Academic literature on the topic 'Restaurants – Customer services – South Africa'
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Journal articles on the topic "Restaurants – Customer services – South Africa"
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Erdis, Cindy, and Michael Du Toit. "Household Life Cycle: The Case Of Customer Satisfaction In Restaurants." International Business & Economics Research Journal (IBER) 13, no. 2 (February 27, 2014): 335. http://dx.doi.org/10.19030/iber.v13i2.8450.
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The restaurant industry is rife with customers experiencing unacceptable levels of customer service, resulting in many customers often deciding to take their patronage elsewhere. Marketing researchers have long been investigating the influence of family on customer behaviour and satisfaction, but very limited research has been done on the influence of the family structure on customer satisfaction in restaurants. This article examines the influence of household life cycle on customer satisfaction in selected restaurants in the Tshwane area of Gauteng, South Africa. An empirical study was conducted with the aim of establishing if the stage in the household life cycle of restaurant patrons has an influence on the level of customer satisfaction experienced when visiting restaurants. A self-administered survey was conducted whereby questionnaires were handed to restaurant patrons with the restaurant bill folder. Based on the research results, it was found that the stage in the household life cycle of restaurant patrons does indeed have an influence on how satisfied customers were with regard to certain aspects relating to customer service, which in turn influences their overall customer satisfaction. This is important for restaurants who want to retain customers based on their loyalty and to ultimately increase profitability.
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Mhlanga, Oswald. "Factors impacting restaurant efficiency: a data envelopment analysis." Tourism Review 73, no. 1 (February 5, 2018): 82–93. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/tr-07-2017-0109.
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Purpose Restaurants are characterised by predictable, seasonal factors and unpredictable, individual customer demand, which make it difficult for restaurateurs to attain efficiency. A combination of these two factors, macro-predictability and micro-uncertainty, produces economic risks, which make it difficult for restaurants to attain operational efficiency. The purpose of this study is to identify factors impacting restaurant efficiency in South Africa. Design/methodology/approach By using primary and secondary sources, data were collected from 16 different types of restaurants in South Africa, for the period 2012-2016, on a variety of parameters. A two-stage empirical analysis was carried out, which involved the estimation of operational efficiencies during the first stage by using data envelopment analysis (DEA) and determination of factors impacting restaurant performance in South Africa during the second stage by using two-way random-effects generalised least squares and Tobit regression models. Findings The results clearly show that the ability of restaurants to succeed will not be determined by their size but by their type, location and revenue per available seat. While the study finds various factors impacting on operational efficiency, the survival of restaurants in South Africa seem to be determined by cost efficiency, which brings in better market performance through lowering cost of sales. Practical implications The results have implications for restaurant managers in that if they want to improve cost efficiency, they must manage restaurant capacity and customer demand in a way that maximises revenue. To stimulate demand during periods of low demand, management could consider strategies that attract more customers or encourage upselling, whereas during periods of high demand, management may consider raising prices or reducing meal durations. The results indicate that DEA is a useful tool to identify factors impacting restaurant efficiency and could enhance the service data and revenue management with regards to restaurant efficiency in South Africa. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, this paper is the first that attempts to identify factors impacting restaurant efficiency in South Africa by using DEA. The findings could enhance the service data and revenue management with regards to restaurant efficiency in South Africa.
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Jagernath, Krishan, and Visvanathan Naicker. "Trends R egarding WiFi in Gauteng South Africa." Journal of Business and Economics 9, no. 6 (June 20, 2018): 507–22. http://dx.doi.org/10.15341/jbe(2155-7950)/06.09.2018/005.
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The demand for data usage in South Africa is growing and this growth is creating a heavy demand on the network of telecommunication providers. The challenge facing South Africa is a lack of spectrum especially for high-speed access of Long Term Evolution networks, which creates a set of challenges in providing services to their customers for these telecommunication providers. The paper presents a narrative to ascertain where consumers in Gauteng access WiFi on a regular basis, how often they access these WiFi hot spots, reasons for their access. The findings would reflect the consumers’ buying behaviours as the target population to discover trends and patterns using WiFi. A qualitative methods approach was chosen. This was based on the buying behaviour, trends and patterns of WiFi users and how Telecommunication Service Providers and businesses could position themselves as a WiFi provider and capture this market. Respondents were regular users of WiFi and had good knowledge and understanding of WiFi. The biggest benefit of WiFi hotspots to them was that it was free and conveniently located and saved them on their personal data usage. Whilst there is a sporadic WiFi footprint available in Gauteng, the service needs to be expanded and made more accessible in all restaurants, taxi ranks, universities, shopping malls, gated communities. WiFi can be provided to cover a wider range at shopping malls by Telecommunication Service Providers partnering up with providers of public and private WiFi hotspots.
