the provide linkert scaling used.

4.1.9.1 Service delivery and customer satisfactionThe overall service was averaged scaled at 3.19 which was average , The speed in which the

service/product was delivered had 3.29, Personalized service had 3.10, The accuracy of the

service done was the best with 3.48 which is almost mark to the above average.

Generally service delivery averagely contributed to the customer satisfaction.

4.1.9.2 Communication and customer satisfactionHow easier the customers were contacting the staff whom they were in need of was 3.26 .When

customers were in need of relevant information about services or products and clarity 3.00, the

time taken to respond to your inquiries 3.07, how your inquiries were dealt with 3.32.

4.1.9.3 Quality of staff and customer satisfactionThe relevant knowledge of staff you dealt with 3.45, The courtesy of the staff 3.32, The

assistance offered by the staff 3.61, How the staff treated you as a valued customer 3.07, The

friendliness of the staff 3.32.

4.1.9.4 Problem solving and customer satisfactionThe way your problems were solved 3.39, The time taken for your problems to be solved 3.00,

How competent was the staff who handled your problem 3.10 and After the problem was solved

3.23

4.1.10 Attributes that contributed most to customer satisfaction.

According to the strategies used in the Guest house this how they contributed towards customer

satisfaction

27

Figure 5.0 attributes that contributed most to customer satisfaction.

As from the bar graph above quality of staff contributed most to customer satisfaction followed

with service delivery and communication and finally problem solving.

4.1.11 Probability of staying back in the guest house.

When the study was looking at how possible a customer could come back after their holiday and

the following were the findings

Figure 6.0 Possibility of staying back in the guest house.

Most customers were contented with the services they received at 45% will definitely come back

while 19 % would mind coming back so long as they are given chance .Some were not sure

whether to come back or not at 23% . While 13%will definitely not come back

28

4.2.0 Data analysis

Inferential statistics was done by chi-square and Analysis of Variable that is ANOVA to the

independent variables and dependent variable.

4.2.1 Service delivery and customer satisfaction

The following hypothesis dwells on the aspects of service delivery and how they influence

customer satisfaction such as how overall service, speed in which the service/product was

delivered, the level of personalized service and how accurately service was done

4.2.2 Hypothesis1

The first hypothesis was there was significant relationship between service delivery and

customer satisfaction. The hypothesis was tested by asking customer to rate some elements of

services delivery which contributes to customer satisfaction by linkert scale. They were grouped

and Analysis of Variance or ANOVA was used to establish the truth. It partly illustrated in table

4.O and the results are shown in table 7.0 below. However the while collecting data the aspects

were anonymous presented so that customers could not identify the type of strategy being

determined. This applies to the next three hypotheses. Critical values of F for the 0.05

significance level:

Table 8.0 ANOVA table on service delivery and customer satisfaction

Source SS DF MS F

SSb 12.6 3 4.2 0.014

SSw 4678 16 292.38

SSt 4690.6 19

N=20, n=31, r=4

With df = (3, 16) F must be at least tabulated value 3.24 while calculated value is 0014 which is

below. Since The value of computed ANOVA is less than the tabulated values null hypothesis is

accepted. Therefore service delivery contributes to customer satisfaction in the hospitality

industry.

29

4.2.3 Communication and customer satisfaction

The analysis is done on the elements such as the ease of contacting staff when need be. Customer

care in terms of information delivery about services and its relevancy., The convenient as per the

time taken to respond to your inquiries and how good the inquiries were dealt with.

4.2.4 Hypothesis 2

Ho Communication between employees and customers contributes in enhancing customer

satisfaction.

H1 Communication between employees and customers do not contributes in enhancing customer

satisfaction

Table 9.0 ANOVA on Communication and customer satisfaction

This is the summary of the analysed aspects of communications that influence customer satisfaction.

Source SS DF MS F

SSb 10.88 3 3.267 0.0151

SSw 3842.2 16 240.14

SSt 3853.08

N=20, n=31, r=4

With df = 3, 16) Tabulated value is 3.24 Since the computed value is less than the tabulated

value , shows that elements of communication contributes to customer satisfaction.

