HR Customer Satisfaction Project

ABSTRACTS

This study on customer satisfaction level towards the F&V and FMCG products and service offered by Heritage Foods Limited. “,(Medavakkam, Rajakilpakkam store)”. Aims at understanding customers satisfaction of the product & services and analysis the satisfaction of customers post sales.

Primary data was collected with the help of the questioner from the customers in this store. The sample size considered for the study is from the branch of Medavakkam.

The tools for this analysis include percentage analysis dependent on reasonable price and product advantage after sales service and store price. This findings and suggestions derived from the data analysed with was to improve the satisfaction level of the customer with respect to customer activities.

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1. INTRODUCTION

ABOUT THE PROJECT :

WHY ORGANISATIONS FOCUS ON CUSTOMER SATISFACATION

Businesses monitor customer satisfaction in order to determine how to increase their

customer base, customer loyalty, revenue, profits, market share and survival. Although

greater profit is the primary driver, exemplary businesses focus on the customer and his/her

experience with the organisation. They work to make the customers happy and see

customer’s satisfaction as the key to survival and profit. Customer satisfaction in turn hinges

on the quality and effects of their experience and the goods or service they receive.

Customers satisfaction, a term frequently used in marketing, is a measure of how products

and services supplied by a company meet or surpass customers expectation. Customers

satisfaction is defined as “the number of customers, or percentage of total customer, whose

reported experiences with a frim, its products, or its services (rating) exceeds specified

satisfaction goals.” In a survey of nearly 200 senior marketing managers, 71 percent

responded that they found a customer satisfaction metric very useful in managing and

monitoring their businesses.

It is seen as a key performance indicator within the business and is often part of a balanced

scorecard. In a competitive market place where businesses compete for customers, Customers

satisfaction is seen as a key differentiator and increasingly as become a key element of

business strategy.

Customers taste and preferences are changing day by day. Identification of these changes is a

major factor because the success of a frim depends on the ability of the frim to adjust with the

attitudes of the customers.

Customers satisfaction is an ambiguous and abstract concept and the actual manifestation of

the satisfaction will vary from person to person/service to products/service.

The state of satisfaction depends on a number of both psychological and physical variables

which correlate with satisfaction behaviour such as return and recommend rate.

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Essentially Customers satisfaction is the extent to which customers are happy with the service

and products provided by a business. It is an important concept in business because happy

customers those most likely to place orders and explore the full range of products/service

offered.

Severe competition occurs in the field of multi-level marketing companies and therefore

existence become very difficult. Customers satisfaction is a major factor of existence and in

order to specify the customers, identification of major factor influencing customers attitude is

necessary.

“Within organisations, Customers satisfaction ratings can have powerful effects. They focus

employees on the importance of fulfilling customers expectations. Furthermore, when these

ratings dip, they warn of problems that can affect sales and profitability…. These metrics

quantify an important dynamic. When a brand as loyal customers, it gains positive word-of-

mouth marketing, which is both free and highly effective.”

Therefore, it is essential for businesses to effectively manage Customers satisfaction. To be

able do this, firms need reliable and representative measures of satisfaction.

“In researching satisfaction, firms generally ask customers whether their product or service

has met or exceeded expectations. Thus, expectations are the key factors behind satisfaction.

When customers have high expectations and the reality falls short, they will be disappointed

and will likely rate their experience as less than satisfying. For this reason, a luxury resort, for

example, might receive a lower satisfaction rating than a budget motel-even though its

facilities and service would be deemed superior in ‘absolute’ terms.”

The important of Customers satisfaction diminishes when a firm has increased bargaining

power. For example, cell phones plan providers, such as AT&T and Verizon, participate in an

industry that is in an oligopoly, where only a few suppliers of a certain products or service

exist. As such, many cell phone plan contracts have a lot of fine print with provisions that

they would never get away if there were, say, a hundred cell phone plan provider, because

Customers satisfaction would be way to low, and customers would easily have the option of

leaving for a better contract offer.

There is a substantial body of empirical literature that establishes the benefits of Customers

satisfaction for firms.

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CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

Customer satisfaction is a term frequently used in marketing. It is a measure of how

products and services supplied by a company meet or surpass customer expectation.

Customer satisfaction is defined as "the number of customers, or percentage of total

customers, whose reported experience with a firm, its products, or its services (ratings)

exceeds specified satisfaction goals. In a survey of nearly 200 senior marketing managers, 71

percent responded that they found a customer satisfaction metric very useful in managing and

monitoring their businesses.

It is seen as a key performance indicator within business and is often part of a Balanced

Scorecard. In a competitive marketplace where businesses compete for customers, customer

satisfaction is seen as a key differentiator and increasingly has become a key element of

business strategy.

"Within organizations, customer satisfaction ratings can have powerful effects. They focus

employees on the importance of fulfilling customers' expectations. Furthermore, when these

ratings dip, they warn of problems that can affect sales and profitability.... These metrics

quantify an important dynamic. When a brand has loyal customers, it gains positive word-of-

mouth marketing, which is both free and highly effective.

Therefore, it is essential for businesses to effectively manage customer satisfaction. To be

able do this, firms need reliable and representative measures of satisfaction.

"In researching satisfaction, firms generally ask customers whether their product or service

has met or exceeded expectations. Thus, expectations are a key factor behind satisfaction.

When customers have high expectations and the reality falls short, they will be disappointed

and will likely rate their experience as less than satisfying. For this reason, a luxury resort, for

example, might receive a lower satisfaction rating than a budget motel—even though its

facilities and service would be deemed superior in 'absolute' terms.

