THE GAP BETWEEN EXPECTED AND ACTUAL SERVICE QUALITY OF ORGANIZED RETAIL STORES IN HYDERABAD
THE GAP BETWEEN EXPECTED AND ACTUAL SERVICE QUALITY OF ORGANIZED RETAIL STORES IN HYDERABAD
THE GAP BETWEEN EXPECTED AND ACTUAL SERVICE QUALITY OF ORGANIZED RETAIL STORES IN HYDERABAD
ABSTRACT
This study assesses the gap between expected and actual service quality of retail stores in Hyderabad. Improving service quality is believed to improve profitability and enhance retail store performance. Such improvements however, require monitoring and continuous measurement of performance along service dimensions that determine standards of service quality. Majority of the retail stores in Hyderabad are operating the stores approximately up to the satisfaction level of their customers. Broadly, customers found no difference between their expected service quality and actual service quality of retail stores in Hyderabad.
INTRODUCTION
The organized retailing is growing faster in the big Tier I cities viz., Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad, as well as in Tier II & III cities. Still, the organized retail sector in India is at a very nascent stage and its market share is around 4% of the total market. Though, organised retail look big and growing, it is lag behind the traditional stores in satisfying a customer. Street corner mom n pop store give the benefit of accessibility along with the convenience of home delivery (even for a single unit purchase), top of which it also provides petty credit to its customers. There is a sense of trust shared between the customer and shopkeeper which in some cases come over generations of purchases. Still organized retail is not able to dent into the unorganized retail market , as they still radiate a feeling of being expensive and instigating loose buying ( especially in Tier 2 & 3 cities ). Therefore the present study focused on the assessment the gap between expected and actual service quality of organized retail stores in Hyderabad.
Improving service quality is believed to improve profitability and enhance retail store performance. Such improvements however, require monitoring and continuous measurement of performance along service dimensions that determine standards of service quality. This study assesses the service quality of retail stores in Hyderabad with special reference on expected and actual service quality.
Service Quality
Juran (1999) defines customer led quality as, “feature of products which meet customer’s needs and thereby provide satisfaction”, and service quality relates to meeting customers’ needs, ‘perceived service quality’ is identified to understand the consumer. Zeithaml (1987) defined perceived quality as ‘the consumers’ judgment about an entity’s overall excellence or superiority’, which can be viewed as distinct from ‘objective’ quality in as much as it is a form of attitude, related in part to satisfaction, and resulting from a comparison of expectations with perceptions of performance.
Measuring Service Quality
Service quality is a concept that has aroused considerable interest and debate in the research literature because of the difficulties in both defining it and measuring it with no overall consensus emerging on either. There always exists an important question: Why should service quality be measured? Measurement allows for comparison before and after changes, for the location of quality related problems and for the establishment of clear standards for service delivery.
Five – Dimensions of Service Quality
Dabholkar (1996) developed the Retail Service Quality Scale (RSQS) to study retailing-related dimensions. The scale that has high construct reliability and validity in measuring service quality in a department store includes:
Physical Aspects Reliability Personal Interaction Problem-Solving Policy
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The purpose of the study is to assess the gap between expected and actual service quality of organized retail stores of Hyderabad. Accordingly, the study has the following objectives:
To investigate the dimensions of service quality related to the retail sector in general. To identify the service the service quality differences between the expected service and perceived services of retail stores in Hyderabad.
Sampling Method and Sample Size
Simple random and convenience sampling was applied. Data was collected from the customers of various retail stores in Hyderabad.
Data Collection
The primary data was collected from 100 customers by administering a structured questionnaire. The secondary data was collected from various journals, magazines, and websites. The collected data was analyzed by using