Service Quality for Retail Banking in the United Kingdom - Research Proposal Example

 Service Quality for Retail Banking in the United Kingdom Submission: 1 Scope/Rationale of Proiect Banking is a service industry. The level of service provided by the bank to its customers and the satisfaction of the customers would be the real measure of the future growth of the company. Evaluating a bank would fully depend on the service levels that they provide. Service levels are measured using a number of methods. ServQual is one of them. Barclays Banks is one of the leading banks of UK and would like to know where they stand vis-à-vis the service to the customer. This project aims at studying this aspect of Barclays Bank in line with the theoretical research to judge, to what extent the customers of the bank are happy. In a series of papers presented by Parasuraman et al., they propose the model for measuring the quality of service rendered using the five factors or dimensions. These dimensions include tangibles, Reliability, Responsiveness, Assurance and empathy. While tangibles is a measure of the facilities, assets, personnel and other materials in the bank that add to the service provided to the customer, the reliability is the ability to perform the way it was promised. Responsiveness is a measure of the willingness to help customers and provide them with prompt service. Assurance measures the competence, courtesy, credibility and security of the service provided, while the empathy is about the caring and individualised service that the bank provides to its customers. This would help the bank in realising whether its customers are satisfactory on all grounds and whether there are any gaps in the satisfaction level. The metrics would follow the same standard set by the previously referred authors. The Gap method of questionnaire will be adopted to measure the service quality of the bank. This study will be conducted at Barclays Bank plc and the hypothesis given below for its validity. 2. Hypothesis Service quality levels in Banks are more than 90% with reference to the expectations of the customers of the bank. In order to identify these appropriate metrics will be fixed. 3. Methodology The objective of the project is to study the existing service levels in the bank and to quantify them by assigning appropriate metrics. This project will be carried out using the following methodology: 1. A detailed literature review will be done initially to understand and assimilate the importance of using Servqual is a measure for measuring service quality. For this extensive reading will be done of papers and books on the subject. This information will be organised to identify the best metrics that could be employed to measure every one of the dimensions listed in the above list. In addition to this, the literature review will also help in identifying the various analysis methods that were employed by various people during their own research activities. The ideal one suited for banks will be identified and marked out for later usage. 2. The literary review will also provide information on the analysis or research done by others in the same area of work. The responses that they obtained and the conclusions that they drew will also be identified and listed. In order to identify these appropriate journals and books will be taken up and the articles, papers and texts will be noted down for reference. Ideas and concepts introduced by them will also be noted down to match with the technique adopted in this program. This will be finally verified while cross checking the results of the program and the reasons for deviation, if any, will also be identified. These justifications will also be listed in the results of the project. 3. In line with the analysis methodology chosen and the metrics identified, a questionnaire for the survey will be framed. This would provide qualitative as well as quantitative data for further analysis. The questionnaire will be framed in such a way that both the customers and the employees are able to answer the questions and they are intelligent to both the groups. The questionnaire will use the Likert Scale for quantitative questions since the questions are subjective and the qualitative open ended questions will also be used to ensure that the information the respondent wants to say is really conveyed. While quantitative data is used for analysis and brought up using graphs, the qualitative data will be used for analysing the issues and possibly to identify reasons behind preferences of the customers. This would comprise of 22 questions covering the five dimensions that make up the SERVQUAL quotient. The questions are framed under two main groups. One, the Expectations and two, the perceptions. Satisfaction (S) is the difference between the expectations and the perceptions. S=P-E. 4. The target for the survey will also be finalised based on the analysis methodology. This would comprise both of the customers to the bank as well as employees of the bank. A select list of customers randomly selected by the bank will be used for the purpose of interviewing the customers, so that there are both large and small customers of the bank; individuals and corporate bodies should also be present. In a similar way, a select list of employees at multiple levels will also be short listed for the purpose. These people will be requested to respond to the questionnaire. Prior to giving them the questionnaire a no-objection letter or an oral confirmation to participate in the survey will be taken from these participants. None of the questions posed to the respondents will in any way jeopardise their interest in the bank. The questionnaire is given in the annexure. 5. The responses from every one of the people will be taken and noted down for further analysis. This data will be analysed and the results will be compared with the outcome of the literary review. This would help us to note whether the same conclusions as in the literary review have been reached or not. Any reasons for the same will also be fixed. Deviations if any will be analysed to identify the causes and justifications provided for the deviations. If there are any rectifications that have to be taken up by the bank, then the same will also be marked out in the recommendations list. 6. Based on the results identified from the analysis, conclusions are drawn about the status of the bank and its customer satisfaction. This will help in drawing out solutions for any specific problems faced and the methodologies to overcome these problems are also suggested. These are subsequently listed in the conclusion of the report. 