The importance of customer satisfaction diminishes when a firm has increased bargaining

power. For example, cell phoneplan providers, such as AT&T and Verizon, participate in an

industry that is an oligopoly, where only a few suppliers of a certain product or service exist.

As such, many cell phone plan contracts have a lot of fine print with provisions that they

would never get away if there were, say, 100 cell phone plan providers, because customer

satisfaction would be far too low, and customers would easily have the option of leaving for a

better contract offer.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fine_print

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oligopoly

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verizon

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AT%26T

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cell_phone

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bargaining_power

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bargaining_power

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balanced_Scorecard

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balanced_Scorecard

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_performance_indicator

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contentment

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketing

There is a substantial body of empirical literature that establishes the benefits of customer

satisfaction for firms.

Customers satisfaction measurements :-

A basic and effective base line Customers satisfaction survey program should focus on

measuring customer perceptions of how will the company delivers on the critical success

factors and dimensions of the business as defined by the customers.

For example:

service promptness

courtesy of staff

responsiveness

understanding the customer problems, etc.

The finding of the company performance should be analysed both with all customers and by

the key segments of the customer populations. The essential starting point for Customers

satisfaction measurement (CSM) is exploratory research. Since satisfaction is about an

organisation’s ability. To meet customer requirement one has to start by clarifying with

customer exactly what those requirements are. This is done through exploratory research

using focus groups or one to one depth interviews.

Two main factors determine the accuracy of CSM. The first is the asking the right question

and the second is the asking them to the right people sample of customers which accurately

reflects the customers base.

Three things decide the accuracy of a sample. They are:

It must be representative.

It must be randomly selected.

It must be adequate enough.

Improving Customers satisfaction

Published standards exist to help organisation develop their current levels of Customers

satisfaction. The international customer service institute (TICSI) has released the

international customer service standard (TICSS). TICSS enables organisation to focus their

attention on delivering excellence in the management of customer service, whilst at the same

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time providing recognition of success through a 3rd party registration scheme. TICSS focuses

an organization’s attention on delivery increased customer satisfaction by helping the

organisation through a service quality model. TICSS service quality model uses the 5 P’s-

policy, processes people, premises, product/service, as well as performance measurement.

The implementation of a customer service standard should lead to higher level of customer

satisfaction, which in turn influences customer retention and customer loyalty

Customer satisfaction surveys :

Surveys and questionnaires are the most common marketing research methods. Typically,

they are used to :

Assess the level of customer satisfaction with a particular product, ser

vice are experience

Identify factors that contribute to customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction;

Determine the current status or situation of a product o\or service;

Compare and rank providers;

Estimate the distribution of characteristics in a potential customer population; or

Help establish customer service standards.

Customer satisfaction factors :

Technological and engineering or reengineering aspects of product and services.

Type and quality of response provided by the supplier.

Supplier’s capability to commit on deadlines and how efficiently they are met.

Customer’s service provided by the suppliers.

Complaint management.

Cost, quality, performance and efficiency of the product.

Measurement of customer satisfaction:

Customer satisfaction can be measured by using survey techniques and questioners.

Questions typically include an element of emotional satisfaction of customers coupled with

an element of behavioural satisfaction, as or loyalty to a particular product or service.

Benefits of customer satisfaction service:

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The benefits of conducting customer’s satisfaction service are significant and their impact can

last long after result is analysed. Customer’s satisfaction service can use to:

Identify area that needs improvement

Increase loyalty

Identify customer satisfaction

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM:

In this competitive world lot of multi-level marketing companies are there in market and they

have variety of products and service line up as well. Some of them are going successful and

few of them are not doing well. This work is an attempt to study about a store MORE

QUALITY 1ST, which is a really successful branch of future group. But some of the people

are unsatisfied with navigation problem of more super market.

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2. COMPANY PROFILE

The Heritage Group, founded in the year 1992 by Sri Nara Chandra Babu Naidu, is one of the

fastest growing Private Sector Enterprises in India, with five-business divisions viz., Dairy,

Retail, Agri, Bakery and Renewable Energy under its flagship Company Heritage Foods

Limited (Formerly known as Heritage Foods (India) Limited). The annual turnover of

Heritage Foods crossed Rs.1606 crores in 2012-13.

Presently Heritage’s milk products have market presence in Andhra Pradesh,Telangana,

Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharastra, Odisha and Delhi and its retail stores across

Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad. Integrated agri operations are in Chittoor and Medak

Districts and these are backbone to retail operations and the state of art Bakery division at

Uppal, Hyderabad, Telangana.

In the year 1994, HFIL went to Public Issue to raise resources, which was oversubscribed 54

times and its shares are listed under B1 Category on BSE (Stock Code: 519552) and NSE

(Stock Code: HERITGFOOD)

THE FOUNDER

Sri Nara Chandra Babu Naidu

Heritage Foods Limited, India

Sri Chandra Babu Naidu is one of the greatest Dynamic, Pragmatic,

Progressive and Visionary Leaders of the 21 st Century.

With an objective of "Bringing prosperity into the rural families through co-operative

efforts", he along with a few like minded, friends and associates promoted "Heritage Foods"

in the year 1992 taking opportunity from the Industrial Policy, 1991 of Government of India

and he has been successful in his endeavor. At present, Heritage has market presence in the

states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharastra, Odisha

and Delhi. More than three thousand villages and three lakh farmers are being benefited in

these states. On the other side, Heritage is serving millions of customers needs, employing

more than 3800 employees and generating indirect employment opportunities to more than

10000 people. Beginning with a humble annual turnover of Rs.4.38 crores in 1993-94, the

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annual turnover has crossed Rs.1606 crores during the financial year 2012-2013.