4.2.5 Quality of staff and customer satisfaction

The most interesting and core player in the hospitality industry is the human nature and it is

determined by the quality or personality of a person, in this section the data from customers

were analysis to find out if there were roles played by quality of staff and how they influence

customer satisfaction. do the employees have relevant knowledge about the products and

services they are offering and what about their courtesy .Staff are also expected to offer

30

assistance where necessary ,what about the staffs in Human Resource Centre and do they value

their customers. How friendly were they?

4.2.6 Hypothesis 3

Ho There were roles played by quality of staff in enhancing customer satisfaction.

H1 There were no roles played by quality of staff in enhancing customer satisfaction.

Table 10.0 ANOVA on Quality of staff and customer satisfaction

Source SS DF MS F

SSb 12.6 3 4.2 0.014

SSw 4678 16 292.38

SSt 1362.8 19

N=20, n=31, r=5

With df = 4, 20) tabulated value 2.87 while computed value is 0.014

The value of computed is less than tabulated value therefore null hypothesis was accepted that

there are roles played by quality of staff in enhanced customer satisfaction.

4.2.7 Problem solving and customer satisfaction.

Complaints will always occur where people are but the way they are solve is the big challenge in

the hospitality industry and the duration of solving such issues to the convenience of

customers .In Resource Centre the researcher investigated about these areas; The way problems

were solved, the time taken for your problems to solved the competency of staff who handled the

problem and the situation after problem was solved

31

4.2.8 Hypothesis 4

Ho Problem solving in hospitality contributes in enhancing customer satisfaction.

H1 problem solving in hospitality do not contribute in enhancing customer satisfaction

Table 11.0 ANOVA analysis on Problem solving and customer satisfaction

Source SS DF MS F

SSb 9.92 3 3.31 0.009

SSw 4032.8 16 252.05

SSt 4042.72 19

N=20, n=31, r=4

With df = 3, 16 Tabulated value is 3.24 while computed value is 0.009.

The computed value is lies with the significance level therefore null hypothesis are accepted that

problem solving techniques enhanced customer satisfaction.

4.2.9 Determine the relationship between selected independent variables and dependent

variable

Table 12.0 Use of chi square

SERVICE ATTRIBUTES LEVEL OF CUSTOMER SATISFACTION TOTAL

Service delivery 03(2.48) 05(3.65) 06(6.69) 10(13.37) 07(4.89) 31

Quality of staff 01(1.57) 01(2.35) 05(4.31) 21(8.24) 03(3.14) 20

TOTAL 4 6 11 22 8 51

n=51 Chi square=23.2978 df=4 p=9.488

32

since the chi square value has passed the significance level therefore there was no significant

statistical relationship between the independent variables and dependent variable ,service

delivery and role played by quality of staff in enhancing customer satisfaction as the p

value=9.488 was lower than critical value of 0.05 at 95% confidence level

4.2 .10 Pearson correlation between communication and problem solving

Table: 13.0

Rating Terrible Below

average

Average VGOOD Excellent

Weights 1 2 3 4 5

Communication 1 4 12 12 1

Problem solving 0 4 13 9 5

Karl Pearson Correlation value is 0.305 which means that the two variables are weakly positive

related, communication and problem solving is weakly related

33

DISCUSSIONS

4.3.0 IntroductionIt discussed the findings according to the objectives of the study, relating the observations and

patterns to the previous studies in the related area, the linkage in the literature that relate to the

finding and critique of studies which were and the work was more comprehensive and

elaborative as per the aspects which were in the questionnaires.

4.3.1 Aspect of quality of service

Team spirit is very important in the organization because it affect most service delivery

techniques and also confirms the quality of staffs in the firm, the outcome showed that 20% said

team work is excellent equal to the number of respondents rated it below average but majority

said it is average. It was a unique pattern best cancel the worst in the frequency and it could pose

a challenge to the company, team work is not effective because of uniform distribution of rating,

the area needs a particular pattern that the company should ensure that always employee

cooperate excellent among themselves, such effects could be solved by the finding of Ugboro, et

al (2000) whose study looked at evaluation of criterion for performance indicators which

influence customer satisfaction.

