A Research on Customer Service Quality of Commercial Banks of Bangladesh

Problem Definition    

a.      Background To The Problem:

Banking operations are becoming increasingly customer dictated. The demand for 'banking super malls' offering one-stop integrated financial services is well on the rise. The ability of banks to offer clients access to several markets for different classes of financial instruments has become a valuable competitive edge. With the phenomenal increase in the country's population and the increased demand for banking services; speed, service quality and customer satisfaction are going to be key differentiators for each bank's future success. Thus it is imperative for banks to get useful feedback on their actual response time and customer service quality aspects of retail banking, which in turn will help them take positive steps to maintain a competitive edge.

The working of the customer's mind is a mystery which is difficult to solve and understanding the nuances of what customer satisfaction is, a challenging task. This exercise in the context of the banking industry will give us an insight into the parameters of customer satisfaction and their measurement. This vital information will help us to build satisfaction amongst the customers and customer loyalty in the long run which is an integral part of any business. The customer's requirements must be translated and quantified into measurable targets. This provides an easy way to monitor improvements, and deciding upon the attributes that need to be concentrated on in order to improve customer satisfaction. We can recognize where we need to make changes to create improvements and determine if these changes, after implemented, have led to increased customer satisfaction. "If you cannot measure it, you cannot improve it." - Lord William Thomson Kelvin (1824-1907).

b.      Statement Of The Problem:

This paper identifies the factors that relate to customer satisfaction in the banking industry, the most important factors among the proposed factors, determining the importance of these factors and identifying their level of satisfaction. It also suggests some ways the banks can follow to improve the level of customer satisfaction regarding it.

Therefore, the specific objectives of the paper are:

1.      To identify the factors that relate to customer satisfaction in Banks

2.      To determine the most important factor among the proposed factors

3.      To determine the importance of each proposed factor

4.      To determine the level of satisfaction

c.       Limitations:

The study has some limitations; which are:

»   Sampling Technique

The sampling technique of this study is convenient sampling which is a non-probability sampling technique. Therefore, the samples considered here may not be representative of the defined population. As a result, the generalizability of the findings is quite low.

»   Sampling Error

As the sample size is only 56, random sampling error is occurred in this study.

»   Respondent Error

In some cases, it is found that respondents are unable to remember the actual response. This inability has led to errors of omission, telescoping, and creation.   

Literature Review

Customer satisfaction represents a modern approach for quality in enterprises and organizations and serves the development of a truly customer-focused management and culture. Customer satisfaction is a key and valued outcome of good marketing practice. According to Drucker (1954), the principle purpose of a business is to create satisfied customers. Increasing customer satisfaction has been found to lead to higher future profitability (Anderson, Fornell, and Lehmann 1994), lower costs related to defective goods and services (Anderson, Fornell, and Rust 1997), increased buyer willingness to pay price premiums, provide referrals, and use more of the product (Reichheld 1996; Anderson and Mittal 2000), and higher levels of customer retention and loyalty (Fornell 1992; Anderson and Sullivan 1993; Bolton 1998). In another study Increasing loyalty, in turn, has been found to lead to increases in future revenue (Fornell 1992; Anderson,  Fornell, and Lehmann 1994) and reductions in the cost of future transactions (Reichheld 1996; Srivastava, Shervani, and Fahey 1998).

Measuring customer satisfaction offers an immediate, meaningful and objective feedback about clients’ preferences and expectations. In this way, company’s performance may be evaluated in relation to a set of satisfaction dimensions that indicate the strong and the weak points of a business organization.  (Mihelis et al, 1999). customer loyalty to profitability  and profitability. An estimate of the effects of increased customer satisfaction on profitability suggests that attainable increases in satisfaction could dramatically improve profitability. (Roger Hallowell, 1996). This makes it possible to hold customer satisfaction programs accountable, in the way that other business programs are held accountable, by forcing them to demonstrate their benefits with respect to bottom-line profitability loyalty and retention of customers also depend on the overall customer satisfaction. (Rust & Zahorik, 2002). The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) indicates that loyalty is a great factor that defines the customer satisfaction (Fornell et. al, 1996). Tantakasem and Lee says that today’s the strategy of service related industry is to win the customer satisfaction by providing superior service. This study enhances the relationship between customer satisfaction and service quality. If the customer is fully satisfied then he will be loyal with the bank otherwise he will switch off to that bank which provides the better services. Gremler and W.Brown describes that business are not concerned only with attracting and satisfying customers but also to maintain a long-term relationship with the customers. When the customer is satisfied with the banks services then ultimately he will maintain his business terms with the bank and ultimately the profit of bank will also increase. Jamal and Naser(2002) and Beerli et al (2004) found the bank service quality as an important antecedent of customer satisfaction which leads towards customer loyalty. Jamal and Naser(2002) looked into the impact of service quality dimensions and customer expertise on satisfaction. Three dimensions of bank service quality are core (i.e. related to transaction accuracy and speed), relational (i.e. related to bank staff behavior) and tangible (i.e. related to bank layout) dimensions. Findings indicate that both core and relational dimensions of are more linked to customer satisfaction. Findings also indicate that customer expertise is negatively related to satisfaction.