4. Data Sources Primary information • Interviews with the employees of the bank and with their customers. • Survey of service measures and dimensions will be done using the questionnaire designed. The data will consist of information from the employees as well as customers to draw the right kind of conclusions. A 22 point questionnaire sample is provided in the annexure which will be adopted for this purpose. Secondary information • Publications and books on service quality measurement. • Publications on bank service quality measurements • Publications on Customer Satisfaction. • Current thinking on servqual and other such service measuring methods • Industry/market reports 5. Aspects of MBA Syllabus Used The project will involve aspects of the core courses in Best Practice Management. 6 Proposed Chapter Headings and Sub-Headings 1.. Introduction 1.1 Barclays Bank plc. 1.2 Project background 1.3 Terms of reference 1.4 Project methodology 2. Strategies adopted by banks for customer satisfaction 2.1 Industry strategies 2.2 Barclay's strategy 2.3 How is Barclay handling customer relationship? 3. Why Service Performance Measures Are Required 3.1 Why measure 3.2 Who uses service measurement? 3.3 How does one benefit out of service measurement? 4. Review of Service Quality Checks in Barclays. 4.1 Measurements currently used within Barclays 4.2 Accuracy of measurements 4.3 Influence of information 4.4 Measurements not currently used within Barclays 5. Determining Key Performance Indexes in Quality service 5.1 Interview and survey methodology 5.2 Feedback from Manager 5.3 Appraisal of quality measures 6. Research and Analysis 6.1 Hypothesis 6.2 Research process 6.2 Results 7. Conclusions and Recommendations 7.1 Conclusions 7.2 Recommendations Appendices and Bibliography 8. Work Programme Work Programme Activity Week commencing   May June July August   21 28 4 11 18 25 2 9 16 23 30 6 13 20 27 Submit Proposal                               Induction in Barclays                               Literary Review                               Design Questionnaires                               Conduct Interviews                               Fix Service metrics                               Collect Data                               Analyse Data                               Test Hypothesis                               Meeting with Sponsor                               Meeting with Supervisor                               Complete First draft                               Review and make final project                               Submit final report for binding                               Submit a copy to Barclays                                                               Annexure I QUALITY OF SERVICE Questionnaire Based on your experiences as a customer to a bank or as an employee in a bank please think about the kind of bank that would deliver excellent quality of service. Please indicate below which of the features the excellent bank would possess. If you think the feature is not needed then please circle 1. If you think the feature is very much needed, please circle 7. According to your own need, please circle any number in between too. Strongly Strongly Disagree Agree 1. Excellent Banks will have modern looking equipment. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 2. The physical facilities at excellent banks will be visually appealing 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 3. Personnel at excellent banks will be neat in appearance 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 4. Materials associated with the service (such as pamphlets or statements) will be visually appealing in an excellent bank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 5. When excellent banks promise to do something by a certain time they will do so. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 6. When a customer has a problem, excellent banks will show a sincere interest in solving it. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 7. Excellent banks will get things right the first time. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8. Excellent banks will provide their services at the time they promise to do so. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 9. Excellent banks will insist on error-free records. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Strongly Strongly Disagree Agree 10. Personnel in excellent banks will tell customers exactly when services will be performed. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 11. Personnel in excellent banks will give prompt service to customers. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 12. Personnel in excellent banks will always be willing to help customers. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 13. Personnel in excellent banks will never be too busy to respond to customers requests. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 14. The behaviour of personnel in excellent banks will instill confidence in customers. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 15. Customer of excellent banks will feel safe in their dealings with the bank. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 16. Personnel in excellent banks will be consistently courteous with customers. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 17. Personnel in excellent banks will have the knowledge to answer all customer questions. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 18. Excellent banks will give customers individual attention. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 19. Excellent banks will have operating hours convenient to all their customers. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 20. Excellent banks will have staff who give customers personal attention. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 21. Excellent banks will have the customers' best interests at heart. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 22. The personnel of excellent banks will understand the specific needs of their customers. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Listed below are five features pertaining to banks and the service they offer. We would like to know how important each of these features is to you when you evaluate the service offered by a bank. Please allocate a total of 100 points among the five features according to how important each feature is to you - the more important a feature is to you, the more points you should allocate to it. Please ensure that the points you allocate to the five features add up to 100. 1. The appearance of the bank’s physical facilities, equipment, personnel and communication materials. _____ points 2. The bank's ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately. _____ points 3. The bank's willingness to help customers and provide a prompt service. _____ points 4. The knowledge and courtesy of the bank personnel and their ability to convey trust and confidence. _____ points 5. The caring, individualised attention the bank Provides its customers. _____ points TOTAL points allocated 100 points ____________________________________________________________________________ Which one feature of the above five is most important to you ? _____ (Please enter the feature's number) Which feature is second most important to you ? _____ Which feature is least important to you ? _____ The following set of statements relate to your feelings about the Barclays Bank. For each statement, please show the extent to which you believe the bank has the feature described by the statement. Once again circling a 1 means that you strongly disagree that the bank has this feature and circling a 7 means that you strongly agree. You may circle any of the numbers in the middle that show how strong your feelings are. There are no right or wrong answers - all we are interested in is a number that best shows your perceptions about the bank which has treated you. Strongly Strongly Disagree Agree 1. The bank has modern- looking equipment. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 2. The physical facilities in the bank are visually appealing. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 3. Personnel in the bank are neat in appearance. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 4. Materials associated with the service (such as pamphlets or statements) are visually appealing. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 5. When the bank promises to do something by a certain time it does so. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 6. When you have a problem, the bank shows a sincere interest in solving it. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 7. The bank gets things right the first time. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8. The bank provides its services at the time it promises to do so. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 9. The bank insists on error-free records. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Strongly Strongly Disagree Agree 10. The personnel in the bank tell you exactly when services will be performed. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 11. Personnel in the bank give you prompt service. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 12. Personnel in the bank are always willing to help you. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 13. Personnel in the bank are never be too busy to respond to your requests. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 14. The behaviour of personnel in the bank instills confidence in you 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 15. You feel safe in your dealings with the bank. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 16. Personnel in the bank are consistently courteous with you. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 17. Personnel in the bank have the knowledge to answer your questions. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 18. The bank gives you individual attention. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 19. The bank has operating hours convenient to all its patients. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 20. The bank has personnel who give you personal attention. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 21. The bank has your best interests at heart. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 22. The personnel of the bank understand your specific needs 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Thank you for the time you have spent in completing this questionnaire. The results will help us to provide you with the best possible service in the future. Appendix II SERVQUAL procedures Dimensions Statements 1-4 Tangibles Statements 5-9 Reliability Statements 10-13 Responsiveness Statements 14-17 Assurance Statements 18-22 Empathy The first questionnaire is the perceptions questionnaire while the second is for expectations. Procedures 1. The gap will be computed for each statement pair for each customer. SERVQUAL score = Perceptions Score - Expectations Score 2. The dimensions scores for each respondent is calculated by averaging the gap score over the relevant number of statements (either 4 or 5 statements) 3. SERVQUAL respondent’s scores are calculated as shown below: Unweighted scores Sum dimensions and divide by 5 Weighted scores Tangibles * (Tangibles Weight/100 ) + Reliability * ( Reliability Weight/100) + Responsiveness * (Responsiveness Weight/100) + Assurance * (Assurance Weight/100) + Empathy * (Empathy Weight/100) 4. Total SERVQUAL scores is obtained by totalling the scores and dividing by the number of respondents References 1. Parasuraman, A, Zeithaml VA, Berry L (1985) A Conceptual model of service quality and its implications of future research. Journal of marketing. Vol 49, Aut. Pp 41-50. 2. Parasuraman, A, Zeithaml VA, Berry L (1988) SERVQUAL: a multiple-item scale for measuring customer perceptions of service quality. Journal of Retailing. Vol 64 Spring pp 12-40. 3. Parasuraman, A, Zeithaml VA, Berry L (1991) Refinement and reassessment of the SERVQUAL scale. Journal of Retailing. Vol 67 No 4 pp 420-50. Read More