Sri Chandra Babu Naidu was born on April 20, 1951 in NaravaripallyVillage ,Chittoor

District, Andhra Pradesh , India . His late father Sri N. Kharjura Naidu was an agriculturist

and his late mother Smt. Ammanamma was a housewife. Mr. Naidu had his school education

in Chandragiri and his college education at the Sri Venkateswara Arts College ,Tirupati. He

did his Masters in Economics from the Sri VenkateswaraUniversity ,Tirupati. Sri Naidu is

married to Ms.Bhuvaneswari D/o Sri N T Rama Rao, Ex-Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh

and famous Star of Telugu Cinema. Mrs. N Bhuvaneswari is presently the Vice Chairperson

& Managing Director of the company.

Mr. Naidu held various positions of office in his college and organised a number of social

activities. Following the 1977 cyclone, which devastated Diviseemataluk of Krishna district,

he actively organised donations and relief material from Chittoor district for the cyclone

victims. Mr. Naidu has been evincing keen interest in rural development activities in general

and the upliftment of the poor and downtrodden sections of society in particular.

Sri Naidu held various coveted and honorable positions including Chief Minister of Andhra

Pradesh, Minister for Finance & Revenue, Minister for Archives & Cinematography,

Member of the A.P. Legislative Assembly, Director of A.P. Small Industries Development

Corporation, and Chairman of KarshakaParishad.

Sri Naidu has won numerous awards including " Member of the World Economic Forum's

Dream Cabinet" (Time Asia ), "South Asian of the Year " (Time Asia ), " Business Person of

the Year " (Economic Times), and " IT Indian of the Millennium " ( India Today).

Sri Naidu was chosen as one of 50 leaders at the forefront of change in the year 2000 by the

Business Week magazine for being an unflinching proponent of technology and for his drive

to transform the State of Andhra Pradesh.

Heritage Slogan

When you are healthy, we are healthy

When you are happy, we are happy

Mission

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Bringing prosperity into rural families of India through co-operative efforts and providing

customers with hygienic, affordable and convenient supply of " Fresh and Healthy " food

products.

Vision

To be a progressive billion dollar organization with a pan India foot print by 2020.

To achieve this by delighting customers with "Fresh and Healthy" food products, those are a

benchmarkfor quality in the industry.

We are committed to enhanced prosperity and the empowerment of the farming community

through our unique "Relationship Farming" Model.

To be a preferred employer by nurturing entrepreneurship, managing career aspirations and

providing innovative avenues for enhanced employee prosperity.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Sri D. Seetharamiah, Chairman, aged 87 years, a commerce graduate from the Andhra

University and a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, is the senior

partner of Brahmayya& Co., a leading Chartered Accountants firm. He has been in practice

for the last five decades. He had occupied several coveted positions, which include,

Membership of the Southern Regional Board of Reserve Bank of India, Federation of Andhra

Pradesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Chairmanship of

TirumalaTirupatiDevasthanams Trust Board etc. He is also on Board, of several Companies.

Dr. V. Nagaraja Naidu, Director, aged 66 years, an M. Com, M. Litt and a PhD. (Financial

Management), starting from Administrative Staff College of India, Hyderabad in 1972 held

various positions in reputed Universities, Viz., Professor, Dean Director etc., and taught in

the fields of Finance and Business Economics at Post graduate and Doctorate levels for about

25 years. He had been the Registrar (Administrative head) of the Dr B R Ambedkar Open

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University for about 10 years. He has been associated with the Company since inception and

has been able to utilize his intimate understanding of the rural socio economic scenario to

strengthen the milk procurement systems and strategies of Heritage, which contributed to the

current status of Heritage as a leading player in South India.

Dr. N. R Sivaswamy, Director, aged 77 years, a LL.B, M.A. (Economic), M.A. (Public

Administration), Ph.D. in Economics (University of Wisconsin, U.S.A) and a Fellowship

holder of the Ford Foundation, U.S.A, is a leading Advocate and Tax consultant and author

of a book titled "Employment potential of the Indian Industrial Sector" and several other

articles and Journals. He retired as the Chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes.

Sri N. P Ramakrishna, Director, aged 66 years, who has substantial experience in the

transport business, has a thorough understanding of the systems of milk procurement and

transportation and has enabled Heritage to strengthen its main milk procurement base at

Chittoor, Bangalore and nearby areas. He is also the Managing Director of Hotel

Ramakrishna Private Limited situated at Chittoor and was Chairman of the Chittoor Co-

operative Sugar Factory.

Sri SrivishnuRajuNandyala, Director, aged 39 years, holds a bachelors degree in Chemical

Engineering from Osmania University, Andhra Pradesh. He is the founder Chairman and

CEO of EXCIGA group, which consists of five non banking finance companies. Founder and

Past President of Entrepreneurs Organization, Hyderabad. Past President of CII’s

(Confederation of Indian Industries) Young Indians, Hyderabad Chapter and a past member

on the state council of CII. He is a Director in several Public and Private Companies.

Smt N. Bhuvaneswari, Vice-Chairman & Managing Director, aged 51 years, a B.A, is a

dynamic leader who has extensive experience in business and has been successfully steering

Heritage towards growth and better prospects. She is also a Director in several other

Companies.

