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DECLARATION
We hereby declare that this thesis is our original research whosefindings have not been presented for another degree in thisuniversity or elsewhere and that all citations in the work havebeen duly acknowledged.
STUDENT’S NAME ID NUMBER SIGNATURE
ANNING AGNES IBS/
0794/10
ANNOR PHILIPA IBS/
0795/10
ANSAH OWUSU IBS/
0796/10
AMOAH STEPHEN IMS/
0133/10
AMOAKO CHARLES KWESI IMS/
0134/10
Supervisors’ Declaration
I hereby declare that we supervised the preparation andpresentation of this thesis in accordance with the rules andregulations of the University for Development Studies (UDS).
[I]
Supervisor’s Name
MR. MUSAH ALHASSAN
Supervisor’sSignature............................
Date.....................................
DEDICATION
We dedicate this work to our parents; love one’s and the
generationunborn.
[II]
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We first of all give thanks to the almighty God for giving
us the strength and the courage to undertake this programme
successfully to this far. Our next thanks go to our
outstanding supervisor, Mr. Musah Alhassan who in diverse
ways gave us the best of guidance and directions to come out
with this work. We express to him our deepest appreciation
[III]
to his hard work and love for students and may God richly
bless and guide him for the good of the University in
particular and to Ghana as a whole. More importantly also,
we express our particular indebtedness to the University for
Development Studies for giving us the chance to undertake
this programme. Particularly, our appreciation goes to the
Faculty members of the Department of Management
Administration and to the staff of the School of Business,
not forgetting Rev. Emmanuel Atami, the Head of Department
of School of Business, Mr. Joseph Kofi Nkoah, and Mr. John
Paul and all other staff members for their care and support
for making this program come to fruition. We again,
expressed our thanks to the Mr. Ezekiel Boakye the Manager
of National Investment Bank, Wa branch and Mr. Benjamin
Amenya, staff member. Our last thanks go to the customersof
the bankwhosupported us with technically explanation of our
data.
[IV]
ABSTRACT
It is vital for service providers to obtain feedback from their
customers. This is especially important when a customer has
perceived an unfavourable service experience. One way to receive
feedback from these customers is to encourage and facilitate the
complaint process.Knowledge about complaint behaviour gives the
service provider valuable insight into service problems and how
to improve service offerings, service processes and interactions
to increase customer satisfaction, loyalty and profit. Customers
who have an unfavourable service experience should be encouraged
to complain because if they do not, the provider risk losing the
customer and thus future revenue.This research set forth to know
how the banking sector manages customer’s complaints. The paper
considers a case study of one bank as a means of understanding
the real issues that makes customer complaints.In carrying out
this research; we adopt the descriptive research module which
involves both the quantitative and qualitative research methods.
[V]
A set of questions were administered to the banking staff of
National Investment Bank Ltd and their customers as well to help
know how customer complaints are managed in the banking industry.
Data generated were analyzed using SPSS and Microsoft Excel
software with the aid of tables, figures, columns and charts. The
results of the study generally indicate that, customer complaint
is vital in the banking sector which enables banks to identify
and improve on service failures. Dissatisfaction being met by the
bank with positive responses and action improve is crucial for
the bank to become successful. The findings of the study reveal
that management of N.I.B has mechanism set in place to implement
complaints customers bring in. the service portal routes
complaints to the right personnel to handle it.
[VI]
Table of ContentCHAPTER ONE...........................................1INTRODUCTION........................................................11.0 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY.......................................1
1.1 THE HISTORY AND BACKGROUND OF THE BANK (N.I.B)..............11.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT...........................................3
1.3 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES.........................................31.4 RESEARCH QUESTION...........................................4
1.5 SIGNIFICANCE................................................41.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY..........................................4
1.7 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY....................................51.8 ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY...................................5
CHAPTER TWO...........................................6LITERATURE REVIEW...................................................62.0 INTRODUCTION..................................................6
2.1 NATURE OF CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS...............................62.2 CAUSES OF COMPLAINTS........................................8
2.3 TECHNIQUES FOR HANDLING CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS.................82.3.1 Establish a common approach to handling complaints.......8
2.3.2 Analyses and Report Trends...............................92.3.3 Build in customer satisfaction checks....................9
2.4 USEFULNESS OF COMPLAINTS....................................92.5 THE IMPORTANCE OF CUSTOMER COMPLAINT BEHAVIOUR.............11
2.6 SOME FEATURES OF COMPLAINT MANAGEMENT......................132.7 CUSTOMER COMPLAINT BEHAVIOUR IN TODAY’S RESEARCH...........15
2.7.1 Motivation for complaining..............................152.7.2 Antecedents to complaint behaviour......................16
2.7.3 Types of complaint responses............................17
[V]
2.8 LITEERATURE GAP............................................182.9 SUMMARY....................................................18
CHAPTER 3............................................19RESEARCH METHODOLOGY...............................................193.0 INTRODUCTION.................................................19
3.1 AREA OF STUDY..............................................193.2 RESEACH DESIGN.............................................20
3.3 POPULATION.................................................203.4 SAMPLE.....................................................20
3.5 SAMPLING FRAME.............................................213.5.1 Sampling techniques.....................................21
3.5.2 Data analysis...........................................213.6 DATA COLLECTION TECHNIQUES.................................21
3.7 RESARCH INSTRUMENTS OR TOOLS...............................22
CHAPTER FOUR.........................................23PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA COLLECTED........................23
4.0 INTRODUCTION.................................................234.1 CUSTOMER SURVEY............................................23
4.1.1 CUSTOMER BANKING PERIODS WITH N.I.B.....................234.1.2 MOST APPRECIATED SERVICE................................25
4.1.3 DISSATISFACATION IN BANKING SERVICES TO CUSTOMERS.......264.1.4 DO CUSTOMERS COMPLAIN ABOUT DISSATIFIED SERVICES?.......27
4.1.5 DID CUSTOMERS COMPLAIN?.................................284.1.6 EASY/DIFFICULT TO COMPLAIN..............................29
4.1.7 SERVICES TO BE IMPROVED.................................294.1.8 COMPARISON OF N.I.B AND OTHER BANKS ON HOW COMPLIANT S IS MANAGED.......................................................314.1.9 HOW COMPLAINTS SHOULD BE HANDLED........................32
[VI]
4.1.10 RECOMMENDING THE BANK TO OTHER CUSTOMERS...............334.1.12 WHY WOULD YOU RECOMMEND THE BANK TO OTHERS.............34
4.2 INSTITUTIONAL SURVEY.......................................354.2.1 HOW THE MANAGEMENT OF N.I.B MANAGES CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS.35
CHAPTER FIVE.........................................37SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS................375.0 INTRODUCTION.................................................37
5.2 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS........................................375.3 CONCLUSIONS................................................38
5.4 RECOMMENDATIONS............................................38Bibliography................................................40
ACRONYMS....................................................45APPENDIX....................................................46
Questionnaire for management................................46Questionnaire for customers.................................47
List of Figures
Figure 1............................................................24Figure 2............................................................28Figure 3............................................................32
List of Tables
Table 1.............................................................25Table 2.............................................................26Table 3.............................................................27Table 4.............................................................29Table 5.............................................................30Table 6.............................................................31Table 7.............................................................33
[VII]
Table 8.............................................................34
[VIII]
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.0 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY.