Saulaite et al (2000) conducted a study in Qatar to assess whether customer services provided by banks are satisfactory to customers. Findings reveal that bank customers in Qatar are satisfied for convenient location and layout, politeness of staff and responsiveness to their needs. They are dissatisfied with bank interest rate policies and fee charged. Kiser (2000) mentions that customer service and location are the most cited for remaining with a bank. Holstius et al. (1995) cited efficiency and courtesy of bank staff as the most important attributes in determining overall customer satisfaction, while other important attributes Ire convenience of location, range of services, reputation and availability of innovations. Sureshchander et.al (2003) focuses on investigating the factors of customer perceived service quality of three banks in India. The banks are local, private and foreign bank. From study it comes to know that customers are most satisfied with the foreign bank as compared to other banks. A foreign bank provides the core services and other service in the standardized and simplified process.

Nazmul (2005) prepared an article on “Measurement of Customer Satisfaction of Credit Card Users”. This article has addressed around the importance of measuring customer satisfaction of credit card. It is far less costly to keep existing customers than to win new ones. Banks providing credit cards should always keep on improving so as to achieve a greater profitability. This can be achieved by knowing the market well and understanding how products and services provide value for customers. Satisfaction surveys and analyzes the customer feedback.

Approach To The Problem

Research Framework:

Conceptual Framework:

In this study, the dependent variable is “Customer satisfaction “.To find out the dependency of this variable, 5 independent variables are selected. These independent variables are: Reliability, Responsiveness, Assurance, Empathy, Tangibles.

Analytical model:

Our principal analytical tool is linear regression model which is commonly known as, the Working-Leser functional form. The form looks like this:

 

Y         = Customer Satisfaction

β 0       = Constant ( intercept o the variable)

β 1       = Coefficient of Reliability

X 1      = Importance of Reliability

β 2       = Coefficient of Responsiveness

X 2      = Importance of Responsiveness

β 3       = Coefficient of Assurance

X 3      = Importance of Assurance

β 4       = Coefficient of Empathy

X 4      = Importance of Empathy

β 5       = Coefficient of Tangibles

X 5      = Importance of Tangibles

e          = Error

Other then this formula, other descriptive statistical tools is being used in this paper like, frequency distribution, crosstabs etc.

And for SURVQUAL analysis, this method will be use:

 

Hypotheses:

Based on the research question the following hypothesis has been developed:

Ho: Reliability has no impact on customer satisfaction

H1:  Reliability has impact on customer satisfaction

H0: Responsiveness has no impact on customer satisfaction

H2: Responsiveness has impact on customer satisfaction

H0: Assurance has no impact on customer satisfaction

H3: Assurance has impact on customer satisfaction

H0: Empathy has no impact on customer satisfaction

H4: Empathy has impact on customer satisfaction

H0: Tangibles has no impact on customer satisfaction

H5: Tangibles has impact on customer satisfaction

Research Design

Research design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project. It specifies the details of the procedures necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure and solve marketing research problems.

a.      Type of Research Design

In this study, Descriptive research design has been applied to identify the factors related to customer satisfaction of banks.

b.      Information Needed

In order to measure the customer satisfaction of different banks, bank account holders have been used.

c.       Data Collection

To conduct the study, both primary and secondary data were used and collected from different sources. Primary data were collected from 100 respondents through survey method.

