Service Quality
in Private Bus Service – A Case Study of Pune-Nagpur
Bus Services
Dr. Vinod N. Sayankar
Director, Sankalp
Business School, Vadgaon (Bk)
Behind Sinhgad Campus Ambegaon
(Bk) Pune - 41
*Corresponding Author E-mail: vn_sayankar@yahoo.com
ABSTRACT:
Organizations are becoming increasingly
aware of the importance of quality in maintaining competitive advantage. Total
Quality Management has been a demand for business during the last decade and
the whole issue of quality has received massive attention in business. Quality
in services is basically a customer oriented phenomenon. The quality of service
delivery results in customer satisfaction and their retention as it reinforces
the perception that the value of the service received is greater than the price
paid for it. Quality in private bus services plays an important role.
Customer’s expectation is high in getting quality service in this type. Customers are not expecting comfort but also
demand various facilities requirements. Survey has been done of various
transport bus operators.
KEY WORDS: Total Quality Management, service delivery,
customer satisfaction
Service quality is a comparison of
expectations with performance. A business with high service quality will meet
customer needs whilst remaining economically competitive. Improved service
quality may increase economic competitiveness. This aim may be achieved by
understanding and improving operational processes; identifying problems quickly
and systematically; establishing valid and reliable service performance
measures and measuring customer satisfaction and other performance outcomes.
Marketing and customer orientation throughout out the organization can ensure
that service providers get close to their customers. Service quality is not easy to measure in a precise manner. The nature
and characteristics of services can have an impact on quality issue.
Service
quality is an achievement in customer service. It reflects at each service
encounter. Customers form service expectations from past experiences, word of
mouth and advertisement. In general, Customers compare perceived service with
expected service in which if the former falls short of the latter the customers
are disappointed. The accurate measurement of an objective aspect of customer
service requires the use of carefully predefined criteria.The
measurement of subjective aspects of customer service depends on the conformity
of the expected benefit with the perceived result. This in turns depends upon
the customer's expectation in terms of service, they might receive and the
service provider's ability and talent to present this expected service.
Successful Companies add benefits to their offering that not only satisfy the
customers but also surprise and delight them. Delighting customers is a matter
of exceeding their expectations.
A customer's
expectation of a particular service is determined by factors such as
recommendations, personal needs and past experiences. The expected service and
the perceived service sometimes may not be equal, thus leaving a gap. Ten
determinants that may influence the appearance of a gap were described by Zeithaml, Berry, Perasuram.
|
Dimension |
Definition |
|
Competence |
Possession
of the required skills and knowledge to perform the service. |
|
Courtesy |
Consideration
for the customer's property and a clean and neat appearance of contact
personnel, manifesting as politeness, respect, and friendliness. |
|
Credibility |
Factors such
as trustworthiness, belief and honesty. It involves having the customer's
best interests at prime position. |
|
Security |
Customer
feeling free from danger, risk or doubt including physical safety, financial
security and confidentiality. |
|
Access |
Approachability
and ease of contact. For example, convenient office operation hours and
locations. |
|
Communication |
Both
informing customers in a language they are able to understand and also
listening to customers. A company may need to adjust its language for the
varying needs of its customers. |
|
Knowing/Understanding customer |
Making an
effort to understand the customer's individual needs, providing
individualized attention, recognizing the customer when they arrive and so
on. |
|
Tangibles |
Physical
evidence of the service, for instance, the appearance of the physical
facilities, tools and equipment used to provide the service; the appearance
of personnel and communication materials and the presence of other customers
in the service facility. |
|
Reliability |
Ability to
perform the promised service in a dependable and accurate manner. The service
is performed correctly on the first occasion, the accounting is correct,
records are up to date and schedules are kept. |
|
Responsiveness |
Readiness
and willingness of employees to help customers in providing prompt timely
services. |
Later, the
determinants were reduced to Five: tangibles, reliability, responsiveness,
assurance and empathy.