Sri Lokesh Nara, Director, aged 30 years, completed his Master’s Degree in Business

Administration from Stanford University and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in

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Management Information Systems from Carnegie Mellon University. Before joining the

Board of Heritage Foods, he was associated with the Company as a Vice-President of the

Retail division. Before joining Heritage Foods, he worked with the World Bank as a Junior

Professional Associate where he completed various projects including an e-Governance

Capacity Building program for the government of Ethiopia, and e- Governance Capacity

Building program for the governments of South Sudan and Kenya.

SmtN.Brahmani, Executive Director, aged 25 years, completed her Master’s Degree in

Business Administration from Stanford University and graduated with a Bachelor of Science

degree in Electrical Engineering from Santa Clara University USA and Completed Bachelor

of Engineering with specialization of Electronics and Communications from

ChaitanyaBharathi Institute of Technology. Before joining the Board of Heritage Foods, she

worked as Investment Associate in Vertex Venture Management Pvt Ltd between 2009 to

2011 in Singapore and associated with the Company as a Vice-President (Business

Development).

PRODUCTS

Milk

Milk Products - Fresh

Milk Products - Long Shelf Life

Ice Cream

Beverages

Cleaning Aids

Daily Fresh Needs

General Merchandise

Instant Food

Ready Foods

Staples

3. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

Primary objectives

To study the level of customer satisfaction towards the various products and services offered by more quality 1st in Chennai with respect to Rajkilpakkam and medavakkam branch.

Secondary objectives

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http://heritagefoods.co.in/products/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=164&Itemid=261











To identify the customers attitude towards more quality 1st in Rajkilpakkam and medavakkam.

To give necessary suggestion on the basis of the findings of the study.

PERIOD OF STUDY:

The interviews are held during the period for the month December to January.

4. SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The success and failure of the company is purely based on customer’s satisfaction.

Globalization and liberalization has opened up high competition among the business

sectors.

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In order to retain the customer’s and also to attract the new customer the company has to

concentrate more ion service provided to the customer.

It is through adviser that the customers are being highly influenced.

It is an important aspect in ensuring customer satisfaction and customer retention. Therefore

there arises the needs for more quality 1st to find out the customer satisfaction it is this

context that the present study is undertaken.

5. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

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Time has been a major constraint throughout the study as it has been only for duration

of 1 month.

As this survey was restricted to Chennai, this cannot be stated as an in depth research

on this subject.

Time span to cover the whole study was quite short.

The interpretations differ from respondent to respondent.

The accuracy of the data depends on the answers given by the respondents

6. NEED FOR THE STUDY

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Customer satisfaction plays a major role for the growth of the company in the modern

market scenario. The basic idea of this study is to find the customer satisfaction

towards Heritage Group.

That is to identify and recognize the customer needs and to take necessary steps

towards it.

India is growing rapidly and changes are dynamic. People are changing, the

preference and the demand is also changing.

The purpose of customer satisfaction is not only for retaining the customers but also

to attract new customers thereby increasing the sales and creating and maintaining

brand awareness.

In this competitive market the level of customer satisfaction decides the success of

any product and any company.

The right consumers have to be targeted and the right strategy should be implemented

at the right time. This will give the desired results.

7. REVIEW OF LITERATURE

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Grigoroudis, E and Siskos, Y (2009) defines, “…a customer is any organization or

individual with which you have done business over the past twelve months”.

Customer Satisfaction – Definitions Satisfaction has been broadly defined by Vavra,

T.G. (1997) as a satisfactory post-purchase experience with a product or service

given an existing purchase expectation.

Howard and Sheth (1969)5 According to Westbrook and Reilly (1983) define

satisfaction as, “The buyer’s cognitive state of being adequately or inadequately

rewarded for the sacrifices he has undergone” (p.145).

customer satisfaction is “an emotional response to the experiences provided by,

associated with particular 32 products or services purchased, retail outlets, or even

molar patterns of behaviour such as shopping and buyer behaviour, as well as the

overall market place” (p.256). Oliver (1981)

The definition offered by Hunt (1977) put forward a definition as, “the summary

psychological state resulting when the emotion surrounding disconfirmed

expectations is coupled with the consumers’ prior feelings about the consumption

experience” (p.27).

Customer/consumer satisfaction is “an evaluation that the chosen alternative is

consistent with prior beliefs with respect to that alternative” – Definition by Engel

and Blackwell (1982) is “an evaluation rendered that the (consumption) experience

was at least as good as it was supposed to be” (p.459).

Tse and Wilton (1988) (p.501).

Berry and Parasuraman (1991) define as, “the consumer’s response to the evaluation

of the perceived discrepancy between prior expectations (or some other norm of

performance) and the actual performance of the product/service as perceived after its

consumption” (p.204).

argue that since customers’ satisfaction is influenced by the availability of customer

services, the provision of quality customer service has become a major concern of all

businesses. Customer satisfaction is typically defined as a post consumption

evaluative judgement concerning a specific product or service.

It is the result of an evaluative process that contrasts prepurchase expectations with

perceptions of performance during and after the consumption experience.

Oliver (1981)14 defines customer satisfaction as a customer’s emotional response to

the use of a product or service. Anton (1996)15 offers more elaboration: “customer

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satisfaction as a state of mind in which the customer’s needs, wants and expectations

throughout the product or service life have been met or exceeded, resulting in

subsequent repurchase and loyalty”.

Merchant Account Glossary points out that, “Customer satisfaction is an ambiguous

and abstract concept and the actual manifestation of the state of satisfaction will very

from person to person and produce/service to produce/service.....”