Employee training and education, the knowledge of the products and customer operation services

is vital in hospitality industry, employees agreed that this aspect is averagely done in University

guest house. Such results should be improved since average knowledge can lead to insufficient

service delivery since the quality of staffs could be rated around that level “garbage in garbage

out”. Therefore from the result the employees would need periodic content related training about

the quality of staff and service delivery. Such ideas were supported by a journal paper by Hu, et

al (2009) knowledge sharing and teamwork was a good culture and behavior for a company for

success performance.

Customer orientation is the process of communication between employees and customers where

they empower customers about the establishment .On products and services offered, Valerie et

34

al. (1999) argue that customer education could be accomplished through written literature and

customer “handbooks” that describe customers’ roles and responsibilities. However, it could not

be as effective as customer meeting well trained staffs who provide him/her with knowledge of

the company within a short time without going through pages of customers guide book. The

study was looking how quality of staff could provide convenient services to customers to

enhance their satisfaction.

Leadership in hospitality industry is highly necessary for prompt and efficient products and

services, this study found that there around 67% rated it average and 17% for excellent and

below average.Testa, M. (2016) conducted training on leadership and coaching in hospitality to

make young professionals to be equipped on maximizing employee performance in the service

setting by interpersonal communication training skills and coaching.

Significance of the result will help the establishments and other related hospitality industry make

good decisions on the type of training to be conducted to employees to maximize service

delivery through improved quality of staff .Such strategies could effective improve customer

satisfaction in University guest house.

Leadership and coaching in hospitality should be introduced in the curriculum to make young

hospitality professions be acquainted with good leadership skills. Regular evaluation on the

strategies used to promote/enhance customers satisfaction should be done periodically to

identify the gaps in the customer operations from employees.

4.3.2 Service Delivery and Customer Satisfaction

Elements of service delivery that contributed to customer satisfaction rated as to their mean

difference; Accuracy of service done had the highest mean followed by the speed in which

service is delivered followed by overall service received and finally personalized service. The

research found that there was minimal difference in their mean score showing that those

elements are interrelated. However, Adesina, et al (2015), did a similar study that concluded,

there was a significant relationship between service delivery and customer satisfaction but the

research never looked into aspects of service delivery that affect customer satisfaction.

35

However there was no statistical relationship between service delivery and customer satisfaction,

such result differ with other researchers like Adesina, et al (2015), who found that there was

relationship between the two variables.

4.3.3 Significance of Communication as a tool to achieving customer satisfaction

The company should be able to keep in touch with its clients by keeping its communication

channels open at all times. Communication is one tool for customer care, since all aspects of

services depend on communication that employee to employee and employee to customers as

well as other stake holders. Maintaining regular contact between employees and customers as

complemented by Obringer (2003).

Agnihotri, R., Rapp, A., & Trainor, K. (2009) they suggested that mangers not only invest

resources in providing salespeople with technical knowledge but to train them on effective

communication skills which will contribute to customer satisfaction. Therefore there is need for

training on effective communication skills to boost customer satisfaction

Customer communication systems should be developed to increase the marketing of the and

contact of the company and consumers. In the global hospitality and tourism market is more

competitive because of online complements sites like Trip Advisor and Tripod.

The finding found that there was no significance difference between the variables of

communication which enhance customer satisfaction.

4.3.4 Quality of Staff and Customer Satisfaction

Quality of staff and customer satisfaction had limited literature compared to other variable. Most

researchers are interested on quality service and customer satisfaction although quality service

comes from quality personnel [quality of staff]. Assistance offered by staff has the highest mean

score from the consumer’s point of view. This agrees with a study done by Qadeer, S. (2014).

That quality of service is affected by human interaction, physical environment, value and e.

Knowledge of staff comes second from consumers’ point of view. This means there was in

adequate training and empowerment of staff. Hu, et al (2009) emphasizes that innovation and

knowledge sharing should be part and parcel of the organization. Courtesy of staff, friendliness

of staff and treatment from staff. All this elements contribute respectively to customer

satisfaction.