Primary data sources were students, service holders, businessmen and homemakers. In contrast, Secondary data sources were literature reviewed.

d.      Scaling Technique

To analyze the data collected through survey method, 9 (nine) point Likert scale was used. Using this scale, the degree of agreement or disagreement with each of statements regarding the factors determining customer satisfaction was measured to evaluate the significance of those.

e.       Questionnaire Development & Pretesting

A questionnaire with 15 (fifteen) questions was developed for obtaining quantitative primary data in this research. It had been pretested on 5 respondents before final data collection for more accuracy. Among these 15 (fifteen) questions; 10 (ten) were multiple choice, and 7 (seven) scale.  

f.       Sampling Techniques

The sample was selected for this study based on the interviewers’ convenience. Therefore, the sampling technique can be termed as ‘Convenient Sampling’ which belongs to ‘Non-probability Sampling Technique’ category. 

g.      Field Work

Field work was conducted on 56 (Fifty Six) respondents. The sampling units include: students, corporate personnel, businessmen and homemakers. The survey was conducted throughout the Dhaka city. 

Data Analysis   

a.      Methodology:

The paper is done with both qualitative and quantitative research. This has taken the form of descriptive and exploratory research. For this paper we have used both primary and secondary data. Sources of data is mainly survey but also articles journals etc. Primary data has been collected through survey from throughout the Dhaka city and secondary data has been collected from various published sources and internet.

We have also used SURVQUAL model for this paper. As a way of trying to measure service quality, researchers have developed a methodology known as SERVQUAL – a perceived service quality questionnaire survey methodology. SERVQUAL examines five dimensions of service quality.

Figure 5 - The five SERVQUAL dimensions of service

Dimensions	Description
Reliability	Performing the promised service dependably and accurately.
Responsiveness	Helping customers and providing a prompt service.
Assurance	Inspiring trust and confidence.
Empathy	Providing a caring and individual service to customers.
Tangibles	The physical facilities and equipment available, the appearance  of staff; how  easy  it is to understand Communication materials.

Source: Mori (2002) Public Service Reform: Measuring and understanding customer satisfaction 

For each dimension of service quality above, SERVQUAL measures both the expectation and perception of the service on a scale of 1 to 9, 22 questions in total. The Gap Score for each dimension is calculated by subtracting the Expectation score from the Perception score. A negative Gap score indicates that the actual service (the Perceived score) was less than what was expected (the Expectation score). The Gap score is a reliable indication of each of the five dimensions of service quality. Using SERVQUAL, service providers can obtain an indication of the level of quality of their service provision, and highlight areas requiring improvement.

Outlined below are the instructions for carrying out a SERVQUAL survey and a sample of the questions used in the questionnaire. In this sample, a bank is surveyed however; any service organization can be surveyed using this questionnaire. All that needs to be done is to substitute the word "bank" with the particular organization or industry being surveyed.

1.      Select the bank whose service quality we want to assess. Using the questionnaire (see Appendix A below), obtain the score for each of the 22 Expectation statements, and then obtain the score for each of the 22 Perception statements.

2.      Obtain an average Gap Score for each dimension of service quality by assessing the Gap Scores for each of the statements that constitute the dimension and dividing the sum by the number of statements making up the dimension.

3.      Sum the averages calculated in step 2 above and divide by 5 to obtain an average SERVQUAL score.

Data is analyzed by with the help of SPSS (Anne Swindle, Punam Ohri-Vachaspati 1999, 2005). For this paper the researcher has used regression analysis (Marie .T Ruel, Nicholas Minto, Lisa Smith, 2005), linear method (Anne Swindle, Punam Ohri-Vachaspati 1999, 2005), descriptive analysis has been used.

b.    Plan of Data Analysis

To facilitate the analysis of collected data, frequency distribution, cross tabulation regression analysis and SERVQUAL have been performed. Frequency distribution has conducted to count the number of responses associated with different values of the factors. Cross Tabulation has been used to reflect the joint distribution of the factors and services with the basic information of the customers. Regression analysis has been conducted to identify the important factors. Finally SERVQUAL analysis has been performed to measure the level of customer satisfaction.