Anton (1996) offers more elaboration: “customer satisfaction as a state of mind in

which the customer’s needs, wants and expectations throughout the product or

service life have been met or exceeded, resulting in subsequent repurchase and

loyalty”.

Merchant Account Glossary points out that, “Customer satisfaction is an ambiguous

and abstract concept and the actual manifestation of the state of satisfaction will very

from person to person and produce/service to produce/service.....”

Schiffman and Kanuk (2004)17 Woodruff and Gardian (1996) defines customer

satisfaction as “The individual’s perception of the performance of the product or

service in relation to his or her expectations”.

Hung (1977), “…. satisfaction is a kind of stepping away from an experience and

evaluating it … One could have a pleasurable experience that caused dissatisfaction

because even though it was pleasurable, it wasn’t as pleasurable as it was supposed to

be. So satisfaction / dissatisfaction isn’t an emotion, it’s the evaluation of the

emotion”. define “Satisfaction, then, is the evaluation or feeling that results from the

disconfirmation process. It is not the comparison itself (i.e., the disconfirmation

process), but it is the customer’s response to the comparison. Satisfaction has an

emotional component.”

Oliver (1977)20 Some of the definitions available from web are compiled below:

“Customer satisfaction, a business term, is a measure of how products and services

supplied by a company meet or surpass customer expectation”. defines “Satisfaction

is the consumer’s fulfilment response. It is a judgment that a product or service

feature, or the product of service itself, provided (or is providing) a pleasurable level

of consumption- related fulfilment, including levels of under- or over-fulfilment”.

“Customer satisfaction is an ambiguous and abstract concept and the actual

manifestation of the state of satisfaction will vary from person to person and

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product/service to product/service”.22 34 “Comparison of expectations versus

perception of experience”.

“A customer’s perception of the degree to which their requirements have been

fulfilled.”

According to Business Dictionary, customer satisfaction is, “Degree of satisfaction

provided by the goods or services of a firm as measured by the number of repeat

customers.”

Hotel Industry – Definitions Peter Jones and Andrew Lockwood (2002)

According to Dictionary of American History provide a simple definition for hotel as,

“an operation that provides accommodation and ancillary services to people away

from home.”

Hotel industry is a large and highly diverse industry that includes a wide range of

property styles, uses and qualities. “The primary purpose of hotels is to provide

travellers with shelter, food, refreshment, and similar services and goods, offering on

a commercial basis things that are customarily furnished within households but

unavailable to people on a journey away from home”.

Peter Jones and Andrew Lockwood (2002) defines a hotel as “a, usually large, house

run for the purpose of giving travellers food, lodging etc.” Further add, “an operation

that provides accommodation and ancillary services to people away from home.”

O’Fallon and Rutherford (2010), in “Hotel Management and Operations” define

“hospitality is the cordial and generous reception and entertainment of guests or

strangers, either socially or commercially” (p.173).

Vavra, T.G. (1997) in his book suggests specific programmes to improve the

measurement of customer satisfaction in an organization. The author describes five

36 critical skills required for this task viz. sampling/customer-participant selection,

questionnaire design, interviewing/survey administration, data analysis, and quality

function deployment-building action plans.

Willard Hom (2000)36 presents two broadly classified customer satisfaction models

viz. Macro-models, which place the customer satisfaction among a set of related

constructs in marketing research and Micro-models, which theorize the elements of

customer satisfaction. The paper also gives various models of customer satisfaction

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from the perspective of the marketing research discipline. The concepts viz. value,

quality, complaining behaviour, and loyalty are labelled as ‘macro-models’

The study by Alex M. Susskind (2002) examines how the nature of service failure

together with the restaurant’s service-recovery effort influences customers’ intentions

to return to the restaurant and their subsequent word-of-mouth communication

regarding the incident and the restaurant. The study shows how word-of-mouth

communication materializes from service experiences. The author argues that the

consumers evaluate the components of service viz

Sachin Gupta et al (2007)38 demonstrate a methodology to quantify the links

between customer satisfaction, repeat-purchase intentions, and restaurant

performance. The authors has constructed a series of mathematical models using the

data from a national restaurant chain, that predict how the level of customer

satisfaction with certain attributes of gusts’ dining experience affects the likelihood

that they will come back. The authors constructed two different models for this study.

The first one is to

8. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The survey technique is intended to secure one or more items of information from a

sample of respondents who are representatives of a larger group. The information is recorded

on a form known as questionnaire. As data are gathered by asking questions from persons

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who are believed to have desired information, the method is known as questionnaire

technique.

Research methodology is simply the framework or plans for the study that guides the

collection and analysis of data.

Research is the scientific way to solve the problems methods one by one, and arriving

at the best solution, considering the resource at the disposal of research.

RESEARCH STEPS

Study about organization

Setting of objectives

Instrument –design(questionnaire)

Main study

Tabulated and cross tabulation

Analysis and interpretation

Findings

Conclusion

Suggestion

RESEARCH DESIGN

A research design is the specification of methods and procedure for acquiring the

information needed.

Its over all patterns or framework of the project that stipulated what information is to be

collected from which source by what procedure.it is also refers to the blue print of the

research process.