Within the banking sector, complaints management is becoming an
integral part of business, both from a regulatory perspective and
the customer service stand point. Regulatory bodies are
establishing specific requirement to capture, investigate,
resolve, and report customer complaints. “Customer Expression”
simply states that complaints management is the formal process of
recording and resolving customer complaints (Gerard, 2007).
Houghton (2009) defines “Industry wide trends in the banking
sector as the sales that have decreased industry wide or industry
wide cooperation”. This summarizes common customer experiences in
responds to the changes in banking services. Individual and
aggregate industry trends in complaints behavior are described
including factors that inhabit customer complaints, increasing
the dramatic levels of under-reports. The case is made that
banking industries should affirmatively encourage customer
complaints. This will help the banks identify short comings in
[1]
the product features and service delivery. Thus customer
dissatisfaction will tarnish the bank’s name and image in future.
1.1 THE HISTORY AND BACKGROUND OF THE BANK (N.I.B)
The history of the bank can be traced back to the end of the
Second World War. An association of West African Merchants (AWAM)
was formed when agitations from the indigenes boycotted against
foreign imports by the local population. The colonial
administration decided to establish an entity that will
facilitate the involvement of private indigenous persons in
business. The Gold Coast Industrial Development Corporation
(GCIDC) was therefore established in 1952 with budgetary
appropriations to enable it provide financial support to
indigenes for the establishment of their own businesses.
The Gold Coast Industrial Development Corporation (GCIDC),
encouraged entrepreneurship among the indigenes in the areas of
furniture making and baking. After the independence, the GCIDC
became known as Ghana Industrial Corporation (GIDC) with the
Government of Ghana as the controlling body. The government
transformed the GIDC into the National Investment Bank (NIB) by
[2]
an act of Parliament (Act 163). The NIB was incorporated as an
autonomous joint state private institution on March 22, 1963. It
was established primarily to promote and strengthen rapid
industrialization in all sectors of the Ghanaian economy. The
National Investment Bank Ltd. was therefore the first development
bank in Ghana.
The Act also enabled the National Investment Bank Limited to set
up joint ventures because the Ghanaian manufactures or the
private sector did not have the required funding for start-ups.
NIB on the other hand could lend to enterprises including some of
the defunct regional development corporations. Most of the major
existing industries including Nestle Ghana Limited, Novatel and
many others benefited from NIB’s equity participation or funding
The mission of the National Investment Bank Limited is to offer
the highest-quality, customer-focused banking services to their
clients and to create value for their shareholders.
The National Investment Bank Limited aims at being the most
renowned Ghanaian bank for growth and efficiency.
[3]
The National Investment Bank Limited is said to be one of the
largest financial service institution in Wa Municipality with the
needs of their customers coming first than any other issues.
Their core values are; competence creativity, candor,
collaboration, community, commitment and customer service
excellence.
1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT
As stated in the background of the company, the company has been
quite successful in serving its customers over the period of
operation .With a number of years in business and experience, NIB
have moved from one stage to another and from growth to growth.
The National Investment Bank still face some problems which are:
In order to offer the highest quality, customer- focused
service banking. National Investment Bank offers support to
local industries and customers in terms of giving loans.
Currently NIB’s responses to customers are not effective.
Customers must queue to be se` rved and ATM machines do
not work either. Loans will be granted when collateral
securities are provided.
[4]
If NIB continues to serve customers in this manner, they
will not only lose customers but also international
investors and customers will move to other banks in the
municipality.
1.3 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
To find out how effective customer complaints are managed.
To know how customer complaints are responded to in the
bank.
To find out the factors that will make complaint management
effective in the bank.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTION
How effective are customer complaints managed?
How does management respond to complaints the customer
expresses?
How will the complaint management factors work effectively?
1.5 SIGNIFICANCE
The National Investment Bank focuses on serving its customers
better, collaborate and cooperate with each other to give the
[5]
best service to their cherished customers and shareholders. The
management put in place mechanisms to manage its customer’s
complaints but these mechanisms are not as effective as it must
be. This research when completed will indicate issues that are
worth bringing to the knowledge of management of the bank in
other to serve its cherished customers as the bank seeks to
offer. It also indicates problems or setbacks encountered by the
staff of the Bank in attempt to solve customer problems and
difficulties theywill encounter in their effort to serve
customers effectively. It will help bring out the knowledge and
improvement of understanding in terms of managing customer
complaints.
As a business student, this research gives a mean insight in a
practical situation. It helps give customers the knowledge on how
and when to present a complaint and help improve upon the
reaction of the management and staff of the Bank towards customer
complaints.
1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY.
[6]
The studywill cover National Investment Bankin Upper West in the
Northern part of the country. The company is located in WA near
the market circle. The research covers Management and Customers
of the organization.
1.7 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
The difficulties we will encounter in carrying out the project
work are as follows;
The unwillingness of the company to release some information
needed for the work.
We will face some financial difficulties .It will be very
necessary to travel on motor cycles to andfrom one
destination to another for the needed information. Also we
will spend a lot of money on the internet to fish out some
needed information.
The issue of time will be limited in the research work since
the project work has to be done alongside with all academic
works.
1.8 ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY
[7]
The research reportis organized in five chapters
Chapter one covers the introduction, statement of problem,
research questions, limitations, and the organization of the
study. Chapter two also covers the literature review, brief
introduction on the nature of customer complaints, and its
significant, review of concepts and definitions, related theories
and paradigms, modern perspectives and arguments, literature gap.
In chapter three, detail ofmethodology followed to achieve
results is outlined. It includes the study design, sampling,
sampling techniques and data analysis. Chapter four will comprise
of the presentation and analyzing of data collection. Chapter
five will also include the summary, conclusion, recommendation
and bibliography.
[8]
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.0 INTRODUCTION
The overall purpose of the study is to look at how customer
complaints can be managed in the banking sector. Customer
complaint is one of those integral parts in the banking .These
complaints that is both formal and regulatory have been the main
aim of this study. Complaint comes from various sectors both
within and outside the organization. This has led to most
problems being encountered in the banking sector (National
Investment Bank). The issue of inappropriate prompt responds to
customer complaints and the lack of special amenities set in
place to address customer complaints are the researcher’s main
focus of this research.
This chapter will look at techniques in handling customer
complaints, importance or usefulness of complaints, the nature of
customer complaints and the benefits to the importance.