Result and Findings  

Analysis:

Consumer perception:

Table- 5.1.1: Occupation* Currently using bank account cross tabulation

Occupation	Currently using bank account		Total
	Savings account	Current account
Student Service Business	32 8 10	0 0 10	32 4 20
Total	56	5	56

From the above table it is clear that students and service holder prefer to have a savings account, whereas most of the business person has a current account.

Chart- 5.1.1: Education level

     

                              

Most of the respondents of BANK (46%) have completed graduation; among the others are respondents having completed undergraduate/bachelor (25%), HSC (17.9%) and SSC (10.7%).

Using bank account	Customer type		Total
	General/Personal	Corporate/Business
Savings account Current account	38 2	8 8	46 10
Total	40	16	56

Table- 5.1.2:  Customer type* Currently using bank account cross tabulation

This table clearly indicates that, savings account is mainly popular among the general people compared to the business people.

Table- 1.2 (Appendix) shows that most of the customer holds only one bank account (53.6%), followed by respondents who have two accounts (28.5%) and so on. It is surprising that 3.6% of the respondents have five or more number of accounts.

Chart- 5.1.2: Whether bank charges are fare

Among the respondents 64.3% have agreed that Bank charges fare amounts for the services offered by it, whereas 21.4% of the respondents are neutral to this statement and 14.3% respondents have disagreed the statement.

Table- 5.1.3: Considerations in opening a bank account

Factors	Most recalled
	1st	2nd	3rd	4th
Customer service Environment Reputation Personalized service Easy of screen use Quick response Convenience Employee behavior & bank environment Wide branch network ATM network Continuous service	78.6 14.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.6 0.0	0.0 72.0 12.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 0.0 0.0 4.0 0.0 0.0	0.0 0.0 48.0 8.0 0.0 32.0 4.0 0.0 0.0 8.0 0.0	0.0 0.0 0.0 18.2 0.0 36.4 36.4 0.0 9.0 0.0 0.0

The table shows that the primary considerations while opening a bank account is customer service (78.6%) followed by  environment (14.2%), quick response (3.6%) and ATM network (3.6%). In their second recall environment was positioned at the top with 72%, followed by reputation (12%) and the others and in their third recall reputation is the key factor (48%) followed by quick response (32%) and so on.

Chart- 5.1.3: Taking bank services

ATM services (89.2%) have been found as the mostly taken services among all the services taken by the customers.

Table- 5.1.4: Wanted future facilities

	Most expected
	1st	2nd	3rd
Internet banking E-mail banking Banking system by personal representatives anywhere Mobile (place) banking Street banking system Phone banking	60.7 3.6 0.0 32.1 0.0 3.6	5.6 77.8 5.6 5.6 5.6 0.0	0.0 0.0 5.9 64.7 0.0 29.4

In their first recall the customers mainly expressed that they expect to have internet banking (60.7%) followed by mobile (place) banking (32.1%), e-mail banking (3.6%) and phone banking (3.6%) as future facilities to be delivered by the bank. In the second recall e-mail banking (77.8%) was placed first followed by internet banking, mobile banking, etc. with 5.6% each and in the third recall mobile banking stands at the top with 64.7%, followed by phone banking (29.4%)

Table- 5.1.5: Known products and services

Factors	Most recalled
	1st	2nd	3rd	4th
Mobile banking Deposit scheme Vehicle loan SME banking Savings account Debit card ATM services SMS banking Personal loan Foreign currency	82.2 10.7 0.0 0.0 7.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0	0.0 51.9 3.7 22.2 18.5 0.0 3.7 0.0 0.0 0.0	0.0 0.0 18.5 25.9 22.2 3.7 25.9 0.0 3.7 0.0	0.0 0.0 0.0 18.5 25.9 14.8 11.1 3.7 22.2 3.7

Among the respondents most of them knows about mobile banking (82.2%), followed by deposit scheme (10.7%) and savings account (7.1%). Deposit scheme (51.9%) is mainly known to them, followed by ATM services (25.9%), savings account (22.2%) and others in the second recall, and in case of third recall savings account (25.9%) stands at the top followed by personal loan (22.2%), SME banking (18.5%) and others.