Key issue options research design descriptive data research survey method research instrument questionnaire, Expert interview research design consist of

DESCRIPTIVE STUDY:

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A Study which wants to portray the characteristic of a group of individuals or

situation, is known as descriptive study. universe of the study the first step in developing any

sample design is to clearly define the set of objects technically called the universe to be

studied. In this case the universe includes all employees of Heritage Group pvt ltd .data

collection from primary data

Data Collection

1) Primary data:

Primary data are those which are collected the fresh and the first time and thus happen

to be original in character.it has been collected through a questionnaire method.it is a fresh

data, which has collected from the employees and having discussion and interaction from the

employees.

Primary sources of data are the data which needs the personal efforts of collecting it

and which are not readily available. Primary source of data are the other type of source

through which the data was collected.

Following are few ways in which data are collected:

i. Questionnaires:

It is the set of questions on a sheet of paper was being given to the customer to fill it,

bases on which the data was interpreted.

2) Secondary data:

Secondary sources are the other important sources through which the data was

collected. These are the readily available sources of the data where one had need not to put

much effort to collect, because it is already been collected and part in an elderly manner by

some researcher, experts.

Secondary data are those which are already collected by someone else and which have

been passed through the statistical process.

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The secondary sources helpful for the study were

1) Text books like marketing management, research methodology

2) Internet was made use for the collection of the data.

3) News papers were also referred.

4) Business magazines were referred.

Sampling process sampling unit

All employees of Heritage Group ltd in Chennai duration: December –march 2012

type of sampling used in this survey were simple random sampling in this method the

sampling units chose randomly from the total employees all the levels in origination.

Sample size:

By using judgment random sampling technique 50 respondents are selected for the

purpose of the study.

Sample size determination sample size restricted as the set of the sample is one

organization.no of sample collected were 50.

Sampling units:

This sample size was determined as 50 as is it selected randomly in the organization.

Sampling design:

It is a definite plan for obtaining from a given population.

Sampling plan:

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Population in statistical means, the whole of the information which comes under the

preview of statiscalinvestigation.here the population is employees of Heritage Group ltd.

Period of study:

This study is undertaken for duration of 1 month.

RESEARCH INSTRUMENT

Questionnaire refers to a device for securing answer to a formally arranged list of questions

by using a term, which is the respondents fill in by themselves. questionnaire design

Open-ended

Open ended questions: In this questions, the respondent answer his own words.

this type of questions is used rarely because it difficult to weight the result.

Closed-ended

Closed ended questions: This questions in which respondent is give a limited

number of alternatives from which he is selected the one that most closely

matches his opinion or attitude.

Multiple questions

Multiple questions: A multiple choice question refers to one which provides

several set of alternatives for its answer these type of questions are asked on

demographic section by the research.

Tools used

Tools like Percentage analysis has been widely used in this study. Other tools like

o Bar chart

A bar graph is a chart that uses either horizontal or vertical bars to show

comparisons among categories. One axis of the chart shows the specific categories being

compared, and the other axis represents a discrete value.

o Pie chart

A pie chart is a circular chart divided into sectors, illustrating numerical proportion. In

a pie chart, the arc length of each sector (and consequently its central angle and area),

is proportional to the quantity it represents.

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9. DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

1. Table no:1 Respondents feedback about Stores are conveniently located

S.NO OPTIONS NO.OF PERCENTAGE OF

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RESPONDENTS RESPONDENTS

1 Very strongly agree 13 262 Strongly agree 1O 203 Agree 14 284 Disagree 7 145 Strongly dlisagree 6 12

TOTAL 50 100

1.chart no:1 Respondents feedback about store are conveniently location

Very strongly

agree

Strongly agree

Agree Disagree Strongly disagree

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

no of respondentpercentage of respondent

Interpretation:

From the above chart, 13% of the respondents very strongly agree, 10% of the respondents strongly agree, 14% of the respondents agree, 7% of the respondent disagree, 6% of the respondents strongly disagree for the above statement.

2. Table No:2 Respondents View About Store Working Hours Convenience:


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RESPONDENTS RESPONDENTS

1 Very strongly agree 17 342 Strongly agree 15 303 Agree 10 204 Disagree 3 65 Strongly disagree 5 10

TOTAL 50 100

2.chart no:2 Respondents view about store working hours convenience:

Very strongly

agree

Strongly agree


0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Series1Series2

Interpretation:


3.TABLE NO3:RESPONDENTS VIEW ABOUT

S.NO OPTIONS NO.OF RESPONDENT

PERCENTAGE OF RESPONDENTS

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S1 Very strongly agree 12 242 Strongly agree 17 343 Agree 10 204 Disagree 5 105 Strongly disagree 6 12

TOTAL 50 100

3.chart no 3:respondents view about

Very strongly

agree

Strongly agree


0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Series1Series2

Interpretation:


4.Table no:4A good selection of products was present.

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S.NO OPTIONS

NO.OF RESPONDENT

SPERCENTAGE OF

RESPONDENTS1 Very strongly agree 20 402 Strongly agree 6 123 Agree 10 204 Disagree 8 165 Strongly disagree 6 12

TOTAL 50 1004.chart no:4 A good selection of product was present.

Very strongly

agree

Strongly agree


0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Series1Series2

Interpretation:


5.Table no:5 Store has the lowest prices in the area.

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S.NO OPTIONS

NO.OF RESPONDENT

SPERCENTAGE OF


TOTAL 50 100

5.chart no:5 store has the lowest prices in the area.

Very strongly agree

Strongly agree


0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Series1Series2

Interpretation:From the above chart, 23% of the respondents very strongly agree, 10% of the respondents strongly agree, 6% of the respondents agree, 8% of the respondent disagree, 3% of the respondents strongly disagree for the above statement.

