Analyses of Customer Satisfaction: RyanAir - Research Proposal Example

Analyses Satisfaction: The Case of RyanAir Total Number of Words: 2,810 Proposed Research “Analyses of Customer Satisfaction: The Case of Ryan Air” Introduction As compared to full service carriers, low cost carriers have better competitive advantage because of its very low fares and the option to deliver a similar quality in terms of its service (Kim & Lee, 2011). Even though RyanAir is a low cost carrier (RyanAir, 2014a), this particular airline company had been recently exposed to a lot of controversy particularly with regards to its customer service (Prattley, 2013; Smith, 2013). For instance, despite the continuous bookings this particular airline company is receiving from its valued customers worldwide, Smith (2013) had recently reported in Telegraph that RyanAir is the “worst brand for customer service”. The fact that RyanAir’s annual profitability has failed to reach its target is a clear sign that the said airline company is experiencing a serious problem with regards to its customer service (Prattley, 2013). There is a lot of business advantages associated with delivering a good customer service. In general, a good customer service can lead to a higher profitability, increased in customer satisfaction and loyalty (Baker, 2013). After examining the impact of customer satisfaction on a company’s financial performance, Sun and Kim (2013) found out that it is possible for the levels of customer satisfaction to be reflected in the company’s profitability (i.e. profit margin, return on assets, and return on equity). In relation to the customer service of RyanAir, Smith (2013) reported that this particular airline company scored only 2 out of 5 for its staff’s attitude, knowledge, and ability to deal with customer-related problems. Today, RyanAir is not the only airline company that offers low-cost airfares. For this reason, there is a strongly possibility wherein the loyal customers of RyanAir would shift to other budget airline companies such as EasyJet (Prattley, 2013). To learn more on how RyanAir can further improve its customer service, a dual case study will be conducted for this purpose. In line with this, factors that can significantly affect the customer satisfaction of both RyanAir’s and EasyJet’s customers will be identified and analyzed respectively through the use of quantitative and qualitative research survey questionnaire. Aim and Objectives Continuous improvement in customer service is necessary in order to retain the loyal customers of RyanAir. For this reason, the proposed research study aims to determine the best way to increase the customer satisfaction of RyanAir. In relation to the main purpose of this study, the following research objectives will serve as a guide throughout the completion of the proposed research study: 1. To be able to identify all factors that can increase the customer satisfaction of RyanAir and EasyJet respectively; 2. To be able to able to compare and contrast the differences between the factors that can increase the customer satisfaction of RyanAir and EasyJet; and 3. To be able to determine the best way to increase the customer satisfaction of RyanAir by measuring how the research survey respondents would rate the most important factor from the least important factor using the scale of 1 to 8 (i.e. with 1 being the most important factor and 8 being the least important factor). Research Questions Research questions are usually designed and developed to guide the researcher on what is expected from the proposed research study. In most cases, the research questions used in a research study can be created based on the gathered literature review (Miller & Yang, 2008, p. 46). Furthermore, the research questions presented in a research study can be addressed using either qualitative or quantitative research method, or both (i.e. research survey method, research interviews, or both). In relation to the proposed research study, the research questions are as follows: 1. In relation to the case of RyanAir and EasyJet, is the strategy used by EasyJet better in terms of increasing the rate of customer satisfaction? 2. What are the differences between the strategies used by RyanAir and EasyJet in terms of improving the quality of their customer service? 3. What are the business strategies RyanAir should consider in order to improve the satisfaction rate of its customers? To address the main purpose of the study, the identified research objectives, and research questions, it is best to combine the use of both quantitative and qualitative research method. Through the use of quantitative research survey method, the researcher will be able to report a more generalized response coming from the group of research survey respondents. On the other hand, the use of qualitative research survey question will allow the researcher to obtain a more subjective response on how they can be satisfied by these two (2) different airlines companies. Literature Review Factors that Increases Customer Satisfaction The ability of a company to retain its existing customer base is one of the key factors behind their success (Yoo & Bai, 2013). In line with this, several studies pointed out the strong relationship between customer service and customer satisfaction (Baker, 2013; Chen & Chen, 2010; Kusluvan et al., 2010). In almost all cases, airline companies can increase the quality of their service by satisfying and meeting the needs and expectations of each customer (Baker, 2013; Upadhyaya, 2012). After examining the