Preliminary Research Design - Assignment Example

Akbar, Som, Wadood, and Alzaidiyeen (2010) also state that customer loyalty is a product of good service quality. They state that the reason that customers keep coming back to a business is because they are treated well. They suggest that because people are able to travel all over the world, they are looking for the best service everywhere they go. These researchers studied the hotel industry to see whether people came back to the same hotel when the service was good. They found in one study that 75% of consumers said that they would go back to a business if they had a speedy response to their customer service inquiry.

This means that again, service quality was responsible for loyal customers. Customer service can be challenging for some businesses especially when they have some employees who may not be people oriented. Often, this means that employees must receive extra training in order to make sure that they understand how to work with customers. Abildtrup (2010) states that those employees who are in front of people all the time need extra help. He states that marketing and advertising only do part of the work by bringing customers to the business.

Once they enter the doors, it is the job of the front line employees (those who meet and greet the customers first) to keep them coming back by providing excellent customer service. Abildtrup states that businesses cannot depend on their employees to understand how to deal with customers on their own; instead, they must have the training they need to get the job done. Employees must understand that they are one of the reasons why people do come back to a business. If someone goes to a business for the first time, they are looking for something in particular that only that business can provide for them at that time.

If customer service is genuine and happens quickly, people will remember this experience; they will also remember a bad experience. Buchholz (2010) identifies four levels of interest that employees have who work in any business. These four levels are: 1. The survival level where the employee comes to work to do their job. They cannot be depended on to take on additional work because they are only there to get a paycheck. 2. The acceptance level employee is open to new jobs and they believe in the philosophy and the goals of the organization.

They are productive employees but they do not like to do more work, and if something else comes along, they probably will leave. 3. The merit level employee loves the company and adds to the company's mission. They love their job and they are the people who actually make sure that things are done. They are loyal employees and are quick to jump in and do more work when it is required; they are also good in a crisis. 4. The self-fulfilling level employee understands that what they do on the job is important.

They have a buy-in to the company and they know they make a difference because they want to do a good job. Clearly, it is the third and fourth level employee who will do the most for the company and they will provide the best customer service because they are involved in the company because they want to be there. Yim, Tse, and Chan (2008) add to this discussion by taking the conversation a bit further and stating that customers that can form an interpersonal bond with employees will be the most loyal.

As an example, an individual who goes into a computer store to buy a computer will purchase something once they are satisfied that the store