2.1 NATURE OF CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS
[9]
Strategies for managing the effects of service incidents on
satisfaction, intention to complain have been studied to restore
exchange balances between a customer, potentially disappointed by
a flawed service, and the “offending” firm. Faulty services and
their management may be seen as an exchange situation in which
players evaluate their profits and losses.
In this context, complaint management may be considered a key,
even an essential, variable within a service-based relationship.
A dissatisfies customer is likely to cut off the relationship or
act in a negative way which may damage the firm. Moreover, it is
admitted that seeking a new customer is generally more costly
than preserving an existing one (Fornell and Wernerfelt, 1987).
Retail banks’ faulty services tend to negatively affect service
quality and consequently customers satisfaction. This state of
affairs tends to intensify the need for an efficient complaints
management system (Sabadie and Prim-AllazI, 2006).
Complaints results from being dissatisfied with services provided
by organizations. Dissatisfaction itself occurs when customers’
expectations are not met by the service provider since
[10]
expectations differ from person to person. It may not be possible
for organizations to satisfy all Customers’. Every organization
that offers to the public is thus likely to receive complaints at
some time. “Not all discontented customers however complain.
Studies of customer satisfaction have revealed that customers are
dissatisfied with their purchase above 25% of the time but that
only about 5% complain”. (Eccles and Durand 1998).
Hinson(2006) further distinguishes between two types of
dissatisfied customers: passives; who do not take action because
they believe complaining is not worth the effort or who instead
of telling a provider tells others and talk to third parties
through negative word of mouth. The second type is “garruls”
(garrulous/talkative people) who insist on their right for
compensation and fair treatment for goods and services.
Most customers feel that complaining to staff of service
organizations in Africa as and when a problem occurs will only
cause additional annoyance and waste of time. If customers have a
problem with service rather than the product, they are even less
likely to say something. Customer will tell their friends and
[11]
family about their problems rather than the service provider. In
general, dissatisfied people will tell between 8 and 10 people
about the bad service they received. Customers whose complaints
are satisfactory resolved often become more loyal than customers
who were never satisfied. “If organizations are to win and retain
customer loyalty they must effectively capture and manage
customer complaint”. This a review- by Eccles and Durand 1998 and
the researcher strongly believes.
2.2 CAUSES OF COMPLAINTS
According to Tumi (2010) leader for “future leaders’
foundations”, the general causes of service complaints include;
failure to perform service when promised; inefficiency, rudeness,
delays and failure to keep customers informed of changes and any
flexibility on the part of the service provider. Some common
causes of complaints also include discourteousness, inept and
incompetent service.
2.3 TECHNIQUES FOR HANDLING CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS
[12]
One cannot talk about the techniques without first looking at the
causes. Kurtus (2007) commented on some techniques for handling
customer complaints. He stated that;
2.3.1Establish a common approach to handling complaints
When the customer pays for a service, it is assumed that the
product will work correctly or that the service received is as
promised. Ideally the customer will no longer have a complain.
Kurtus (2007) explained that “if there is a problem and the
customer complains about it, the company should quickly answer
the complaint and solve the customer’s problem”. This problem
solving is normally done through the company’s customer service
activity. According to Gerald (2007) once complaints are recorded
the nature of the complaint among with the product or service the
complaint is about requires classifications. In the banking
sector, complaint that violates federal laws, or internal bank
policies and procedures, should be classified, separately from
other customer service issues. Once complaints are classified,
the data should be analyzed and reported on a regular basis.
2.3.2 Analyses and Report Trends
[13]
Once complaints are classified the data should be analyzed and
reported on a regular basis. The goal of analysis is to identify
themes or trends that occur with front –line service delivery.
The is done with an eye toward both regulatory matters, and
those that improve customer experiences .Given that many bank
ombudsmen report to their Chief Executive and Board of Directors
on a semi-annual basis ,this ensures complaints management
activities receive senior executive attention and accountability.
2.3.3 Build in customer satisfaction checks
Tumi (2010) explained that after an appropriate interval; say
two weeks get in touch with the customer to confirm that the
company still has a customer. The review mechanism should help in
identifying short comings in product features and delivery.
2.4 USEFULNESS OF COMPLAINTS
The importance or usefulness of complaint to companies or
organizations cannot be overemphasized. The benefits derived from
complaints are enormous.
Zairi (2002) postulates that complaints are useful for the
following reasons:
[14]
They are a way of receiving feedback from customer and therefore
a necessary means for putting into action improvement
plans.Complaints are a necessary tool for preventing complacency
and harnessing internal competencies for optimizing products and
service.
Thereis useful way of measuring performance and allocating
resource to deal with the deficient areas of the service
business.They are a useful “mirror” for gauging internal
performance against competition.Complaints are also useful
exercise tor getting nearer and understanding them
better.Complaining customers are among the most loyal customers.
These views are supported by Eccles and Durand (1998) who have
also noted that;
Research findings have indicated that customers who complain are
also more likely to repurchase, even when their complaint is not
handled satisfactory.Again customers whose problems are recovered
are more likely to say positive thing about the company. This is
explained by reciprocity principle which stipulates that people
like to return favors when something nice has been done for them.
[15]
Complaints are vital to a customer focused service organization.
Complaints provide an opportunity to discover weaknesses in
service provisions; identify areas for improvement and
demonstrate high levels of customer care and resolving issues.
Furthermore effective customer complaints procedures can help
organizations to improve both product and service quality by
offering unhappy customers a method of feeding back information
to the providers of those goods and services. Also complaints are
instrumental in developing a quality culture within organizations
by focusing on customer requirement.
2.5 THE IMPORTANCE OF CUSTOMER COMPLAINT BEHAVIOUR
Perceived service failures experienced by customers are a major
concern for the service personnel’s because of the potential
influence of the service outcome. A complaint allows the service
personnel’s to obtain customer feedback that is useful in making
improvements to increase customer satisfaction, loyalty, long-
term sales and profits (Fornell and Wernefelt 1987). Singh (1991)
argues that providers recognise the extent of customer
dissatisfaction in the marketplace and the handling of service
[16]
recovery as main indicators of customer loyalty, discontent and
welfare. Tax (1998), have further demonstrated that effective
resolution of customer complains can have a positive impact on
customers’ trust and commitment. The complaint handling,
therefore, is a critical "moment of truth" in maintaining and
developing the customer relationships (Berry and Parasuraman
1991).
Successful service companies recognize that while attracting new
customers is important, retaining new customers in a closer
relationship is perhaps more essential for profitability (Johnson
and Selnes 2004). Consequently, dissatisfied customers should be
encouraged to complain (Tax, 1998). A complaint from a customer
and a subsequent lack of service recovery activities has a major
impact on the service company’s financial future. When a service
problem occurs, the service company’s response has the potential
to either emphasize a strong customer relationship or change an
apparently minor distraction into a major incident. Improving a
service company’s customer retention rate by 20 percent has the
same effect on profits as cutting costs by 10 percent (Power and
Driscoll 1992).[17]
Furthermore, it has been estimated that by reducing customer
defections among dissatisfied customers by just 5 percent, a
company can achieve a profit improvement of 25-85 percent
(Reichheld and Sasser Jr. 1990). Complaint handling can be a
significantly superior investment for a service company and can
generate 30- 150 percent return on investment (Brown 2000).