36

Customer post purchase decision making is very important about the quality of products and

service received and the level of customer satisfaction should also be evaluated to help in

improvement on various factors that contributes to quality of staffs and services afterwards .The

same was agreed by customers post purchase decision-making process where aspects of quality

service are determined. It found that customer value is an important variable to be considered in

service quality and consumer satisfaction developed for both marketers and researchers, Ad Oh,

H. (1999). For the importance of post purchase decision.

Some employees knows the norms and ethics of the hospitality industry but due to feelings and

beliefs sometimes they go contrary to such which affects the level of quality of service which

contributes to customer satisfaction according to theory of customer satisfaction- cognitive

dissonance by Festinger, L. (2010). Dissonance and consonance are relations among cognitions

those were, among opinions, beliefs, knowledge of the environment, and knowledge of one's

own actions and feelings probably the principle of service industry requires mostly social skills

which to some people take time to comprehend and put into practice therefore challenging the

quality level of staffs of hospitality firms.

There were no statistical relationship between quality of staff and customer satisfaction; however

limited research has been done between the two variables.

4.3.5 Effects of solving customer problems on customer satisfaction

In a community or society challenges are inevitable, however once they occur the process of

solving them is very important to either reduce the problem or increase the problem. In

hospitality industry employees should always be alert to curb any source of issues or develop a

mechanism to reduce it to less harmful to customers. Atalik, Ö. (2007). Said that an employee

who gets customer complaints should be friendly, polite and helpful; do their best to resolve the

problem if they can and to some extend recovery actions should be provide as first as possible.

In Resource Center problem solving techniques register a minimal contribution of around 3 out

of 5 .However, in the analysis it showed that problem solving techniques contributed to customer

satisfaction.

37

4.3.6 The relationship between service delivery and quality of staff to customer satisfaction.

The finding found that there was significant relationship between the independent variables and

dependent variables, which meant that for customer satisfaction to be met the management must

looked into service delivery channels and quality of staff. It was therefore important to evaluate

the quality of staffs during recruitment or to expose them to relevant hospitality service delivery

contents.

There was significant relationship between (service delivery and quality of staffs) to customer

satisfaction.

38

SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATION

5.0 Introduction

The chapter consisted with summary conclusions and recommendations worked on as fro the

previous sections in the study.

5.1 Summary

The objectives of the study were to find out the relationship between service delivery, quality of

staff to customer satisfaction. While determining the aspects of quality service such as

teamwork, customer orientation, good leadership and employee training from the views of

employees. It was found that the elements mostly got average score while excellent and below

average almost shared the same rating. The result calls for regular training to perfect the

employees through improving their quality and enhancing the level of customer satisfaction.

However, the same study can also help recommending introduction of leadership and coaching in

hospitality institutions. Quality of staff can affected by various factors, such as psychological and

physical factors such can affect the level of service delivery and finally customer satisfaction as

elaborated by Festinger, L. (2010) dissonance theory of customer satisfaction. Although the

research found that there was no direct statistical relationship between quality of staff and

customer satisfaction.

There four strategies: problem solving, communication, quality of staff and service delivery has

influence to customer satisfaction from the summary ANOVA analysis and the chi-square

which showed that there was significant difference between the two independent variable to

customer satisfaction.

Further analysis using correlation established that positive correlation between communication

and problem solving towards customer satisfaction.

The same was found between service delivery and customer satisfaction .However the same

study found that there was relationship between independent variables and dependent variable.

Study was significance to hospitality community such for growth of the industry through regular

evaluation of the employed strategies for enhancing customer satisfaction, there are also some

gaps established like doing similar research in a wide scope.

39

5.2 Conclusion

The study was conducted with the purpose of determining the strategies used to enhance

customer satisfaction .It were a case study of Pwani University Resource Center. The use non

probability sampling and sample size of 37.The study found there was no significant relationship

between service delivery and customer satisfaction as well quality of staff and customer

satisfaction. However the same study found that chi square test between independent variables

and dependent variable found that there was a significant difference relationship. The level of

communication and problem solving influences customer satisfaction. There was weak positive

correlation between communication and problem solving towards customer satisfaction. The chi-

square established that there was statistical difference while contributing to customer

satisfaction.