tourists’ experience in heritage tourism, Chen and Chen (2010) found out that the quality experience that a customer can get out of the company can affect their perceived value, overall satisfaction, and behavioral intentions on the company’s product and services. Using a multidmentional methods, Kim and Lee (2011) also examined the significane of perceived service quality on customer satisfaction and behavioral intention only to find out that a positive customer satisfaction can lead to word-of-mouth promotion and increase intention to repurchase whereas a negative customer satisfaction can lead to complaining behaviour. In general, there are quite a lot of factors that can increase customer satisfaction. Among the common factors that can increase customer satisfaction include: (1) maintaining on-time departure and arrival performance; (2) proper care and handling of the customers’ luggage; (3) maintaining a high quality customer service particularly in the company’s boarding, reservation and ticketing outlets; (4) creating a positive customer experience on airline service; (5) being responsive to the needs of each customer; (6) maintaining the image of a clean and accessible airport facilities like airline lounges; (7) the provision of comfortable airline seats; (8) offering in-flight digital services (i.e. access to sounds and movies). (Baker, 2013; Archana & Subha, 2012; Han et al., 2012; Kim & Lee, 2011; Chen & Chen, 2010). With regards to the quality of services being expected by the passengers, Archana and Subha (2012) explained that the quality of in-flight services is highly dependent on the type of seats each passenger had paid for (i.e. economy class, business class, and/or premium class). Factors that Decreases Customer Satisfaction Delay in passenger flight is one factor that can decrease the levels of customer satisfaction (Wen & Chi, 2013). After conducting a field study with regards to the affective and cognitive impact of delayed airline passengers on customer satisfaction, Wen and Chi (2013) found out that customers had to wait for their flight for more than two (2) hours tend to become less satisfied as compared to customers who had to wait for less than one (1) hour and that customers who waited for less than one (1) hour had a higher levels of trust on the airline company, higher chance of repurchase, and higher chance of spreading out their positive flight experience through word-of-mouth. On top of delayed flights, other significant factors that can decrease customer service include: (1) misplacing the customers’ luggage; (2) long waiting hours without receiving some complimentary food and water; (3) bad service quality or misbehavior among the staff; (4) discrepancy in fare such as hidden charges; (5) cancellation of flight schedules; (6) discrepancies in boarding (i.e. handing a wrong boarding pass to the customer or issuing a duplicate seat number of boarding pass); (7) having a poor or unreliable airline security service; and (8) the use of misleading advertisements (Wen & Chi, 2013; Upadhyaya, 2012). In general customer satisfaction is considered as the link between service quality and loyalty (Mosahab, Mahamad, & Ramayah, 2010). Furthermore, Lee, Back and Kim (2009) explained that the emotions of customers have something to do with customer satisfaction and their loyalty to the brand. For these reasons, it is important to avoid all factors that can make customers feel unhappy. Relevance of Motivating Employees with Customer Satisfaction Applicable within the airline industry, a highly motivated employee can contribute to the increase in the quality service. In line with this, Ahmad, Wasay and Malik (2012) explained that the staff of airline companies often times serve as the front liners in terms of satisfying the needs of the customers. In line with this, Kusluvan et al. (2010) pointed out the fact that the personality of each staff has something to do with each employee’s work performance, work-related attitude and behavior, and their ability to deliver a good customer service. For this reason, each employee’s work motivation can be considered as one of the most significant factor that can increase customer satisfaction (Ahmad, Wasay, & Malik, 2012). There are several strategic ways on how the airline companies can effectively motivate and satisfy their staff. For example, employees who are working for an airline company can be motivated by improving their working environment, offering them attractive pay and other benefits, creating and implementing a single organizational vision, and making use of effective management system (Ahmad, Wasay, & Malik, 2012). To prevent the airline staff from experiencing work-related stress and burnout, Lin, Wong and Ho (2013) strongly advice the need for the airline company to establish a leisure benefit system that can help each staff benefit from having a balanced work-and-leisure life. Strategic Ways on How to Counteract the Consequences of Negative Customer’s Satisfaction In case of negative customer’s satisfaction, conducting a service recovery is essential to allow the airline company to regain back the satisfaction of its loyal customers (Wen & Chi, 2013). In fact, focusing on strengthening the airline company’s service recovery is essential to retain the business after undergoing a serious controversial issue (Krishna, Dangayach, & Jain, 2011). Aside from establishing and implementing a service recovery program, it is also advisable on the part of the airline company to get some customer feedback as this strategy will allow the top