Essentially, the payoff for customer retention is high and a good
complaint response can be used to recover from an unfavourable
service experience and subsequently secure the future of the
company.
In addition to a direct negative effect on the company’s
financial future, the unfavourable service experience may also
have an indirect effect. A customer who has experienced a
negative critical incident or experienced an unfavourable service
may spread negative word-of-mouth communication. By understanding
the complaint process and the customer complaint behaviour, the
service company can learn how to reduce the impact of an
unfavourable service experience or complaint. Dissatisfied
customers often voice their displeasure in the form of negative
word-of-mouth to other current and potential customers (Ah-Keng[18]
and Wan-Yiun Loh 2006). When a negative critical incident occurs,
a company may make the customer into a “terrorist” and engage in
protest activities.
On the other hand, if the complaint is properly handled the
customer may engage in positive wordof- mouth (Blodgett and
Anderson 2000). During recent years, negative word-of-mouth
communication has developed a new dimension due to technological
advancements. There is a large amount of evidence showing that
frustrated and angry customers voice their negative impressions
on the internet. Bailey (2004) has identified four categories for
corporate complaint websites that are used for negative word-of-
mouth communication: (i) Individual sites developed by
disgruntled customers or former employees, (ii) Corporate
complaint sites, (iii) Intermediate sites and (iv).Consumer
protection agency sites.
As mention earlier, customer feedback and complaints are key
drivers for improving different aspects of business and may help
the provider to develop a sustainable company. An effective
complaint management process can be an important quality
[19]
improvement tool. Many studies emphasise that customer feedback
and complaints should be welcomed and encouraged by the service
provider because they generate valuable information (Nyer and
Gopinath 2005). Customer complaints may be useful in many ways:
providing marketing intelligence data (Harrison-Walker 2001),
identifying common service problems (Harari 1992), learning about
organization (Johnston and Mehra 2002), improving service design
and delivery (East 2000), measuring and enhancing the perception
of service quality (Harrison-Walker 2001), and helping strategic
planning (Dröge and Halstead 1991). A customer who does not
complain to the service personnel when having an unfavorable
service experience is of particular concern to any service
company.
It is generally accepted that obtaining feedback from customers’
service experiences is important and if the provider fails to
obtain such valuable feedback, the opportunity to remedy the
problem and retain the customer is lost (Hirschman 1970). The
company’s reputation can also suffer damage from negative word-
of-mouth among dissatisfied customers (Richins 1983b). It is
often asserted that lack of feedback from dissatisfied customers[20]
represents a loss of potential and current customers. Therefore,
it is important to understand the customer’s service evaluation
through increased knowledge about the behavioral process and in
the case of an unfavorable service experience, the complaint
behavior.
2.6 SOME FEATURES OF COMPLAINT MANAGEMENT
As (Fornell and Wernerfelt 1988) suggest, complaint management is
much more general than warranties and guarantees. In their
summary, complaint management typically applies to all customers,
rather than a subset of clients; and it’s closely related to the
reports on quality improvement. Moreover, “effort to facilitate
voicing of complaints" is a crucial part of complaint management.
It also widely recognized that customer complaint mainly is
driven by failing expectation, thus both expectations and quality
realization are essences. These features motivate the basic
ingredients of our model, such as the corrective action as public
good, and the key role of complaining barrier set-up as policy
choice.
[21]
The following stylized facts about complaint behavior are
concerns of our work. First, it’s a famous marketing text- book
even asserts that as much as 95% of dissatisfied customers never
tell the company their problem (Kotler et al 1999). Hence, it
suggests that not complaining is more likely a part of
equilibrium behavior, rather than abnormal action. Second, since
most customer complaints are unsolicited (Richins and Verhage,
1985), economic theory may suggest because of the possible
misreport problem, complaint is not a perfect indicator of
service quality. This is concerned by various researches. For
instance, (Snellman and Vihtkari, 2003) illustrate that the most
frequent complainers are those who actually con- sider themselves
guilty for the outcome.
Doerpinghaus(1991) suggests that disappointed expectations,
rather than poor service quality, may result in complaints. And
it’s recognized that complaint frequency is not significantly
related to the dissatisfaction (Andreasen, 1977). (Halstead et
al, 1996) found that poor performance in one service area may
predispose the complainers to negatively evaluate and complain
other service areas or attributes. Hence consistent with the need[22]
by (TARP, 1991), customer satisfaction may not reach service
quality or customer satisfaction. Finally, despite the claims
made by many firms that complaining is encouraged, substantive
barriers exist. (TARPS, 1991) identify time and effort involved,
ignorance about how to complain, and uncertainty about redress
after complaints as the primary sources of cost.
Moreover, complaining barrier, consequently complain behavior,
varies considerably across countries, industries, even firms.
Many surveys since (Richins and Verhage, 1985) have established
that dissatisfied customers from some specific countries are
significantly less likely to complain, thus culture background
may matter. (TARP, 1992) demonstrates that
complaint/dissatisfaction ratio varies significantly across
industries, in which tourist and luxury products have higher
ratio, and consumer products has the lowest one. (Fornell, 2007)
identifies hospitals, life insurance, airlines and health
insurance as the worst ones in complaints handling, while
supermarkets and automobile work well. Even the firms in the same
industry have quite different complaint handling practices. For
example, Ryanair, the leading low-cost airline in Europe, is[23]
famous for its bad attitude toward complaints and obstruct
procedure to complain10. On the other hand, Southwest Airlines,
the low-cost airline in U.S., maintain the lowest complaint rate
and very high customer’s satisfaction.
2.7 CUSTOMER COMPLAINT BEHAVIOUR IN TODAY’S RESEARCH
Research on customer complaint behaviour has mainly emphasized
three aspects: (i) motivation for complaining, (ii) antecedents
to complaint behaviour and (iii) types of complaint responses.
2.7.1 Motivation for complaining.
Even decades ago, researchers argued that dissatisfaction serves
as the motivation for complaint behavior (Day, 1984). Since then,
several researchers have followed in their footsteps and argued
that dissatisfaction is the main source of complaints. According
to Keaveney (1995), there are several determinants to switching
behaviour, which can be categorized as single or complex types of
determinants. The categories depend on the number of factors
involved in the switching behaviour. These types of determinants
suggest that fully understanding the motivation for complaint
behaviour is complicated. Based on Keaveney’s (1995) research,
[24]
there are three main single sources for complaint behaviour: (i)
core service failure, (ii) service encounter failure and (iii)
responses to failures. Core service failure is the most commonly
reported reason for dissatisfaction (Bitner, 1990). The main
reason for an unsatisfactory outcome in service encounters is the
employee’s response to service delivery system failures (Bitner,
1990).Inadequate response to service failures also increases the
likelihood that dissatisfied customers will complain about the
incident (Bitner, 1994). Oliver (1997) notes that as many as half
of all customer complaining episodes end with even more
dissatisfaction.