|
No. |
GAP |
Reason |
Example |
|
1 |
Between consumer expectation and management perception |
When the
management does not correctly perceive what the customers
requirements. |
Hospital
administrators may think patients want better food however patients may be
more concerned with the responsiveness of the nurse. |
|
2 |
Between management perception and service quality specification |
Here the
management might correctly perceive what the customer required however may
not set a performance standard. |
An example
here would be that hospital administrators may tell the nurse to respond to a
request fast however may not specify how fast. |
|
3 |
Between service quality specification and service delivery |
This gap may
arise owing to the kind of service personnel. |
Poor
training, incapability or unwillingness to meet the set service standard. |
|
4 |
Between service delivery and external communication |
The gap
arises when these assumed expectations are not fulfilled at the time of
delivery of the service. |
The hospital
printed on the brochure may have clean and furnished rooms, but in reality it
may be poorly maintained in this case the patient’s expectations are not met. |
|
5 |
Between expected service and experienced service |
This gap
arises when the consumer misinterprets the service quality |
The
physician may keep visiting the patient to show and ensure care, but the
patient may interpret this as an indication that something is really wrong. |
Measuring
service quality may involve both subjective and objective processes. In both
cases, it is often some aspect of customer satisfaction which is being
assessed. However, customer satisfaction is an indirect measure of service
quality. In order to determine the extent to which a service is meeting
customer expectations about the service quality. Services standard has to
define for measuring actual performance. This will help in making comparison of
services. Certain goal can be set for measuring quality services.
Subjective
processes can be assessed in characteristics in incidents and in problems. The
most important and most used method with which to measure subjective elements
of service quality is the Servqual method. It is very
difficult to measure service quality because it is a subjective experience.
Even if an employee or product performed exactly as intended, a consumer may be
dissatisfied for another reason. Keeping this in mind, there are five
categories that have been found to be reliable indicators of customer
satisfaction: assurance, empathy, reliability, responsiveness, and tangibles.
This is called the SERVQUAL model, which has been modified over the years to
become more adaptable to a variety of situations.
Objective
processes may be subdivided into primary processes and secondary processes.
During primary processes, silent customers create test episodes of service or
the service episodes of normal customers are observed. In secondary processes,
quantifiable factors such as numbers of customer complaints or numbers of
returned goods are analysed in order to make
inferences about service quality.
In general, an
improvement in service design and
delivery helps achieve higher levels of service quality. For example, in
service design, changes can be brought about in the design of service products
and facilities. On the other hand, in service delivery, changes can be brought
about in the service delivery processes, the environment in which the service
delivery takes place and improvements in the interaction processes between
customers and service providers.
Result and Analysis
Data of private transport buses
on Pune to Nagpur route has been collected. All the
private bus operators running on this route have been taken into consideration.
These services are provided from different locations of Pune. Following analysis is done based on data
collection.
Analysis # 1. Bus Type
Wise Analysis
The data was obtained of various
private bus operators about bus type on Pune to
Nagpur route. The data was analyzed and tabulated as follows.
|
Bus Type |
No. of Bus Operator |
% |
|
A/C Sleeper |
30 |
63.83 |
|
Non A/C Sleeper |
13 |
27.66 |
|
Multi-Axle Volvo A/C Sleeper |
2 |
4.26 |
|
Volvo A/C Seater |
1 |
2.13 |
|
Multi-Axle Volvo A/C Seater |
1 |
2.13 |
|
Total |
47 |
100 |
The graphical presentation of
data analysis is given below.
From the above analysis it is observed that 63.83 % A/C sleeper
type buses are running on this route, 27.66 % Non A/C Sleeper type buses , 4.26
% Multi-Axle Volvo A/C Sleeper buses , 2.13 % Volvo A/C Seater
and Multi-Axle Volvo A/C Seater buses are running on Pune
to Nagpur route.
Analysis # 2 Fare
Wise Analysis
The data was obtained of various private bus operators about fare
on Pune to Nagpur route. The data was analyzed and
tabulated as follows.
|
Bus Type |
Minimum Fare(In Rs.) |
Maximum Fare(In Rs.) |
Range |
Average Fare (In Rs.) |
|
A/C Sleeper |
850 |
1300 |
450 |
1023 |
|
Non A/C Sleeper |
700 |
900 |
200 |
809 |
|
Volvo A/C Seater |
1100 |
1100 |
0 |
1100 |
|
Multi-Axle Volvo A/C Seater |
900 |
900 |
0 |
900 |
|
Multi-Axle Volvo A/C Sleeper |
1100 |
1100 |
0 |
1100 |
The graphical presentation of data analysis is given below.