The result could be used to improve service delivery in hotel industry and to facilitate training in

hospitality institutions and sector.

5.3 Recommendations.

5.3.1 Pwani University Resource centre/ related hospitality industry

1. Employee training on quality of staffs and service delivery.

2. Regular evaluation on employee performance in enhancing customer satisfaction.

3. Set obtainable objectives on customer satisfaction for a specific time and involve

employees in achieving them.

4. The guest house to register to the Trip Advisor and other internationals social sites to

help them monitor the views of customers just like Distant Relatives and Mnarani

Club in Kilifi town.

5. Employees should be taught effective communication skills and soft skills which can

help them in handling customers effective and solve problems appropriately.

5.3.2 Curriculum development

1. Introduction of psychology in hospitality as a unit.

2. Introduce unit on leadership and coaching in hospitality.

3. Management in small and medium hospitality and tourism sectors.

4. Customer care and consumer information management, an elaborate of communication.

40

5. Strategic hospitality service management.

5.3.3 Further research

1. The accuracy and reliability of the result can be improved by expanding the sample size,

the researchers have only distributed 37 questionnaire

2. Conducting a Case study or survey on evaluation of strategies used to maintain customer

satisfaction

3. Further research should be done on Determining the perception of customers on the

quality of service

4. Triangulation of the study should be done to minimise on the limitations of the current

study.

5. Further study should be conducted on the monitoring and evaluation of customer

satisfaction.

6. The model on the figure should be enriched by conducting a study on how to enhance

sustainable customer satisfaction in hospitality industry.

7. To investigate avenues of communication and problem solving that lead to sustainable

customer satisfaction

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Figure 7.0 Sustainable customer satisfaction model.

5.3.3.1 Source: own model

Customer satisfaction is not one day event! Therefore there is need for development of a model

that can help in maintaining customer satisfaction. The key influencers' of customer satisfaction.

They are proposed as the key strategies that can help in enhancing customer satisfaction not once

but on the daily basis when analyzed well.

42

Customer satisfaction

Low

RESEARCH

Evaluating

Monitoring

Determining

KEY STRATEGIES

Service delivery

Quality of staff

Communication

Problem solving

EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION

Reward and recognition

Promotion

Job satisfaction

High

INTEGRAL VALUES

Good leadership

Customer orientation

Teamwork

Employee empowerment ORGANISATION BENEFITS

Competitive advantage

Customer loyalty

Profit maximization

REVIEW

Strategies

Objectives

Goals

The strategies need integrative values which could back them up in case of decrease in the level

key strategies in the firm. Good leadership, customer orientation, teamwork and empowerment

or training is necessary to help in adopting changes in the hospitality set up.

When effectively applied the customers expectation will be achieved and that is customer

satisfaction.

The point of customer satisfaction must just reach even if the strategies are not deployed but the

degree will differ, it can be low or exactly opposite of customer expectation or high at the most

expectation of customers.

When it is low the managing should review their of objectives, goals and strategies to find out

the cause and they as well conduct research on customers satisfactions to find the views of the

consumers. At this point they can determine the strategies they want to find out or use. To

prevent such happening at this level, the organization should develop a monitoring and

evaluation tool to control the level of customer satisfaction

In case the level of customer satisfaction is high the organization can sense it by enjoying profit

maximization and competitive advantage. Here employees also should benefit to maintain the

level of production and service delivery.

Employees to get satisfied with the job they might be promoted, recognize and get reward and

also engaged in decision making process of the company.

However, customer satisfaction monitoring and evaluating will still remain in if the consumer

have getting their expectations to avoid risking or failure this model when applied can lead to

sustainable customer satisfaction.

43

6.0 REFERENCE

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Ghanaian Upscale Restaurant Services and Revisit Intentions. Journal of Quality Assurance in

Hospitality & Tourism, 16(2), 181-201.

Adesina, K. I., &Chinonso, I. (2015). Service delivery and customer satisfaction in hospitality

industry: A study of the Divine Fountain Hotels Limited, Lagos, Nigeria. Journal of Hospitality

Management and Tourism, 6(1), 1-7.