management and staff to immediately address the main concerns of the customers (Krishna, Dangayach, & Jain, 2011). Morrisson and Hupperts (2010) mentioned that service recovery can impact a wide-range of customers in a different manner. Therefore, it is crucial on the part of the top management of airline companies to determine how its service recovery strategies could affect each customer. Research Methodology Proposed Framework of the Research Study Design The proposed research study design is a dual case study. In the process of conducting a dual case study, it is possible to compare and contrast all factors that can increase or decrease the levels of customer satisfaction in the case of both RyanAir and EasyJet. In general, both RyanAir and EasyJet are budget airline companies. Despite the ability of both airline companies to offer a relatively low airfare to its customers, EasyJet is not facing a controversial issue with regards to the quality of its customer service. By comparing the case of both RyanAir and EasyJet, the researcher can have a better idea on how RyanAir should further improve its customer service as a way of increasing its customer satisfaction ratings. To determine the best way to increase the customer satisfaction of RyanAir, the proposed research study will purposely combine the use of quantitative and qualitative research survey method. In the process of using a quantitative type of research questions, it is possible to obtain a more generalized response on how the airline company can effectively satisfy its customers (Maylor & Blackmon, 2005, p. 159). In the process of gathering a generalized response from RyanAir’s and EasyJet’s customers, the researcher can easily figure out patterns in their responses (Maylor & Blackmon, 2005, p. 153). On the other hand, the use of qualitative type of research survey question is also good since this option will provide the researcher the opportunity to obtain a more cyclical, subjective, and unpredictable response as to how they can be satisfied by the said airline company (Maylor & Blackmon, 2005, p. 162). In almost all cases, it is unlikely for most research survey respondents to take a lot of time to write down their subjective response to a qualitative research survey type of question. Since the proposed research study is a dual case study, the proposed research study design includes the need to conduct a one-on-one research interview with a couple of RyanAir’s customers and a couple of EasyJet customers. With these in mind, the proposed research study design framework is presented below: Sampling Size, Research Venue, and Data Collection Method Research Survey Study A total of 200 research survey respondents will be invited to participate in the actual research survey study. The 200 research survey respondents will be equally divided into two groups. The first group will provide data based on RyanAir’s customers’ comments and point-of-view. The second group will provide data based on EasyJet’s customers’ comments and point-of-view. Therefore, regardless of age, gender, nationality, and race, qualified research survey respondents for the first group will be the existing customers of RyanAir. On the other hand, qualified research survey respondents for the second group will be limited to the existing customers of EasyJet. For data collection purposes, a research survey questionnaire will be created for the actual research survey study. Specifically the research survey questionnaire will be divided into three (3) parts. The first part will focus on determining the demographic profile of the research survey respondents. By asking questions related to the personal background of each research survey participant, it is possible to present in tables, charts, and figures the generalized age brackets, gender, civil status, employment status, and educational status of the research survey respondents as a group. The second part will focus on determining factors that can increase or decrease the levels of customer satisfaction. In line with this, a likert scale type of questions will be used in this section. For each question created under second part, research survey respondents will be required to point out how much they agree or disagree with the given statement. Using a five-point likert scale, a score of 5 means that the research survey respondent “strongly agree” with the statement whereas a score of 1 means that the research survey respondent “strongly disagree” with the statement (Maylor & Blackmon, 2005, p. 335). The third part will focus on gathering subjective response from the customers particularly on how they feel RyanAir and EasyJet should further improve the quality of their customer service. Therefore, the type of question to be used in this part will be open-ended type of questions (Maylor & Blackmon, 2005, p. 191). In general, reliability means that the research findings presented in this study should reflect the same findings presented by other researchers (Maylor & Blackmon, 2005, p. 159). On the other hand, validity is all about accurately conducting the research study (Maylor & Blackmon, 2005, p. 158). To ensure the validity and reliability of the research study, the research survey questionnaire design should be aligned with the research study introduction, aims and objectives, research questions, and literature review. This explains why it is important for the research survey questions to be based on the gathered literature review (Maylor & Blackmon, 2005, p. 141). Research Interview A total of 2 RyanAir’s customers and 2 