2.7.2 Antecedents to complaint behaviorthe idea of linking
consumer’s responses to the intensity of dissatisfaction is not
new. The first model proposing such a relationship was put
forward by (Landon, 1977). More recent research agreed with this
statement (Maute and Forrester 1993). (Richins, 1983), using
severity of the problem as a surrogate for intensity of
dissatisfaction, found a direct relation between intensity and
complaining behaviour. Attitude towards the act of complaining is
conceptualized as an overall effect towards the “goodness or bad”[25]
of complaining to service personnel (Singh and Widing 1991). When
consumers believe that their complaint will be accepted by the
firm and not spread negative word- of- mouth, they become happy
(Anderson and Sullivan, 1993). Bearden el al (2001) argues that
“consumers self-confidence is the extent to which individual feel
capable and assured with respect to his or her market place
decisions and behaviour” and reflects as a consumer in the
marketplace( Adelman 1987).
2.7.3 Types of complaint responses
Several different complaint response models have been suggested
in the past. There are two main types of complaint responses: (i)
complaint models that include intermediate factors in the
complaint process such as justice (Tax, 1998) or emotions (White
and Yi-Ting, 2005) and (ii) complaint response models that are
untainted (Day and Landon Jr. 1977b). The latter complaint models
are most often referenced. Hirschman’s (1970) theory of exit,
voice and loyalty was one of the first to conceptualize customer
complaint responses.
[26]
According to Hirschman (1970), the customer can choose to voice
a complaint to the seller or a third party and then exit the
relationship with the seller through switching or determination.
The model suggests that ‘exit’ or ‘voice’ is dependent on the
degree of customer loyalty. Day and Landon (1977) suggested a
three-level hierarchical classification scheme. The model
distinguished between taking no action and taking some action and
is further subdivided into private and public responses. Private
actions include decisions to stop further purchases and warnings
to friends and/or ceasing to patronize a retail outlet; public
actions include redress-seeking efforts directed toward the
seller, complaints to third-party consumer affairs institutions
and legal action.
Singh (1988) extended and Landon’s (1977) hierarchical model to
a three-dimensional model consisting of private response (e.g.,
negative word-of-mouth), voice response (e.g., seeking redress
from the seller), and third-party response (e.g., taking legal
action or complain to an external third party). Private response
refers to behaviour exhibited within a customer’s own social
sphere. Such behaviour can vary from warning friends and[27]
relatives against using a service provider to deciding not to
purchase from a provider again. Voice response essentially refers
to complaining directly to the offending provider. A customer who
contacts a service provider in person, in writing or by telephone
would be using voice response.
Singh (1988) also included the “no complaint action” in this
category. Third-party response, conversely, refers to complaints
expressed to an external party who are not directly involved with
the offending service provider but who may have some authority or
influence over the provider. Customers who contact customer
protection agencies, lawyers or newspapers as a result of a
dissatisfying experience with a service provider are taking
third-party action (Singh 1988). Exit is when the customer begins
a personal boycott against the service provider to avoid
repeating the original transaction that led to dissatisfaction.
2.8 LITEERATURE GAP
The following research gaps are identified by a reviewing both
national and international literature regarding customer
complaint management .it is consequently found many foreign
[28]
literature failed to acknowledge the effectiveness of initiative
strategies, maintains strategies and services satisfaction to
identified the effectiveness of customer complain management in
any banking industry.
Another important gap which induced the present research is that
the previous researchers did not give any relationship the
service seekers and service providers this present thesis
numerically identified the gap between perception of customers
and bankers.
2.9 SUMMARY
Institutions, organizations and service providers should not take
customer complaints as a dent on their performance but rather as
a sit up call. This will intend yield benefits to the
organization in terms of customer loyalty. Also customer’s
retention in the future will be attained when such complaints are
handled effectively. This is what this chapter has been trying to
do – look at what others have said about how customers’
complaints can be managed: the techniques adopted in managing
[29]
such complaints and the benefits one stands to derive from
managing complaints very well.
CHAPTER 3
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.0 INTRODUCTION
The objective of this chapter is to discuss the method used for
the study. It describes the target population and selected
sample. It also outlines the development and design of the
methods used to administer the questions and designs of the
research plus the study area.
3.1 AREA OF STUDY
The area of study is the Wa municipality of the Upper West
region. It is located in the North West corner of the Upper West
[30]
region of Ghana between latitude of 9°-32W to 10°-20W and
longitude of 1°40N. The town serves as transportation for the
Upper West region of Ghana, with major roads leading Hamile and
North East to Tumu in Upper West region of Ghana. It has annual
rainfall of 879m (34.6in) and the hottest period of year’s day
time temperature; often reach 39o c mean annual temperature.
The municipality covers a landmass area of 1502.336 JKM² and is
divided into five area/town councils to facilitate effective
decentralized administrative, political and development decision-
making and transparent governance. The municipality has a total
population of 107,214 with 52,996 being males and 54,218 females
representing 49.4% to that of males and 50.6% to that of females.
(Wa statistical department)
3.2 RESEACH DESIGN
Mixed approach methodology was use as the research design. This
entails quantitative and qualitative methods. Quantitative
[31]
approach takes into accounts numerical analysis whiles the
quality of the research study too was considered by qualitative
methods.
Effective management of customer complaint helped retain ones
customers, when customers are fully satisfied. It also helped the
organization to identify their weakness in their service
delivery. The study is based on managing customer complaint in
the financial sector. The information gathered was based on how
complaints are received and handled in the banking sectors and
the mechanisms set in place to handle them .To obtain account
data for the study the researcher used both primary and secondary
data. The primary data got through the designing of questionnaire
whilst the secondary data was got from text books to suit the
purpose of the study.
3.3 POPULATION
The population target that the researchers were interested in
studying was the National Investment Bank (NIB) in Wa which
involve the Management, Staff and Customers.
3.4 SAMPLE
[32]
To save time and cost, Forty nine (49) questionnaires were
designed for the Management and Customers of the organization to
be answered, which represent a bigger group or allow the
researcher to obtain data from representative section of the
population from valid conclusion.
3.5 SAMPLING FRAME
Two of the questionnaires were distributed to management and
forty seven to the customers of the National Investment Bank.
3.5.1 Sampling techniques
The researcher used probability and non- probability sampling
techniques in selecting the sample for the study. In order to get
very accurate result for this study, management and customers
were being selected. The researcher used simple random sampling
technique to select the customers and other financial
institutions while the purposive sampling technique was used to
[33]
select the staff. In the purposive sampling, the sample is chosen
to suit the purpose of the study.