Table- 5.1.6: Customer service responsiveness

Factors	Most recalled
	1st	2nd	3rd	4th
Call answering time Flawless/Correct operations Speed of conducting operations Knowledge about products and services Understanding and replying queries correctly Communication skills/positive approach	71.4 10.7 10.7 0.0 3.6 3.6	40.0 48.0 0.0 8.0 0.0 4.0	0.0 0.0 37.5 25.0 33.3 4.2	0.0 0.0 0.0 30.0 25.0 45.0

The table shows that in case of case of customer service responsiveness, the respondents prefer call answering time (71.4%) mostly and flawless/correct operations (10.7%), speed of conducting operations (10.7%) etc. follows it respectively. In the second recall flawless/correct operations (48.0%) stands at the top and in the third recall speed of conducting operations is found to be the most important factors.

Most important factors:

Regression analysis:

To measure the satisfaction of the bank account holders, the perception of the customers (performance of the case study banks) on SERVQUAL dimensions have been measured. The dimensions have been measured through a number of questions for each dimension.

In conducting the multiple regression analysis, the mean value of the responses of the questions under each dimension is considered as the score of that dimension. After calculating the mean scores of the five dimensions (for each respondent) have been regressed on the satisfaction scores (dependent variables) of corresponding respondents.

Table- 5.1.7: Model summary
Model	R	R Square	Adjusted R Square	Std. Error of the Estimate
1	.674a	.455	.331	.92723
a. Predictors: (Constant), Average scores of tangibles, Average scores of responsiveness, Average scores of assurance, Average score of reliability, Average scores of Empathy

R²  indicates the strengths of association among the independent and dependent variables. The higher the value of R² , the higher the strength of association among the dependent and independent variables. R² shows how much the variation in the dependent variables can be explained by the variation in the independent variables. The value of R² in this case is .455 which implies that 45% variation in dependent variables is due to the variation in the independent variables.

To justify whether the R² in the case at hand is significant or not, we will have to analyze the value of F statistics. The calculated value of F statistics is 3.667(Appendix) which is significant at 0.015 (at the level of significance of 0.05). As the significance value is smaller than .05, the model in the case at hand is significant.

Table- 5.1.8: Coefficients
Model		Unstandardized Coefficients		Standardized Coefficients	t	Sig.
		B	Std. Error	Beta
1	(Constant)	.449	.853		.527	.604
	Average score of reliability	.173	.111	.316	1.562	.133
	Average scores of responsiveness	-.074	.099	-.126	-.748	.462
	Average scores of assurance	-.046	.102	-.078	-.453	.655
	Average scores of Empathy	.272	.127	.440	2.143	.043
	Average scores of tangibles	.019	.107	.038	.175	.863

From the Coefficients Table, we can see the standardized coefficient beta calculated for each of the predictor dimensions (SERVQUAL dimensions) showing the percentage of the variation in the dependent variable (customer satisfaction) explained by each of the independent variables. The table reveals that the Empathy dimension has the standardized beta coefficients of 0.440 or 44% which is greater than that of the other dimensions. The beta coefficient of Empathy (0.440) is significant at 0.043 which is lower than 0.05 indicating the rejection of null hypothesis “Empathy has no impact on customer satisfaction”.  Thus the empathy dimension is found to be significant determinant of satisfaction while the other dimensions are not found to be significant predictor of customer satisfaction of Bank.

Dimension	Statement	Expectation score	Perception score	Gap score	Average for dimension
Reliability	1	8.36	5.93	-2.43	-2.55
	2	7.86	5.64	-2.22
	3	7.61	5.50	-2.11
	4	7.86	4.43	-3.43
Responsiveness	1	7.86	5.96	-1.90	-1.64
	2	7.89	6.07	-1.82
	3	7.04	5.82	-1.22
Assurance	1	8.11	5.64	-2.47	-2.01
	2	7.86	6.39	-1.47
	3	7.89	5.54	-2.35
	4	8.04	6.29	-1.75
Empathy	1	7.68	3.89	-3.79	-3.80
	2	7.43	3.04	-4.39
	3	7.82	4.61	-3.21
Tangibles	1	8.43	5.96	-2.47	-2.59
	2	8.07	5.64	-2.43
	3	8.21	5.39	-2.82
	4	8.00	5.36	-2.64
Average SERVQUAL score					-2.52

Table- 5.1.9: SERVQUAL

SERVQUAL scores having negative value means that the customer satisfaction is negative, contrary positive SERVQUAL implies the customer satisfaction is positive. The average SERVQUAL score for Bank is -2.52 which means that the customers are not satisfied with the bank.