EasyJet’s customers will be invited to participate in the actual research interview. To ensure that the researcher will be able to ask research interview question without wasting too much time, a semi-structured research interview questionnaire will be created for this purpose (Maylor & Blackmon, 2005, pp. 225 – 230). Data Analysis and Interpretation of Research Findings To compute for the results of quantitative data, descriptive statistics will be applied to part 1 and part 2 of the research survey questionnaire. Using the univariate analysis method, its frequency distribution and percentage will be computed accordingly (Maylor & Blackmon, 2005, pp. 307 – 308, 313). Applicable to the second part of the research survey questionnaire, it is also possible to compute for the mean (Maylor & Blackmon, 2005, p. 310). For easy viewing, the research findings can be presented using tables and graphical charts and graphs (i.e. horizontal bar chart, line graph, pie chart, etc.) (Maylor & Blackmon, 2005, p. 376). To accurately the research findings, it is best to analyze the gathered primary research data together with the literature review especially when comparing and analyzing the strategies used by both airline companies. Doing so will minimize the risks of manipulating the research study conclusion. References Ahmad, M., Wasay, E., & Malik, S. (2012). Impact of employee motivation on customer satisfaction: Study of airline industry in Pakistan. Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business, 4(6), pp. 531-539. Archana, R., & Subha, M. (2012). A study on service quality and passenger satisfaction on Indian airlines. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, 2(2), pp. 50-63. Baker, D. (2013). Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction in the Airline Industry: A Comparison between Legacy Airlines and Low-Cost Airlines. American Journal of Tourism Research, 2(1),pp. 67-77. Chen, C.-F., & Chen, F.-S. (2010). Experience quality, perceived value, satisfaction and behavioral intentions for. Tourism Management, 31(2010), pp. 29-35. Han, S., Ham, S., Yang, I., & Baek, S. (2012). Passengers perceptions of airline lounges: Importance of attributes that determine usage and service quality measurement. Tourism Management , 33(2012), pp. 1103-1111. Kim, Y., & Lee, H. (2011). Customer satisfaction using low cost carriers. Progress in Tourism Management, 32(2), pp. 235-243. Krishna, A., Dangayach, G., & Jain, R. (2011). Service Recovery: Literature review and research issues. Journal of Service Science Research, 3, pp. 71-121. Kusluvan, S., Kusluvan, Z., Ilhan, I., & Buyruk, L. (2010). The human dimension. A review of human resources management issues in th etourism and hospitality industry. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 51(2), pp. 171-214. Lee, Y.-K., Back, K.-J., & Kim, J.-Y. (2009). Family restaurant brand personality and its impact on customers emotion, satisfaction, and brand loyalty. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 33(3), pp. 305-328. Lin, J.-H., Wong, J.-Y., & Ho, C.-H. (2013). Promoting frontline employees quality of life: Leisure benefit systems and work-to-leisure conflicts. Tourism Management, 36(2013), pp. 178-187. Maylor, H., & Blackmon, K. (2005). Researching Business and Management . New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Miller, G., & Yang, K. (2008). Handbook of Research Methods in Public Administration, Second Edition. Boca Raton: Taylor & Francis Group. Morrisson, O., & Hupperts, J. (2010). External equity, loyal program membership, and service recovery. Journal of Service Marketing, 24(3), pp.244-254. Mosahab, R., Mahamad, O., & Ramayah, T. (2010). Service Quality, Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty: A Test of Mediation. International Business Research, 3(4), pp. 72-80. Prattley, N. (2013, November 4). Ryanair is paying the price for its unpleasant customer experience. Two profit warnings have prompted Michael OLeary to introduce allocated seating and revamp the website. The Guardian. Retrieved January 12, 2013, from http://www.theguardian.com/business/nils-pratley-on-finance/2013/nov/04/ryanair-pays-price-unpleasant-customer-experience RyanAir. (2014a). History of Ryanair. Retrieved January 12, 2014, from https://www.ryanair.com/en/about Smith, O. (2013, September 19). Ryanair worst brand for customer service. Ryanair, the low-cost airline, has the worst customer service out of Britain’s 100 biggest brands, according to the readers of Which? Telegraph. Retrieved January 12, 2014, from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/10319838/Ryanair-worst-brand-for-customer-service.html Sun, K., & Kim, D. (2013). Does customer satisfaction increase firm performance? An application of American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). International Journal of Hospitality Management, 35(2013), pp. 68-77. Upadhyaya, M. (2012). Customer satisfactionmeasurement in airline services: An empirical study of need-gap analysis. International Journal of Management and Strategy, 3(5), pp. 1-11 Wen, B., & Chi, C. (2013). Examine the cognitive and affective antecedents to service recovery satisfaction. A field study of delayed airline passengers. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 25(3), pp. 306-327. Yoo, M., & Bai, B. (2013). Customer loyalty marketing research: A comparative approach betwen hostpitality an d business journals. Internatonal Journal of Hospitality Management, 33(2013), pp. 166-177. Appendixes – Journals Used to Create the Literature Review Read More