6.Table no:6 Merchandise sold is of the highest quality.

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S.NO OPTIONS

NO.OF RESPONDENT

SPERCENTAGE OF


TOTAL 50 1006.chart no:6 Merchandise sold is of the highest quality.

Very strongly

agree

Strongly agree


0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Series1Series2


7.Table no:7 Merchandise displays are attractive

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S.NO OPTIONS

NO.OF RESPONDENT

SPERCENTAGE OF


TOTAL 50 1007.chart no7:Merchandies display are attractive

Very strongly

agree

Strongly agree


0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Series1Series2


8.Table no:8Advertised merchandise was in stock.

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S.NO OPTIONS

NO.OF RESPONDENT

SPERCENTAGE OF


TOTAL 50 100

8.chart no:8Advertised merchandise was in stock

Very strongly agree

Strongly agree


0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Series1Series2


9.Table no:9 Overall, I am very satisfied with the store.

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S.NO OPTIONSNO.OF

RESPONDENTSPERCENTAGE OF

RESPONDENTS

1Very strongly agree 18 36

2 Strongly agree 15 303 Agree 7 144 Disagree 5 10

5Strongly disagree 5 10

TOTAL 50 100

9.chart no:9 overall,I am very satisfied with the store

Very strongly

agree

Strongly agree


0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Series1Series2


10.Table no:10 satisfied with the price I paid for what I bought.

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S.NO OPTIONSNO.OF


RESPONDENTS




TOTAL 50 100

10.chart no:10 satisfied with the price I paid for what I bought.

Very strongly

agree

Strongly agree


0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Series1Series2


11.Table no:11. I am very satisfied with the merchandise I bought.

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S.NO OPTIONSNO.OF


RESPONDENTS




TOTAL 50 100

11.chart no:11 I am very satisfied with the merchandise I bought.

Very strongly agree

Strongly agree


0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Series1Series2


12.Table no:12. Product Value

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S.NO OPTIONSNO.OF


RESPONDENTS1 Very Unsatisfied 17 342 Unsatisfied 13 263 Neutral 20 40

TOTAL 50 100

12.chart no:12.product Value

Very Unsatisfied Unsatisfied Neutral

Interpretation:From the above chart, 17% of the respondents Very Unsatisfied, 13% of the respondents Unsatisfied, 20% of the respondents Neutral.

13.Table no:13. Purchase experience

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S.NO OPTIONSNO.OF



TOTAL 50 100

13.chart no:13.purchase experience

Very Unsatisfied Unsatisfied Neutral0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Series1Series2

Interpretation:From the above chart, 17% of the respondents Very Unsatisfied, 13% of the respondents Unsatisfied, 20% of the respondents Neutral for the above statement.

14.Table no:14. Installation or first use experience

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S.NO OPTIONSNO.OF



TOTAL 50 100

14.chart no:14.Installation or first use experience


5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Series1Series2

Interpretation:From the above chart, From the above chart, 12% of the respondents Very Unsatisfied, 13% of the respondents Unsatisfied, 25% of the respondents Neutral for the above statement.

15.Table no:15. Usage experience


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RESPONDENTS RESPONDENTS1 Very Unsatisfied 10 202 Unsatisfied 15 303 Neutral 25 50

TOTAL 50 100

15.chart no:15.useage experience

Interpretation:From the above chart, From the above chart, 10% of the respondents Very Unsatisfied, 15% of the respondents Unsatisfied, 25% of the respondents Neutral for the above statement.

16.Table no:16. Knowledge of the product

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5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Series1Series2

S.NO OPTIONSNO.OF RESPONDENTS

PERCENTAGE OF RESPONDENTS

1 Poor 11 222 Fair 15 303 Good 12 244 Very Good 12 24

TOTAL 50 100

16.chart no:16.knowledge of the product

Poor Fair Good Very Good0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Series1Series2

Interpretation:From the above chart, 11% of the respondents poor, 15% of the respondents fair, 12% of the respondents good, 12% of the respondent very good, for the above statement.

17.Table no:17. Courteousness

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S.NO OPTIONSNO.OF


RESPONDENTS1 Poor 11 222 Fair 17 343 Good 10 204 Very Good 12 24

TOTAL 50 100

17.chart no:17.courteousness


5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Series1Series2


18.Table no:18. Willingness to help

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S.NO OPTIONSNO.OF



TOTAL 50 100

18.chart no:18.willingness to help


5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Series1Series2


19.Table no:19. Efficiency/quickness

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S.NO OPTIONSNO.OF



TOTAL 50 100

19.chart no:19.Efficiency/quickness


5

10

15

20

25

30

Series1Series2


20.Table no: 20. Ability to complete transaction

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S.NO OPTIONSNO.OF



TOTAL 50 100

20.chart no:20.ability to complete transaction


5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Series1Series2


10. FINDINGS

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1. Respondents feedback about store are conveniently location ( No. of respondents 14%

of the respondents agree )

2. Respondents view about working Hours convenience ( No. of Respondents 17% of

the respondents very Strongly agree )

3. Respondents view about ( No. of respondents from the above chart 17% of the

respondents strongly agree )

4. Good selection of product was present ( No. of respondents form the above chart 20%

of the respondents very strongly agree )

5. Store has the lowest prices in the area ( No. of respondents from the above chart 23%

the respondents very strongly agree

6. Merchandise sold is of the highest quality ( No. of respondents from the above chart

15% of the respondents very strongly agree )

7. Merchandise display are attractive ( No. of respondents from the above chart 15% of

the respondents strongly agree )