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Naude, Petro, and Sharon Rudansky-Kloppers. "Perceptions Of Customers Regarding Their Expectations Of Service Quality In South African Full-Service Restaurants." International Business & Economics Research Journal (IBER) 15, no. 2 (February 24, 2016): 55. http://dx.doi.org/10.19030/iber.v15i2.9609.
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Full-service restaurants serve different types of customers with preconceived ideas about what they want and expect to receive from the restaurant. During the dining experience, each customer experiences the service differently and subconsciously evaluates the experience differently. The purpose of this research is to determine the expectations and perceptions of customers regarding service quality sub-dimensions at Full-Service Restaurants (FSRs). A self-administered survey of employees at a tertiary academic institution revealed that waiter professionalism, lack of individual attention, long waiting periods and stock-outs in FSRs are the most important concerns when it comes to the expectations of service quality. The findings of this study analysed a demographic profile (gender, age, home language, highest education qualification, LSM groups) and it was found that demographic category groups differ in the way that they perceive service quality. The study reveals that males tend to be less critical than women, LSM 9 respondents are less critical than LSM 10 respondents and respondents with an undergraduate degree or less are less critical than respondents with a post-graduate degree. The study also reveals a strong correlation between service quality and customer satisfaction. Recommendations include that management must focus on pricing strategies, strategic marketing, waiter training and the flow of communication between the restaurant and the customer. The recommendations made in this study will assist management of FSRs to understand the significance of high-quality service and to implement the required levels of service quality. With this knowledge, the management of FSRs can be assured of a satisfied customer and a competitive offering.
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Brain, Arthur Donald. "Increasing wine sales through customised wine service training – a quasi-experiment." International Journal of Wine Business Research 31, no. 1 (March 11, 2019): 29–47. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/ijwbr-05-2018-0018.
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Purpose The selling of wines is usually performed by a sommelier in the context of an upmarket restaurant. However, many restaurants cannot afford to employ a sommelier and must rely on the food and beverage service personnel to assist customers with the selection of wine. The food and beverage service personnel are generally not qualified to do this. Restaurants usually do not provide training with regard to wine knowledge, wine service skills and wine selling skills. The purpose of this paper was to establish whether wine service training had an influence on the wine sales of a restaurant. Design/methodology/approach A quasi-experimental research design used two restaurants from the same franchise. One restaurant was the control group while the other was the experimental group. Wine sales were monitored and recorded for a period of three months, the second month being used for the training intervention of the experimental group. Findings Although the results were not statistically significant, the results indicated that wine service training increased the wine sales in the restaurant of the experimental group. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature in the South African hospitality sector and establishes that wine service training is a necessity for wine sales to explore further in the restaurant industry.
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Van Heerden, C. N., A. N. Schreuder, and M. Gouverneur. "Factors that determine the corporate image of South African fast food restaurants." South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences 3, no. 1 (March 31, 2000): 125–42. http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/sajems.v3i1.2603.
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Current operating practices of small businesses indicate that more time is devoted to the cosmetic side of corporate identity than managing service delivery. The main argument pursued in this paper is based on the view that both visual and behavioural corporate identity cues create impressions in the minds of corporate publics to form an overall corporate image. A set of bipolar adjectives was therefore used to test various visual, behavioural and core product elements of restaurant corporate image. A key finding was made that the joint customer service and employee dimension, was rated as the most important factor in the choice of fast food restaurants, which confirms that corporate image is created by visual and behavioural identity.
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Bongazana Dondolo, Hilda, and Nkosivile Welcome Madinga. "Ease of use, security concerns and attitudes as antecedents of customer satisfaction in ATM banking." Banks and Bank Systems 11, no. 4 (December 22, 2016): 122–26. http://dx.doi.org/10.21511/bbs.11(4-1).2016.02.
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This study examines the influence of ease of use, security concerns and attitudes on South African consumers’ satisfaction with ATM banking services. Participants of the study were solicited through electronic mailing list of ATM users in South Africa. These participants were provided with a website link that directed them to an online survey hosted by Qualtrics. A total of 224 participants from the various provinces of South Africa responded. This study confirms that customer satisfaction is linked to security concerns, attitudes and ease of use. Overall, the results indicate that the respondents were satisfied with ATM banking services. Since there is a shortage of research on customer satisfaction with ATM banking services in South Africa, an area often neglected by South African researchers, this study contributes to knowledge available in the existing literature. Keywords: ATM banking, customer satisfaction, ease of use, security, attitudes. JEL Classification: G21, M31
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Rudansky-KlopperS, S., and J. Strydom. "Customer service in the residential property market of South Africa." South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences 7, no. 1 (July 23, 2004): 58–74. http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/sajems.v7i1.1428.