From the above analysis it is observed that average fare of A/C
sleeper type buses was Rs.1023 , average fare of Non A/C Sleeper type buses was
Rs.809, average fare of Volvo A/C Seater was Rs. 1100 , average fare of Multi-Axle Volvo A/C Seater was
Rs. 900 and average fare of Multi-Axle
Volvo A/C Sleeper was Rs. 1100.
Analysis # 3 Duration Wise Analysis
The data was obtained of various private bus operators about
duration on Pune to Nagpur route. The data was
analyzed and tabulated as follows
|
Bus Type |
Minimum Duration In Hrs |
Maximum Duration In Hrs |
Range |
Avg Duration |
|
A/C Sleeper |
12.45 |
16.00 |
3.55 |
14.44 |
|
Non A/C Sleeper |
13.20 |
15.30 |
2.10 |
14.59 |
|
Volvo A/C Seater |
15.30 |
15.30 |
0.00 |
15.30 |
|
Multi-Axle Volvo A/C Seater |
12.00 |
12.00 |
0.00 |
12.00 |
|
Multi-Axle Volvo A/C Sleeper |
13.00 |
14.00 |
1.00 |
13.50 |
The graphical presentation of data analysis is given below.
From the above analysis it is observed that average duration
taken of A/C sleeper type buses was
14.44 hours , average duration taken of
Non A/C Sleeper type buses was 14.59 hours, average duration taken of
Volvo A/C Seater was 15.30 hours ,
average duration taken of Multi-Axle Volvo A/C Seater was
12.00 hours and average duration taken
of Multi-Axle Volvo A/C Sleeper
was 13.50 hours.
Analysis # 4 Customer
Perception on Service Quality
The data was obtained from respondent about their opinion on
selection of bus operator while travelling plan on Pune
to Nagpur route. The data was analyzed and tabulated as follows.
Customer Priority Wise Selection of Bus Operator
|
S. No. |
Parameter |
% |
|
1 |
Bus Type |
28 |
|
2 |
Comfortness |
20 |
|
3 |
Duration |
19 |
|
4 |
Fare |
12 |
|
5 |
Facilities |
10 |
|
6 |
Safety |
5 |
|
7 |
Dinner Staying Spot |
3 |
|
8 |
Cleanness |
2 |
|
9 |
Behavior of Staff |
1 |
The graphical presentation of data analysis is given below.
From the above analysis it is observed that 28% of customer had
given first priority on selection for kind of bus type, 20 % of customer had given second priority on selection for comfortness
during the journey as it is very vital , 19% of customer had given third priority on selection for duration takes at
reaching the destination, 12% of customer had given fourth priority on
selection for fare , 10% of customer had given fifth priority on selection for
facilities provided by the bus operator,
5 % of customer had given sixth priority on selection for safety of
their own, 3% of customer had given
seventh priority on selection for dinner staying spot where bus staying at good
quality restaurant customer will enjoy
the tasty food, 2% of customer had given eight priority on selection for
cleanness of bus, 1% of customer had given last priority on selection for kind
of behavior of staff.
DISCUSSION:
Most of the service organizations have a service quality system to
deliver quality services as per requirement of their customers. Awareness about
quality is the need of today’s business perspective and maintaining the
standard is the challenging tasks. A sound quality system will always lead to
improvements in service operations. Due to technological advancement and strong
communication network awareness about services availability has been increased.
There is almost forty seven private buses are giving services on Pune to Nagpur route. Most of customers are expecting and
choosing the good quality services on this route. Private bus operators due to
competition have to provide the best quality services for their survival.
REFERENCE:
1. Services Marketing By Govind Apte, Oxford University Press
2. Services Marketing by Dr.S.Shajahan , Himalaya Publishing House
3. Services Marketing by Vasanti Venugopal , Raghu V.N. , Himalaya Publishing House
4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_quality
5. http://ils.unc.edu/daniel/131/servicequality.html
6. http://www.wikihow.com/Measure-Service-Quality
7. http://www.travelyaari.com
Received on 09.05.2013 Modified on 24.06.2013
Accepted on 18.7.2013 © A&V Publication all right reserved
Asian J. Management 4(4): October
–December, 2013 page 277-281