Enhancing customer satisfaction and retention: assessing customer perceptions of Barlow justice limited to improve overall service quality

Abstract

Barlow Justice Limited is a small professional property and asset valuation firm with three full-time valuers, one full-time and two part-time office workers. In conjunction with Barlow Justice Limited, a study was conducted to examine the level of customer satisfaction resulting from the services provided. This was undertaken using a mail questionnaire, being sent to all customers from May 20, 2002, until November 11, 2002. There have been many models proposed for the measurement of service quality. This study uses the Expectations-Perceptions-Importance model (EPI). The focus of this exercise was to provide an accurate representation of customer opinion and from this be able to propose recommendations for improving the level of service. The aim is to encourage high levels of satisfaction so as to create loyal, long-teem, repeat customers. The foremost conclusion of this study identified speed of service as the major determinant of satisfaction and loyalty. Other factors which impact upon satisfaction included report accuracy, the report not being delivered on time, failures in communication, staff/customer relations, and whether customers feel the report was created independently from other sources. Although this report acknowledges that very high levels of satisfaction are generally being achieved by Barlow Justice Limited, it is maintained that further improvements at very little extra cost, can be made. As the majority of customers want the report delivered in no more than three days, an appropriate scheduling process should be developed to prioritise customers, to assist in achieving this requirement. It is therefore recommended that pricing packages be developed for the purpose of managing capacity so as to control the demand of prompt service. To support this, it is also recommended that processes be developed to ensure customer requirements are clearly understood and recorded during initial contact. This will result in more jobs being completed within stipulated timeframes. In addition to the above, this report suggests that improving communication with customers will serve to eliminate a substantial amount of dissatisfaction. For this reason it is recommended that where either reports or appointments are likely to be delayed, the customer should be contacted. In particular, where reports cannot be delivered on time, ensuring the customer remains informed will dispel some unfavourable feelings. Verbal reports should be offered to prevent inconveniences and allow purchase/sale decisions to proceed. Flexibility of the service was highlighted as an area that could be developed. Tailoring the report length and content to individual customers may increase its value. This was found to be particularly true for rental and commercial customers. Such value-adding improvements that result in increased satisfaction and loyalty are difficult to quantify, however should not be discounted. Finally, continuing this line of research will enable the Barlow Justice to assess its performance in improving service quality. In particular, where changes are made, their impact upon satisfaction and their cost/benefit can be measured.