8. Advertised merchandise ( No. of respondents from the above chart 19% of the

respondents strongly agree )

9. Overall I am very satisfied with the store ( No. of respondents form the above chart

18% of the respondents Strongly agree )

10. Satisfied with the price I paid for what I bought ( No. of respondents form the above

chart 21% of the respondents Strongly agree )

11. I am very satisfied with the merchandise I bought ( No. of respondents form the above

chart 17% of the respondents Strongly agree )

12. Product value ( No. of respondents form the above chart 27% of the respondents

Strongly agree )

13. Purchase experience ( No. of respondents form the above chart 20% of the

respondents Strongly agree )

14. Installation of first use experience ( No. of respondents form the above chart 25% of

the respondents Strongly agree )

15. Usage experience ( No. of respondents form the above chart 25% of the respondents

Strongly agree )

16. Knowledge of the product ( No. of respondents form the above chart 15% of the


17. Courteousness ( No. of respondents form the above chart 17% of the respondents

Strongly agree )

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18. Willingness to help ( No. of respondents form the above chart 17% of the respondents

Strongly agree )

19. Efficiency / Quickness ( No. of respondents form the above chart 15% of the


20. Ability to complete transaction ( No. of respondents form the above chart 19% of the


11. SUGGESTIONS

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1. More branches should be open by the company for the customers to have better

and easy access.

2. The services that provided are only good to the customers. The services should be

improved so that the customers feel excellent about the service

3. Television is the main media through which the company can reach out to the

people. So advertisement should be telecasted frequently.

4. Many customers are unaware about the store location. Many stores can be opened in

populated areas to improve product availability.

12. CONCLUSION

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Research exposed four general characteristics of customer satisfaction involving

features or qualities related to customer satisfaction serving to identify this

phenomenon among other customer relationship management propositions;

Customer satisfaction is a highly variable personal assessment that is greatly

influenced by individual expectations based on his/her own information, expectations,

direct contact and interaction, and circumstances (time, location and environment).

Customer satisfaction involves the sum of personal (product and service) experiences

driven by its antecedents.

Customer satisfaction is most often related to purchase, loyalty and retention behavior

with an effect on organizations profitability.

Customer satisfaction characterizes itself by a high degree of word-of-mouth where

satisfied customers are most likely to share their experiences with other people to the

order of perhaps five or six people. Equally well, dissatisfied customers are more

likely to tell another ten people of their unfortunate experience.

13. BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Books Reference

1. Research Methodology & Technologies, C.R.Kothari, WishwaPrakshan, New Delhi,

2002

2. Marketing Management, Philip Kotler, The Prentice Hall, New Delhi, 2009

3. Consumer satisfaction David L. Loudon & Albert J. Della Bitta, Tata McGraw Hill,

New Delhi, 2008

Websites

www.heritageretail.com

14. QUESTIONNAIRE

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NAME :

GENDRE : male female

AGE : 18-30 31-40 41-50

EDUCATION : DIPLOMA UG PG OTHERS

INCOME : 5000-10000 10,000-15000 15,000-20,000 20,000-25000 above 25,000.

EXPERIENCE : 0-2 yrs. 3-4yrs 5-6yrs above 6yrs.

PART-2:

3. Stores are conveniently locateda) Very Strongly Agree b) Strongly Agree c) Agreed) Disagree e) Strongly Disagree

4. Store hours are convenient for my shopping needs a) Very Strongly Agree b) Strongly Agree c)Agree d) Disagree e) Strongly Disagree

5. Store atmosphere and decor are appealing a) Very Strongly Agree b) Strongly Agree c) Agree

d) Disagree e)Strongly Disagree

6. A good selection of products was present. a) Very Strongly Agree b) Strongly Agree c) Agree d) Disagree e) Strongly Disagree

7. (Store) has the lowest prices in the area. a) Very Strongly Agree b) Strongly Agree c) Agree d) Disagree e) Strongly Disagree

8. Merchandise sold is of the highest quality. a) Very Strongly Agree b) Strongly Agree c) Agree d) Disagree e) Strongly Disagree

9. Merchandise displays are attractive a) Very Strongly Agree b) Strongly Agree c) Agree

51 | P a g e

Q

d) Disagree e) Strongly Disagree

10. Advertised merchandise was in stock. a) Very Strongly Agree b) Strongly Agree c) Agree d) Disagree e) Strongly Disagree

11. Overall, I am very satisfied with the store. a) Very Strongly Agree b) Strongly Agree c) Agree d) Disagree e) Strongly Disagree

12. I am very satisfied with the price I paid for what I bought. a) Very Strongly Agree b) Strongly Agree c) Agree d) Disagree e) Strongly Disagree

13. I am very satisfied with the merchandise I bought. a) Very Strongly Agree b) Strongly Agree c) Agree d) Disagree e) Strongly Disagree

14. Product Value

a) Very Unsatisfied b) Unsatisfied c) Neutral

15. Purchase experience


16. Installation or first use experience


17. Usage experience


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18. After purchase service (warranty, repair, help desk)


19. Knowledge of the product a) Poor b) Fair c) Good d) Very Good

20. Courteousness a) Poor b) Fair c) Good d) Very Good

21. Willingness to help a) Poor b) Fair c) Good d) Very Good

22. Efficiency/quickness a) Poor b) Fair c) Good d) Very Good

23. Ability to complete transaction a) Poor b) Fair c) Good d) Very Good

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Education

HR Customer Satisfaction Project