Customer Service of Tesco PLC - Research Paper Example

Research Paper on Service of Tesco PLC Table of Contents Introduction and Research Background 4 Brief History of Tesco PLC 4 Problem ment 4 Research Aim, Objective and Questions 5 Research Aim 5 Research Objectives 5 Research Questions 5 Literature Review 6 Research Methodology 7 Research Design 7 Research Philosophy 7 Research Approach 7 Research Method 8 Data Collection and Sampling 8 Research Instrument 8 Data Analysis Process 9 Development of questionnaire 9 Fieldwork associated with collection of data 10 Summary of the tables 10 Ethical Issues 10 Reliability and Validity 10 Limitation 11 Action Plan with Time Scale 11 Finding and Data Analysis 11 Evaluation of Research Outcome and Recommendations 17 Evaluation of Outcome 17 Recommendation 18 Reference List 20 Introduction and Research Background Customer service can be considered as one of the most important phenomena of any business. Along with the globalization of businesses, number of total consumers and their spending capacity is rapidly increasing across the world. This situation is also enhancing the demand of high quality products and services. Organizations are continuously modifying and updating their customer service facilities to create a differentiation within the competitive market. Customer service is essential for organizations to provide unique and extra services to delight and satisfy their potential consumers. This process assists organizations to get an edge over their immediate competitors by retaining the existing consumers as well as gaining new one (Carraher and Doerr, 2012). Hence, to achieve customer loyalty and secure the desired market share within the global market, organizations required to concentrate on excellent customer service along with high product. Brief History of Tesco PLC Tesco PLC is one of the leading supermarket chains of the UK. The organization was founded by Jack Cohen in 1919 and it is currently headquartered in Hertfordshire, England. The organization possesses over 6,784 stores across 12 countries in Europe and Asia. The business is specialized in retailing grocery and general merchandizes. It has also expanded its business in financial, mobile, clothing and electronics market. By the end of 2014, the organization has recorded its overall revenue as £63.5 billion. Tesco mainly provide customer services through its retail store, website and over the telephone. The functions of customer service executive include information delivery, query solving, complaint handling and advising (Tesco PLC, 2012). Problem Statement The retail super market of the UK consist of a huge number of major competitors such as Sainsbury’s, WM Morrison, ASDA, Aldi, Lidl etc (Martin, 2014). The presence of a number of global competitors and local players has enhanced the competition for the organization in terms of their product quality and customer services. The switching cost for customers is very low for these brands which allow them to seek for excellent customer services. By 2014, the increasing competition has caused 28.8% drop in the market share of the organization. Despite of their properly structured customer service strategies, the organization has demonstrated inefficiency to provide desired customer services which have resulted in customer loss and increase in complaints. This situation has influenced them to evaluate their current customer service process to analyze the drawbacks (Martin, 2014). Research Aim, Objective and Questions Research Aim The aim of the research study is to analyze the current customer service strategies and procedure of Tesco PLC and whether they are meeting the organizational values to increase customer satisfaction and loyalty. The investigation will assist me to find out whether the consumers of the organization are satisfied with the offered customer services and what improvement it will require to increase its customer base. Research Objectives To critically review the literatures regarding customer services in relation to customer satisfaction and loyalty. To search for the satisfaction level of the current consumers of Tesco PLC. To find out and analyze the reasons for consumer dissatisfaction. To analyze the expectation of potential consumers from the retailer. To develop significant recommendation for the organization to improve their customer services through the analysis of the data. Research Questions What are the major attributes that result in customer satisfaction within Tesco PLC.? What are the expectations of the potential consumers from Tesco PLC.? Whether the current customer service operations of the organization are efficient to meet consumer demand or not? What are the reasons for the dissatisfaction of the consumers of Tesco PLC.? What are the new and additional customer services processes that can assist the organization to improve its customer satisfaction? Literature Review This part of the research project will focus on the analysis of first objective of the research. Hence, it will critically review different literatures and theories regarding customer services, satisfaction and loyalty. Trautrims, et al., (2009) have explained that there are three major phases of shopping experiences, such as pre-sales, during shopping and post-sales experiences, which significantly require proper service facility. According to Blut, et al., (2014) the major objectives of any retail business is to consider their consumer as the most important phenomena whose needs should be fulfilled promptly and adequately. The authors have also mentioned that retail businesses should take care of consumer experience and fulfillment throughout all the phases of retailing. Carraher and Doerr, (2012) have explained that retail stores generally thrive on different formats that assist them to ensure consumer satisfaction. The characteristics of the offered products or servicer mainly allow the marketers to decide upon the most suitable format as per the cause. Carraher and Doerr, (2012) have also detailed that many organization has introduced reverse logistics to ensure the smooth returning of products due to malfunctioning and damage of product as well as dissatisfaction of consumers. As per the researches of Caruana, (2002), the quality maintenance of customer services allow retail organizations to initiate long term business relationship with consumers. The researcher has also evaluated that proper customer service assists organizations to create a healthy image within