3.5.2 Data analysis
In order to make valid assumptions about the information and data
collected, a comprehensive data analysis approach was of
immersive help to bring about logical conclusions and
recommendations. Data wasanalyzed through the use of the
software of Statistical Package for social science (SPSS),
charts, tables and Microsoft excel. Apart from this method,
quantitative and qualitative tools of analysis were also used to
analyze our data where necessary.
3.6 DATA COLLECTION TECHNIQUES
The main sources of data collection for the study were primary
and secondary data. The primary data was obtained using
questionnaires and interviews which would be designed and
administered to the management, staff, customers, and other
customers in different financial institutions by the researchers
in Wa Municipal. The secondary source of data is the already
processed data that we obtain fromorganizations that are
[34]
considered relevant to our study, some of these organizations
include: National Investment Bank (NIB) and others bank in Wa
municipality.
3.7 RESARCH INSTRUMENTS OR TOOLS
Questionnaires were used as our source of obtaining primary
data. The questionnaires were properly designed to aid us
generate appropriate and relevant data for the study. The essence
of the questionnaires is to give the respondents the opportunity
to answer the questions at their leisure time. Both open and
close ended form of questionnaires was used. These forms of
questionnaires, most especially the close ended form is easy to
answer, less expensive and requires less time. The open ended
form is to enable respondents express their opinion on the study
where necessary. The questionnaires were subjected to validation
before administering and this to enable us avoid ambiguity and
other terminologies.
[35]
CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA COLLECTED
4.0 INTRODUCTION
This section contains the analysis from the questionnaires
administered in the field of survey. For the purpose of the
analysis and discussion, the study was conducted with two
identified groups which comprise the management and the customers
of bank .A total number of forty-seven (47) customer
questionnaires were selected, two were given to the management of
the bank making a total number of 49 respondents. The
[36]
questionnaires were to find out how N.I.B manages its customer
complains in the Wa municipality and suggest ways to improve upon
the customer care services. The data was analyzed based on the
objectives of the study. The information obtained is presented in
the form of tables and charts in this section. An analysis of the
findings is presented alongside the data obtained.
From the data collected, the following findings were obtained by
the researchers after the analysis of data collected from the
management of the bank. The findings are grouped under the
objectives of the study.
4.1 CUSTOMER SURVEY
4.1.1 CUSTOMER BANKING PERIODS WITH N.I.B.
This is the distribution of respondents and the year each
customer started doing business with the bank. From the response
the researchers had, it can be seen from the fig.1 that none of
the respondents started business with N.I.B between 10 and
11years period. In the fig.1 the analysis shows that, from 7,
9and 12years in doing business with the bank recorded the lowest
customers of one (1) customer each representing 2.1% each. From
[37]
3and 4 years in doing business with the bank recorded the highest
years N.I.B with a total of ten (10) representing 21.3% each of
the total respondents of the study. However, from 5years in doing
business with the bank recorded the second highest, 8 respondents
which represent 17.0%. The next highest of the respondent was
from 6 years which recorded five (5) customer representing 10.6%.
Also from 2 years and 8years recorded four (4) customers each
representing 8.5% each and from 1year recorded the second lowest
customers of three (3) representing 6.4% of the total respondent.
Figure 1
[38]
Source: Field Survey, June 2014
Most of the customers started doing business with N.I.B from the
years 3 and 4. Most customers can be said to be students and few
being workers and laymen as illustrated in fig.1 above. This can
be due to services rendered during those year periods or periods
when the bank had competitive advantage over their competitors.
Management can still attract customer if those mechanisms are put
in place again.
4.1.2 MOST APPRECIATED SERVICE.
[39]
Customer may appreciate services rendered by the bank or have one
or two problem with them. Service like accessing loans, accessing
money, advisory services and any other banking services rendered
by N.I.B. Forty seven(47) respondents represent the total
population, thirty four (34) customers were with the view that
they do appreciate accessing cash as a service which represent
72.3%,Three(3) of the customers which represent 6.4% of the
population were also with the view that the loan service was the
most flexible one, Three(3) of the other customers also
appreciate the company’s advisory service and that also represent
6.4%, however seven (7) respondents were also with the view that
other services which included ATM service was the most
appreciated one which serves as an account through which
remittance can be received which represent 14%.
Table 1
Response Frequency Percent
Loans 3 6.4
Accessing
cash
34 72.3
[40]
Advisory
service3 6.4
Others 7 14.9
Total 47 100.0
Source: field survey, June 2014
As shown in table1 above, accessing cash is the most appreciated
service customers enjoy as compared to accessing loans, the
advisory services and other services rendered by the bank.
Although customers appreciated accessing cash most, management
can improve upon those services customers find less appreciating
to promote the effective management of the bank. The bank can
improve upon their customer care services and also compete with
its competitors.
4.1.3 DISSATISFACATION IN BANKING SERVICES TO CUSTOMERS
Customers’ dissatisfaction with banking services can be from the
management and how they render services to their customers. How
tellers serve and talk to customers can satisfy or dissatisfy the
[41]
customer. From the questionnaires selected, Twenty seven (27)
customers were with the view that they dissatisfied which is57.4%
and twenty customers (20) respondent who are not dissatisfied in
any services the bank renders which is 42.6%.
Table 2
RESPONSE FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE
Yes 27 57.4
No 20 42.6
Total 47 100.0
Source: field survey, June 2014
From table2 customers who were dissatisfied with the service of
the bank out numbers the customers who are not dissatisfied with
the banking services. Management of N.I.B must improve upon their
customer care in order to satisfy customers and to compete with
its other banking competitors
4.1.4 DO CUSTOMERS COMPLAIN ABOUT DISSATIFIED SERVICES?
Customers complain to management and specified officers on
problem they encounter with services rendered to them. This is
[42]
the fourth question the researchers asked customers and in all
forty seven (47) structured questionnaires were received out from
customers who made complains to the bank. Twenty two (22)
customers said yes representing 46.8%, twenty four (24) customers
also said no representing 51.1% and remaining 2.1%
representingNon respondentsas shown in Table.3.
Table 3
Response Frequen
cy
Percenta
ge
Yes 22 46.8
No 24 51.1
Non
respond
ent.
1 2.1
Total 47 100.0
Source: Field survey, June 2014
As Table.3 shows, customers do not complain to the management
about their services they dissatisfied with which management
[43]
should know and they must improve upon. Management must note that
even though customers do not complain they must find ways to know
customers problems and to make it a point to solve those
problems. A competitive advantage can be won by the management
over its competitors.
4.1.5 DID CUSTOMERS COMPLAIN?
In all forty- seven (47) structured questionnaires were received
out of customers who made complains to the bank. Twenty-two (22)
customers said yesrepresenting 46.8%, twenty four (24) customers
also norepresenting 51.1% and remaining 2.1% representing non-
respondent.