Recommendation and Conclusion 

Customer dissatisfaction occurs when the customer does not get what she expected. When a product does not behave as promised or a service is not delivered as expected, the customer becomes - a dissatisfied customer. Find out where customer satisfaction stands. Ask customers what they like and dislike about the company. The customer and the business may have different ideas of what needs to be fixed.

The above graph sows that customer service plays a vital role in customer’s loyalty. And if the customers are not satisfied with the overall service off the organization.,

The most effective way to improve customer satisfaction for any organization are the followings –

Processes

Customer dissatisfaction arises primarily from breakdowns within a company. Often, bottlenecks in the process cause the customer not to get the service he expected. A bottleneck occurs when outputs are significantly slower than inputs. For example, if it takes two minutes to assemble the bottom of a jewelry box, but six minutes to assemble the top of the box, then the bottleneck occurs at the assembly of the top of the jewelry box. As a result, over the course of 30 minutes, 15 box bottoms go in, but only five box tops go out, which holds up box production. To begin solving process problems, map the process. A flowchart is a visual representation of the process. This gives management and other stakeholders the opportunity to see how one part of the process affects another part. The team can determine which actions to start performing or stop performing.

Technology

Information Technology (IT) is the backbone of a company's infrastructure. Check to ensure the information systems can handle the volume and type of business. Questions that management should ask of itself: Are the computer systems outdated? Are the systems maintained properly? Are customer records accurate or duplicated? Should systems be customized? Hire a consultant to review the company's technology needs vs. the technology the company currently uses. For customer records, create an internal, cross-functional project team to standardize customer records. Create procedures/best practices for entering customer records, and then train the staff on the new procedure. Periodically, audit customer records to keep them accurate and standardized.

People

Having the right people performing the job is very important. Are your customer service personnel impatient? Is your management board? Assess the job skills and interests of the staff. If they are not engaged, customer satisfaction can suffer. Additional job responsibilities can increase employee satisfaction. Use the employee to help solve customer satisfaction problems the customer is experiencing, thereby satisfying the customer and giving the employee a new skill set by working on the project.

Here are our suggestions to improve the satisfaction rate -

1. Stay in contact with customers on a regular basis. Offer them a free e-zine subscription. Ask customers if they want to be updated by e-mail when you make changes to your Web site. After every sale, follow-up with the customer to see if they are satisfied with their purchase.

2. Create a customer focus group. Invite ten to twenty of your most loyal customers to meet regularly. They will give you ideas and input on how to improve your customer service. You could pay them, take them out to dinner or give them free products.

3.  Make it easy for your customers to navigate on your web site. Have a "FAQ" page on your Web site to explain anything that might confuse your customers. Ask them to fill out an electronic survey to find out how make your web site more customer friendly.

4. Resolve your customers’ complaints quickly and successfully. Answer all e-mail and phone calls within an hour. If possible, you the owner of the business, personally take care of the problem. This will show your customers you really care about them.

5.  Make it easy for your customers to contact you. Offer as many contact methods as possible. Allow customers to contact you by e-mail. Hyperlink your e-mail address so customers won't have to type it. Offer toll free numbers for phone and fax contacts.

6. Make sure employees know and use your customer service policy. Give your employees bonuses or incentives to practice excellent customer service. Tell employees to be flexible with each individual customer, each one has different concerns, needs and wants.

7. Give your customers more than they expect. Send thank you gifts to lifetime customers. E-mail them online greeting cards on holidays or birthdays. Award bonuses to your customers who make a big purchase.

8.  Always be polite to your customers. Use the words your welcome, please, and thank you. Be polite to your customers even if they are being irate with you. Always apologize to your customers should you make a mistake. Admit your mistakes quickly and make it up to them in a big way.

9. Reward customers a point for every one dollar they spend. Let's say customers can get a free computer for 300 points. That means customers will spend $300 dollars on your products and services to get enough points to get the free computer.

10. Build strong relationships with your customers. Invite them to company meetings, luncheons, workshops or seminars. Create special events for your customers like parties, barbecue's, dances etc. This will make them feel important when you include them in regular business operations and special events.

 

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