customer’s mind which allow them to boost their future business relationship. Mithas, et al., (2005) have described that consumer satisfaction is an essential part for maintaining and elevating the overall organizational profits. According to their investigations, customer satisfaction is dependent on a number of customer services such as the availability of product and services at a cheaper rate than other competitors, proper assistance of sales and marketing executive, timely approaches, quick and proper damage maintenance etc. Walsh, et al., (2009) have illustrated that measuring the satisfaction of consumers need to be major priority for any retail business, while it is quite difficult to consider right measurement tools and criteria. Gathering feedbacks during pre-sales and post-sales phase is one of the major tools to assess consumer satisfaction. Alternatively, Nakra, (2000) has undertaken Customer Relationship Management tools as the important criteria to assess and measure the level of consumer satisfactions that elevate the tendency of customer loyalty. Blut, et al., (2014) have also explained that the customer services quality and loyalty of customers towards a brand is directly linked as this process assists organization to initiate and maintain a strong bond with the potential consumers. The increasing communication network also allows organizations to distribute the news of their excellent customer services which assist them to attract new consumers. Research Methodology Research Design Research design is responsible for outlining the essential steps to systematically execute any research procedure. There are three different research designs such as qualitative, quantitative and pragmatic research design. Quantitative research design emphasizes on the systematic and structured research process which focuses on empirical investigation of various observed and gathered data through statistical technique. Qualitative research design emphasizes on analyzing different data to gather an in-depth significance and meaning. On the other hand, the pragmatic study utilizes both the designs adequately to search for research answers (Creswell, 2013). In this research study, I will utilize quantitative research design to measure consumer satisfaction levels in comparison to the provided customer services of the organization. This process will allow me to narrow down a wide range of data to a more reliable and achievable direction (Creswell, 2013). Research Philosophy Research philosophy can be described as the way to generate background knowledge regarding research subject or topic. The philosophies can be utilized to analyse the historical development of the research subject. The philosophy of the research will follow positivism which will assist me to search for specific answers of different research questions. This philosophy will also evaluate the research in a quantitative manner (Flick, 2015). Research Approach The research approaches can be divided into two different types such as deductive and inductive. Deductive approach assists researchers to examine existing theories. On the other hand, inductive approach is targeted to generate new theories. Deductive approach of research can be analysed through hypotheses different theories (Ary, et al., 2013). Alternatively, inductive approach prefers to use observations to execute research process. Hence, for this study I will utilize inductive research approach which will allow me to develop specific theories that will enable me to associate customer service to satisfaction and loyalty (Ary, et al., 2013). Research Method Online and offline surveys will be the main research method for this study. This process will assist me to gather customer feedbacks regarding the customer services and processes of Tesco PLC. The research will also target focus group discussion to gather opinion of customers regarding their satisfaction. Finally, the research will focus on some case study regarding the organization to analyze its overall performances (Flick, 2015). Data Collection and Sampling Both primary and secondary data will be collected for this research process. The primary data will be collected directly from the consumers of the organization through semi-structured questionnaire and online surveys. Secondary data will be collected by reviewing various case studies and literature regarding the organizational performance (Wilcox, et al., 2012). Minimum 200 consumers need to be considered for the sample size of the research which will assist me to gather sufficient data to analyze the objectives of the study. This sample size will ensure more relevant result for the study. On the other hand, the constraint of time can limit the research sample. The targeted sample for this research will be the middle to upper-middle class consumers of Tesco PLC. I will mainly target the consumers within the age bracket of 25-45 years. Research Instrument The research will mainly utilize online and offline survey process which will include the following questions- How frequently consumers decide about purchasing products from Tesco PLC.? What kind of products the consumers generally prefer to purchase from Tesco PLC.? How satisfied the consumers are with their experiences about the customer services during their shopping at Tesco? How content the consumers are regarding their experiences in the in-store and online billing process of Tesco PLC.? How satisfied are the consumers with the post-sales staff assistance while dealing with Tesco PLC.? How satisfied are the customers regarding the timely and adequately fulfillment of promises from the end of Tesco PLC.? Data Analysis Process Descriptive technique will be used to analyze the collected data. The descriptive technique will assist in transcribing survey results to understand the objectives and reasons of each question and its answer. Alternatively, statistical technique will be used to analyze quantitative data (Ary, et al., 2013). Development of questionnaire The questionnaire is developed based on the research objective. It aims at answering all the questions that are related to the successful accomplishment of the research aim. The questions are formed so as to depict the taste and performance of the consumer who visit Tesco Plc at a frequent basis. Though the questions are framed based on the results that are obtained from the literature review, they are unique to produce new results that are not obtained by the earlier researches, which are executed by the