Figure 2
[44]
Yes No Non-respondent0
10
20
30
40
50
60
FrequencyPercentageColumn1
Source: field survey June, 2014
As shown in Fig.2, customers do not complain about services they
are dissatisfied in the bank. The management cannot or will not
know the problems of their customers to be improved upon. This is
the point management must put measures in place to pinpoint
customers problems and paying critical attention to those
problems even though they do not complain, management can find
ways to know their customers dissatisfactory with their services
rendered.
4.1.6 EASY/DIFFICULT TO COMPLAIN
[45]
Management -Customer relationship must be warmly cordial.
Customers must be at ease to interact with the management of the
bank they do services with. Questionnaires filled by customers’
shows that, in all forty seven (47) structured questionnaires
received, customers who think complains are very easy in the bank
are ten (10) customers representing 21.3%, eleven (11) customers
also said it was not easy complaining which also represents
23.4%, one (1) customer said very difficult representing 2.1% and
remaining 53.2% representing non-respondent.
Table 4
Response Frequency Percent
Non- respondent 25 53.2
very easy 10 21.3
not so easy 11 23.4
very difficult 1 2.1
Total 47 100.0
Source: Field survey, June 2014
The few customers who complained about the services rendered in
the bank admitted that it was very easy to complain about their
problems. But as shown in fig.2 customers do not complain to the[46]
management of the dissatisfaction in the services they render to
them.
4.1.7 SERVICES TO BE IMPROVED.
Customers of the National Investment Bank think some of the
services must be improved upon. In all forty seven (47)
represents the total population of customers who also think
N.I.B. should improve on their services rendered. Nineteen (19)
customers were with the view that they should improve on their
loan service which is representing 25.0%, sixteen (16) customers
also said they should improve on accessing cash which is
representing 21.1%. However twelve (12) customers also think they
should improve on advisory service which representing 15.7% and
twenty nine customers (29) respondent to other services which is
38.2%.
[47]
Table 5
Response Frequenc
y
Percen
t
Loans 19 25.0
Accessing
cash16 21.1
Advisory
service12 15.7
Others 29 38.2
Total 47 100.0
Source: Field survey, June 2014
Most of the customers have done business with other banks in the
Wa municipality. This may be good or bad for the bank/management
because customers can leave for the other bank for N.I.B alone
and vice versa.
Management must seize this opportunity and improve upon their
customer relation and care to attract more customers.
4.1.8 COMPARISON OF N.I.B AND OTHER BANKS ON HOW COMPLIANT S IS MANAGED.
[48]
As most customers in business with N.I.B also do business with
other banks, questionnaires given to customers about how both
banks handle complains they make and from all the forty seven
(47) which represents the total population of customers being
satisfied with the way complains are handling in the banking
sector. Ten (10) customers were with the view that they are
satisfied with it, which is 21.3%, twelve customers (12)
responded to no which represents 25.5% and remaining 53.2%
representing non-respondent.
Table 6
Response Frequency Percentag
e
Yes 37 78.7
No 10 21.3
Total 47 100.0
Source: Field survey, June 2014
Most of the customers agree that the other banks they do business
with and N.I.B are not the same when compared. N.I.B is better
than the other banks as the most of customer say as some also say
they are most the same. This is when management must work towards[49]
winning its customers and other customers to help maintain their
competitive advantage and to work effectively to satisfy their
cherished customers.
4.1.9 HOW COMPLAINTS SHOULD BE HANDLED
Most people would like to be treated different. Everybody has got
a way in which they prefer to be handled with their issues so as
customers of every institution and banking firms. As everybody
has different views on handling issues, so as customers of N.I.B.
they prefer the management to handle the complaints they make in
a more effective way. Fig.3 is in two sections, the section
marked with blue represents customers who said yes to the
researchers that there’s supposed to be a way management handles
their complaints. And the portion marked with green represents
customers who said no. The customers who said yes recorded 78.7%
and customers with No as their answer recorded 21.3% respectively
as illustrated in fig.3.
[50]
Figure 3
Source: field survey, June, 2014
Customers think the bank can handle their complaints in a more
effective way. This can help improve upon customer care services
and also attract customers into the bank. This helps maintain
competitive advantage over their competitors in the Wa
municipality and Ghana in a whole.
4.1.1 RECOMMENDING THE BANK TO OTHER CUSTOMERS
Would you recommend N.I.B to any other person? Researchers asked
customers and from the study conducted, the researchers sought
[51]
out the way customers from N.I.B will recommend to other person
in different bank. Thirty seven (37) customers out of the total
respondent said yes representing 83.0%, seven (7) customers out
of the total respondent said no which represent 14.9%, one (1)
customer out of the total respondent representing 2.1% are non-
respondent as shown in Table.7.
Table 7
Response Frequenc
y
Percenta
ge
Non-
responden
t
1 2.1
Yes 39 83.0
No 7 14.9
Total 47 100.0
Source: Field survey, June 2014
Yes N.I.B is better than other banks and we will recommend this
bank to other people so they can do business with the too as most
customers said. This is an opportunity for the management of
N.I.B and they can attract more customers and attain a[52]
competitive advantage over their competitors in the Wa
municipality and in Ghana as a whole.
4.1.12 WHY WOULD YOU RECOMMEND THE BANK TO OTHERS
Customers give reasons to why they will recommend N.I.B to other
people as required in the questionnaires researchers provided
out of 47 respondents, 17 respondents representing 36.17% said
they are willing to recommend the bank to others due to the good
nature of the bank services, 13 respondent represent 27.05% will
recommend the bank because of how customer complaint are handled,
8 respondents representing 19.14% will recommend due to their
loan services they offered and 9 respondents representing 19.14%
said they see the bank services as a poor one, since they are
always dissatisfy with the bank services as shown in Table.8.
Table 8
Services Frequency Percentage
Bank services are
good
17 36.17
Customer relation 13 27.05
[53]
Loan services 8 17.02
Poor services 9 19.14
Total 47 100
Source: Field survey, June 2014
As shown in Table.8 above most customers are willing to recommend
the bank to others because their services are of good quality.
Although some still think some of their services are poor,
management can make a difference with this. More customers can
be attracted by the bank if proper measures are put in place.
This can also help the bank compete with its competitors.
4.2 INSTITUTIONAL SURVEY
4.2.1 HOW THE MANAGEMENT OF N.I.B MANAGES CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS
When researchers met the management of the National Investment
Bank, the question “Do you have any customer complaints
mechanism?” was asked. They said yes they do and they made sure
it was effective and met their customers’ requirement. In order
to ensure that, special officials were appointed to take
responsibility of the customer’s complaints they went on to say
[54]
that their complaint management effort as compared to their major
competitors is at Par. With reference to other survey made by the
researchers, due to how management responds to customer
complaints, it can be said to have increased the number of
customers in the bank. The researchers sought to find out the
difference between N.I.B and other banks on how they handle
complaints from customers and in all forty-seven selected from
the total questionnaires, fourteen (14) customers think that they
are the same, seventeen (17) customers were of the view that
N.I.B is better, eight (8) customers also think that they are
better than N.I.B and eight (8) customers of the total population
did not respondent.