Ad Oh, H. (1999). Service quality, customer satisfaction, and customer value: A holistic

perspective. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 18(1), 67-82.

Agnihotri, R., Rapp, A., & Trainor, K. (2009). Understanding the role of information

communication in the buyer-seller exchange process: antecedents and outcomes. Journal of

Business & Industrial Marketing, 24(7), 474-486.

Atalik, Ö. (2007). Customer complaints about airline service: a preliminary study of Turkish

frequent flyers. Management Research News, 30(6), 409-419.

Baraka R. Ndoloh (2010) Determining the strategies used to enhance customer satisfaction: a

case study of Serena mountain village: Department of Tourism and Tour Operations

Management. Unpublished

Barreiro, P. L., & Albandoz, J. P. (2001). Population and sample. Sampling techniques.

Management Mathematics for European Schools MaMaEusch (994342-CP-1-2001-1-

DECOMENIUS-C21.

Borysowich, C. (2008): Monitoring customer satisfaction. MCB UP LTD

Creswell, J. W. (2013). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods

approaches. Sage publications

Giese, J. L., & Cote, J. A. (2000). Defining consumer satisfaction. Academy of marketing science

review, 2000, 1.

44

Gunderson, M. G., Heide, M., & Olsson, U. H. (1996). Hotel guest satisfaction among business

travelers. Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 37(2), 72-81.

(Holjevac, I. A., Marković, S., &Raspor, S. (2009, January). Customer satisfaction measurement

in hotel industry: content analysis study. In 4th International Scientific Conference" Planning for

the future learning from the past: Contemporary Developments in Tourism, Travel & Hospitality

Hu, M. L. M., Horng, J. S., & Sun, Y. H. C. (2009). Hospitality teams: Knowledge sharing and

service innovation performance. Tourism Management, 30(1), 41-50.

I., Adongo, C. A., &Dayour, F. (2015). International Tourists’ Satisfaction with Ghanaian

Upscale Restaurant Services and Revisit Intentions. Journal of Quality Assurance in Hospitality

& Tourism, 16(2), 181-201.

Kadam, P., & Bhalerao, S. (2010). Sample size calculation. International journal of Ayurveda

research, 1(1), 55.

Kang, D.H, Davis, L., Habermann, B., Rice, M., and Brome, M. (2005): Hiring the right people

and management of research staff. West J Nurs Research.

Law, R., Leung, R., & Buhalis, D. (2009). Information technology applications in hospitality and

tourism: A review of publications from 2005 to 2007. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing,

26(5-6), 599-623

Langer, M. (1997). Service quality in tourism: measurement methods and empirical analysis.

Peter Lang.

Leon Festinger-Festinger, L. (2010). Cognitive dissonance theory. R. West and LH Turner,

Introducing communication Theory Analysis and Application, 4, 112-128.

(Marković, S., &Raspor, S. (2010). content analysis of hotel guest can comment cards: a case

study of Croatian hotel industry. Our Economy (NaseGospodarstvo), 56

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factor specific approach. MCB UP LTD.

Szuc,D. and Quesenberg, W. (2005): Choosing the right Channel for communicating with

customers

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Qadeer, S. (2014). Service Quality &amp; Customer Satisfaction: A case study in Banking

Sector.

Rust, R. T., & Zahorik, A. J. (1993). Customer satisfaction, customer retention, and market

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Ugboro, I. O., &Obeng, K. (2000). Top management leadership, employee empowerment, job

satisfaction, and customer satisfaction in TQM organizations: an empirical study. Journal of

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Yin, R. K. (2013). Case study research: Design and methods. Sage publications.

46

APPENDICES

7.0 APPENDIX 1

7.1 SAMPLE QUESTIONNAIRE FOR EMPLOYEES

I am a student from Pwani University in the Department of Hospitality and Tourism

Management. This research is based on the determining strategies used to enhance customer

satisfaction.