researchers. The purchase frequency of the consumers from Tesco Plc is an important determinant to understand whether they are content with the products offered by the retail giant. Moreover, the questionnaire will also give emphasis on the products and services that are demanded by the consumers as they can give their preference. The level of satisfaction is also measured with the help of the questions that are asked to the respondents, it helps in informing the company whether to change any product or introduce new ones. Apart from evaluating the demand and satisfaction for products, it is significant to examine whether the consumers are content with the billing process and other services that are rendered by the retail giant. Fieldwork associated with collection of data The data are collected both from online and offline surveys. About 200 customers are targeted for answering the questions that are developed in the questionnaire. It will help the researcher to gather information regarding the satisfaction level of the consumers pertaining to the products and services of Tesco Plc. Summary of the tables The data obtained from the survey is summarized in tables, which helped developing the charts and graphs. Ethical Issues There are a number of ethical issues that need to be considered during the research process. Anonymity and confidentiality of the respondent’s identity is essential during the research process. The researched answer need to be found and analyzed according to all the guidance of the research methods and the researcher need to maintain adequate honesty. Reliability and Validity Reliability and validity tests will enable to assure that the analysis of data will provide adequate results in accordance to research objectives. The validity of the research will be ensured through pilot study within peers. The data has been collected through questionnaire survey, semi-structured interview and case study analysis. These processes ensure the reliability of the gathered data and research findings. Limitation Inadequate size of sample is the major limitation of the research. The small size of respondent may lead to inappropriate result. Time and finances are the major constraints in terms of considering large sample. Action Plan with Time Scale The action plan of the research has been divided in five stages and it will be completed through 8 weeks. Action Plan Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Defining the research topic as well as questions                 Developing research methodology                 Data Collection                 Data Analysis                 Disseminating the analyzed result                 Finding and Data Analysis The calculation of customer satisfaction is essential for the organization to assess the efficiency of their customer services. The collected data from the respondents and evaluation of case studies will assist the organization to find out reasons behind consumer dissatisfaction. The organization may utilize the data in future to conduct major changes in terms of customer service and customer satisfaction. Question 1: Frequency of Consumers to purchase from Tesco PLC The responses of the question have assisted in understanding whether the respondent is a regular shopper of Tesco PLC. or they prefer to visit the store occasionally. This response will also answer the research question regarding the efficiency of current customer service operations of the organization to meet consumer demand. The responses from the irregular consumers and visitors of Tesco stores will be inappropriate for this study as it will provide vogue understanding from respondent’s side. The answer of the question has evaluated that 52% of the respondents purchase more than once in a month from Tesco PLC, while, 35% of them purchase only once in a month. The data has evaluated that only 13% of them currently do not prefer to purchase from Tesco PLC. Hence, this data highlights that the organization possesses good customer base that are quite loyal to them. Question 2: Products that respondents prefer to purchase from Tesco PLC The answers of the question are essential to understand which products are highly attracting the consumers as well as which products lack consumer’s attention. This will also answer the research question regarding major attributes that result in customer satisfaction within Tesco PLC. According to the responses, it can be determined that consumers highly prefer grocery items of Tesco PLC (46%). Near about 26% of them generally prefer purchasing apparel from Tesco while only 9% of the respondents prefer electronic items under the brand name. The consumers mainly prefer specialty stores for electronic items as they avail wide range of varieties and lucrative discounts. It determines that the consumers are more inclined towards the grocery products of the organization rather than other items. The answers of next three (Q.3, Q.4, Q.5) questions will provide justification for the research questions regarding expectations of the potential consumers from Tesco PLC as well as reasons for their dissatisfaction. They will also evaluate the responses of research question regarding the need of new and additional customer services. Question 3: Satisfaction of customer’s in terms of in-store staff assistance The answers of this question will evaluate the satisfaction ratio of the consumers of Tesco PLC. during their shopping experience. This answer will also evaluate the tendency of customers to revisit the stores. The result of these answers has evaluated that over 51% of the consumers are very satisfied with the assistance of the staff of the organization, while, 36% of them are somewhat satisfied. This result has evaluated that the in-store customer service is quite satisfactory while 13% of the respondents believe that it needs improvement. This result will assist the management of Tesco PLC. to design their customer service program and staff training processes. Question 4: Satisfaction regarding in-store and online billing process The smooth and accurate billing process is a very essential part of retail development. This process ensures purchasing satisfaction of the consumers. On the other hand, long queue in the billing counter of stores, inefficient staff and poorly performed E-commerce site and online payment process can cause dissatisfaction and employee loss for the organization. The responses to this question have denoted that almost 44% of the consumers are satisfied with the online and