The management said they ensure that N.I.B has better complaint
handling mechanisms than any bank in Wa Municipality and they
manage these complaints by assigning special human personnel’s
and they made sure the environment was conducive for the
complainant. The management then assured the complainant that
proper mechanisms will be put in place for the customer
satisfaction.
[55]
Most customers complain about their ATM cards and the machine
itself, their cheque withdrawal books, huge collateral securities
before lending loans and how the place is always busy and jammed
on Mondays. And customers are assured that their problems will be
solved as soon as possible. And customers leave with happy and
smiley faces because we assured them and we make it a point to do
so as soon as possible.
Our major constraints are when the IT networks jams up. Customers
although waits patiently for ours services are disturbed .ATM
machine also become useless when the network jams up.
We still look forward for proper mechanisms to improve upon the
complaint our customers makes. And we make it a point to serve
them better. All these were acquired from the management by the
researchers when two (2) questionnaires were selected from all
three questionnaires given to the management.
Source: Field survey, June 2014
[56]
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.0 INTRODUCTION
This chapter gives the overall summary of the research. It will
also discuss the implications of the outcomes and help recommend
proper mechanism for the management to solve the complaints their
customers make. As stated in the problem statement N.I.B has been
[57]
serving their customers successful for sometimes now but still
faces problems with managing its customer complaints. There are
no proper mechanisms put in place to address customer complaints.
Management of the bank does not have appropriate response to
customer complaints. Researchers used both the quantitative and
qualitative approaches in the findings of this research work. In
the researcher’s findings, customers gave ways they expect the
management to handle their complaint and the management are
putting mechanisms in place to satisfy their customers.
5.2 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS.
Management of N.I.B has mechanisms set in place to handle
customer complaints. The service portal was set in place to
implement the complaints customers bring in. The service portal
routes complaints to the right personnel to handle it.
Most customers are satisfied with accessing cash when compared
with other services in bank. They are able to report to the
management of N.I.B of their problems and share their views on
how it can be handled. Also management of the company deemed
complaint to be very useful as it is a tool for measuring
[58]
performance and allocating resource. Complaints are also a way of
receiving feedback from customers and therefore a necessary means
for putting into action improvement plans.
Moreover the company’s complaint handling effort was rated high
above competitors. The major complaints the company receive from
customers are the problems with the ATM machine and cheque book
delays. Loyal customers of N.I.B find it easy to complain to
management about their problems.
Researchers had their findings from the management and customer
of the National Investment Bank. Data was collected and analyzed
based on the researchers’ findings.
5.3 CONCLUSIONS.
From what has been discussed it can be observed that management
sees their customers as very important and handling their
complaints is vital. In view of this management has set in place
complaint handling mechanisms to deal with the customer’s
problem. The researchers however agree with Cosmo Graham that
“the better the complaints are handled the higher the level
customer satisfaction”. This is because the mechanisms set in
[59]
place will help solve customer’s problems and thus increase their
level of satisfaction.
5.4 RECOMMENDATIONS.
The National Investment Bank aims to be the most renewed Ghanaian
bank for growth and efficiency and also to offer the highest-
quality services to its clients and create a value for its
shareholders in their long and short term goals. Although, most
of the questions were answered positively by customers, findings
have indicated that there is more room for improvement. The
researchers recommend that;
The bank should be undergoing training and workshops to
offer more effective customer service for customer
satisfaction.
The management should conduct periodic customer satisfaction
survey since customer complaint level cannot only be used to
measure customer satisfaction in order to improve customer
care services.
Customers should been courage to complain and their
complaints must be given attention and resolved fully. The
[60]
researchers also recommend that customer hot line should be
established to maximize the ease with which customers
complain or make suggestions and inquire about the service
delivered.
Customers of the bank should be asked to rate the company’s
service on key satisfaction factors like speed of service
delivery and friendliness of staff in order for management
to know total performance of the bank.
Banking services such as loans, advisory services and
automatic teller machines (A.T.M) are improved upon and loan
service be made more flexible to attract customers and
improve upon their level of satisfaction. The management can
reduce high collateral securities for easy access to loans.
The above recommendation, if properly adhered will assist N.I.B.
to effectively handle customer complaint and thus satisfy the
customer the right way and retaining them for survival of the
bank.
[61]
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[68]
ACRONYMS
AWAM- Association of West African Merchant
GCIDC- The Gold Coast Industrial Development Corporation
N.I.B- National Investment Bank
GIDC- Ghana Industry Corporation
SPSS - Statistical Package for the Social Sciences
ATM – Automatic Teller Machine
SMS- Small Message Service
[69]
APPENDIX
UNIVERSITY OF DEVELOPMENT STUDIES
SCHOOL OF BUSINESS-ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT
QUESTIONNAIRE ON THE TOPIC: MANAGING CUSTOMER COMPLAINT IN THE
BANKING SECTOR.
This question will help the researcher be able to identify how
effectively complaints are being managed, and also identify how
they are responded in the company.
Questions are to be answered in the spaces allocated .Information
about customers or the organization shall be kept confidential.
Please give brief answers where required and tick the appropriate
box where necessary.
Questionnaire for management
To find out how effective customer complaints are managed.
1. Please do you have a complaint management mechanism?[70]
Yes [ ], No [ ]
2. Ifyes, what are these mechanisms?
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3. How are these mechanisms implemented?
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4. How would you rate the effectiveness of your complaint
handling mechanisms?
A, Good [], b. Very good [ ], c.Excellent [ ]d. Average [ ], e.
export [].
5. How does your complaint management effort compare with your
major competitors?
[71]
a. At par [ ], b.Below competitors [ ], c.Above
competitors [ ].
Questionnaire for customers
To know how customer complaints are responded to in the bank.
1. How long have you been banking with N.I.B.?
…………………………………………………………………………
2. Which of the banks service do appreciate most?
a. Loans [ ], b.Accessingcash[ ], c.Advisory service
[ ], d. Otherservices [ ]
3. Have you ever been dissatisfied with the service rendered to
you?
Yes [ ], No [ ].
4. Did you complain about it?
Yes [ ], No [ ]
5. If yes, were you satisfied with the way it was handled?
Yes [ ], No [ ]
[72]
6. Was it easy to complain?
a. Very easy [ ], b.Not so easy [ ], c.Very difficult [
]
7. Which of the services do you think should be improved upon?
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-------------,---------------.
8. Have you done business with any other bank apart from N.I.B.?
Yes [ ], No [ ].
9. Ifyes, how would you compare the way complaints are handled
there to N.I.B.?
a. They are the same [ ], b. N.I.B. is better [ ],
c.They are better than N.I.B. [ ]
10. Is there any way you want N.I.B.to handle your complaints?
Yes [ ], No [ ].
11. Would you recommend N.I.B.to any other person?
Yes [ ], No [ ]
[73]
12. Why? Give reasons to question 11.
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