Instructions

1. Please read the questions carefully

2. Tick in the boxes provided

3. Please ask for clarity if need be

4. Please explain when need be ………………………….

Response from you will only be used for academic purposes and will be treated with utmost

confidentiality. Section I: Personal details

1. Gender (i) Male

(ii) Female

2. Age in years (i) 18-25

(ii) 26-35

(iii) 36-45

(iv) 46-60

(v) Over 60

47

3. What is your highest level of your education? (Tick where appropriate)

(i) University primary level

(ii) College none

(iii) Secondary level

4. Level of development (position)

(i) Manager (ii) Supervisor (iii) Others (specify)………………………

5. Years of experience in hotel industry (tick where appropriate)

(i) Below 5 yrs (ii) 6-10yrs (iii)11 and above

Section 2: Specific information

6. Rate the following attributes according to your personal experience in Pwani University

resource centre employee.

(i) Team work and empowerment

(ii) Employee training and education

(iii) Customer orientation

(iv) Good leadership

(v) Fast response to changing customer needs

7. In your opinion what’s the importance of service quality to:(please tick appropriately)

48

Organization tick Customer tick

1.Increased productivity 1.Take pride in the

organization

2.Increased market share 2.Customer

satisfaction

3.Reduction in cost 3. Loyalty

8. Does the organization offer employee training

(i)Yes (ii) No

9. If yes in 8 above in what form?

(i) In-the- job training (ii) off- the -job training

10. Does your organization have a customer information system?

(i) Yes (ii) No

11 If yes in 10 above, what source do you apply?

(i) Suggestions

(ii) Employees Complain analysis)

END

Thank you for sparing your precious time to fill this Questionnaire.

49

7.2 SAMPLE QUESTIONNAIRE FOR CUSTOMERSI am a student from Pwani University in the Department of Hospitality and Tourism

Management. This research is based on the effects of service quality on customer satisfaction.

Research ethics: Response from you will only be used for academic purposes and will be

treated with utmost confidentiality. Kindly answer the following questions and tick where

appropriate. Please be objective - all comments will be taken into account.

Section I: personal details

1. Gender (i) Male

(ii) Female

2. Age in years (i) 18-25

(ii) 26-35

(iii) 36-45

(iv) 46-60

(v) Over 60

3. What is the level of your education? (Tick where appropriate)

(i) University

(ii) College

(iii) Secondary level

(iv) Primary level

Section II specific information

Kindly rate the following aspects according to your experiences in Pwani University resource

centre. Tick in the appropriate box where 5 represents excellent, 4 represents very good, 3

represents average, 2 represents below average and 1 represents terrible

50

Aspect

(i.)The overall service received 1 2 3 4 5

(ii)The speed in which the service/product was delivered 1 2 3 4 5

(iii)Personalized service 1 2 3 4 5

(iv)The accuracy of the service done 1 2 3 4 5

(i)The ease of contacting the person you needed. 1 2 3 4 5

(ii)Clarity of information or advice provided 1 2 3 4 5

(iii)The time taken to respond to your inquiries 1 2 3 4 5

(iv)How your inquiries where dealt with 1 2 3 4 5

(i)The relevant knowledge of staff you dealt with 1 2 3 4 5

(ii)The courtesy of the staff 1 2 3 4 5

(iii)The assistance offered by the staff 1 2 3 4 5

(iv)How the staff treated you as a valued customer 1 2 3 4 5

(v)The friendliness of the staff 1 2 3 4 5

(i)The way your problems were solved 1 2 3 4 5

(ii)The time taken for your problems to be solved 1 2 3 4 5

(iii)How competent was the staff who handled your

problem

1 2 3 4 5

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(iv)After the problem was solved 1 2 3 4 5

8. How does the following attributes of service quality contributed to your satisfaction?

excellent v.good Average Below

average

terrible

i. Service delivery

ii. communication

iii. Quality of staff

iv. Problem solving

9. If you were to return Pwani university Resource Centre, how likely would you be to stay ?

(i) Definitely

(ii) Probably

(iii) Might or might not

(iv) Definitely not

END

Thank you for sparing your precious time to fill this Questionnaire

52

7.3Letter of permission from the department of Hospitality and Tourism Management.

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7.4 Excell analysis on customers and employees.

54