in-store billing process, while, 21% of them have displayed their dissatisfaction. Only 15% prefer the in-store process as it is very time taking due to large queue especially in holidays. This analysis can assist the organization to reform their store strategies to minimize consumer waiting time. Question 5: Satisfaction in-terms of post-sales staff assistance The post-sales staff assistance include the product returning and poduct exchange policies. The smooth and prompt reply of employees in terms of post-sales assistance can enhance the good experiences of customers. It can also allow the management to reduce the adverse effects of product damage. The responses of this question has demonstrated a high lance for improvement in the post-sales staff assistance of the organisation as 44% of the respondent ranked it as ‘moderate’ and ‘it could be improved’. Hence, the management needs to concentrate in the improvement of the post-sales customer service. Question 6: Promise fullfilment The answer of this question will evaluate the satisfaction ratio of consumers towards the fulfillment of promises by organisation. Various large companies tend to promise a number of advantages to their customers to attract their attention. On the other hand, they fail to fulfill may of them due to lack of concentration, finances, ampower etc. Though almost 61% of the respondents are very satisfied with the organisation, a large portion (23%) still bears dissatisfaction in this area. Hence, the organisation needs to work on this area to increase the loyalty of customers. Evaluation of Research Outcome and Recommendations Evaluation of Outcome The research outcomes of this study have evaluated a number of key summaries of the secondary data findings and primary data findings and analysis. The secondary data findings include the review of literature, journals, case studies etc. The key summaries from secondary findings include- Customer satisfaction and loyalty are the important factors for increasing competitiveness of retail businesses which requires constant modification of customer centric service process. Customer service assists organization to retain their existing customers while increasing new customer database. It assists management to enhance the organizational reputation as well as profitability. Customer satisfaction influences the re-purchase tendency of customers; it also enhances the value of organization. The improper and inadequate customer service decreases the competitive advantages of the organization. Key summaries of primary findings are dependent on the data gathering and data analysis from the questionnaire survey which details the customer feedbacks. These summaries include- A significant portion of consumers frequently visit the store while they majorly prefer the grocery items of the organization. A huge portion of customers are satisfied with the in-store assistance of sales staff but a significant amount of customers also admit that there are scopes of improvement. The consumers need improvement in the in-store billing process as there is scarcity of employees in the billing counters during holidays. This situation increases waiting time for consumers. The post-sales services needs huge consideration and modification as consumers are not very satisfied with it. Though a huge part of consumers are satisfied with the promise keeping of the organization, while many of them need improvement. Recommendation The key summaries of the research finding have assisted this research process to introduce a number of essential recommendations for the organization to improve their customer services strategies and their implementation. Proper training program and availability of sufficient number of staff is essential for the improvement of customer services and customer satisfaction of the organization. The management needs to conduct frequent training process (after each 3 months) to enhance the knowledge of in-store staff in terms of product specification and their benefits. This will assist the marketers to properly serve the queries of the consumers while increasing their interest towards the store products. The availability of highly trained in-store staff will assist the organization to aware the consumers in terms of the benefits of the products rather than their features. Hence, it can boost purchasing decisions. The management of Tesco PLC. needs to influence the friendly attitude of the staff to increase the comfort level of the consumers. The staff should not focus on selling of the items but they need to emphasize on the relationship building process with the customers. Apart from the discounts, in process management also needs to concentrate on enhancing the value of the products they offer. They also need to communicate the same to the potential consumers of the organization. Increasing the convenience of the consumers during their shopping process in terms of in-store and online purchasing is highly important. Nowadays, customers requires convenient and homely shopping atmosphere that is easy to reach, understand and accommodate. Hence, the management should focus on increasing the product availability, customer relaxation points and children care facility for visiting customers. The management should increase their functions in terms of reverse logistics and complaint handling. The process need to be very swift and comfortable for the customer to ensure next visit. Hence, the reverse logistic department should employ more highly trained employees with good knowledge of customer handling. The organization must frequently provide customer centric offers, discount and deals for their regular customers. This process will increase the customer satisfaction and loyalty. Reference List Ary, D., Jacobs, L., Sorensen, C. and Walker, D., 2013. Introduction to research in education. Connecticut: Cengage Learning. Blut, M., Beatty, S. E., Evanschitzky, H. and Brock, C., 2014. The impact of service characteristics on the switching costs–customer loyalty link. Journal of retailing, 90(2), pp. 275-290. Carraher, S. M. and Doerr, A., 2012. A Six Continent Study of Customer Service. Academy of Marketing Studies, 17(1), p. 1. Caruana, A., 2002. Service loyalty: the effects of service quality and the mediating role of customer satisfaction. European journal of marketing, 36(7/8), pp. 811-828. Creswell, J. W., 2013. Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. London: Sage publications. 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