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An increasing number of estate agencies are entering the real estate market in South Africa and many are struggling to survive as competition grows stronger. Customer service has become of overriding importance to establish a differential advantage that will ensure long-term survival. This study investigates customer service by estate agencies in the residential property market of South Africa. The results indicate that estate agencies seem to be aware of the importance of providing good customer service and of being service-oriented, but they do not always seem to realise the need to conduct marketing research and test the actual satisfaction of customers with the services provided, leaving a potential gap between what the customer wants and what the estate agency provides.
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Roberts-Lombard, Mornay, Lebogang Makola, Tholakele Nkosi, and Sizakele Mabhena. "Loyalty intentions as an outcome of customer delight in a services environment - a South African perspective." African Journal of Business and Economic Research 15, no. 4 (December 1, 2020): 71–96. http://dx.doi.org/10.31920/1750-4562/2020/v15n4a4.
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The study explores the delight phenomenon by investigating customer delight, its antecedents and its postcedents in the cell phone industry of South Africa. Data was collected from 450 customers of cell phone companies who considered themselves satisfied overall with their cellular service provider. This study extends the model proposed by Roberts-Lombard and Petzer (2018) and attempts to substantiate their findings in South Africa through applying the extended model in a parallel industry context. The results indicate that perceived employee service delivery skills and perceived value are important antecedents of customer delight and that there is a meaningful relationship between customer delight and customer loyalty in a business-to-consumer (B2C) setting in South Africa. The study adds value by informing cellular service providers how the service delivery ability of employees and the value perception of customers influence their customer delight experience and ultimately their loyalty to the service provider.
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Kwak, Min-Kyu, JeungSun Lee, and Seong-Soo Cha. "Senior Consumer Motivations and Perceived Value of Robot Service Restaurants in Korea." Sustainability 13, no. 5 (March 4, 2021): 2755. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su13052755.
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This research empirically tested a theoretical model by defining senior customers’ intentions to use robot service restaurants emerging in South Korea. Non-face-to-face services have become increasingly important for seniors. Therefore, restaurant marketers should cater to senior customers’ needs by sustaining robot service restaurants. The study analyzed 243 questionnaires to verify the reliability and validity of the measurement items. The research hypotheses were examined using structural equation modeling (SEM). The suggested model comprised three stages: motivated consumer innovativeness (MCI), perceived value, and planned behavior (attitude, intention to use). The results revealed that senior customers’ perceived values positively influenced attitude and were enhanced by hedonically MCI (hMCI) and socially MCI. Moreover, the hedonic and social elements of motivation improved the attitude and usage intentions of robot service restaurants for senior customers. However, these relationships differed in terms of the income level of the customer groups. For the low-income senior-level group, hMCI was more influential on the perceived value. This study is meaningful because it analyzes the effect of MCI of seniors on the perceived value of robot service restaurants, which are growing rapidly in South Korea. It has empirically proved the moderating effect of different income groups, providing practical implications.
Dissertations / Theses on the topic "Restaurants – Customer services – South Africa"
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Zhao, Feng. "The influence of selected elements of service quality provided by Chinese fine-dining restaurants in Port Elizabeth." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1088.
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A good understanding of customer expectations is very important to service providers. Since the Chinese first came to South Africa and started their restaurant businesses. Chinese fine-dining restaurants have become more and more popular. Identifying the customer expectations and Chinese fine-dining restaurant owner perceptions will help Chinese service providers to understand better the restaurant businesses. To ensure the development of the Chinese restaurant business in South Africa, it is very important to understand what South African customers want, whether there are differences between the Chinese restaurant owner perceptions of the service quality and South African customer expectations of the service quality. This would depend on the customers’ preferences, and provide a positive contribution to customer decision-making. Therefore, it is essential to understand and identify what is customer expectations are, what the management perceptions are and the differences between them. 5 In order to achieve the objectives of the research, the following approach was followed: Factors that influence the customer expectations and management perceptions are explained. Five factors used to measure the service quality of Chinese fine-dining restaurants are identified, namely reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy, tangibility. The responses to the questionnaire were collected and analysed to determine the extent to which factors are both important to customer expectations and management perceptions.
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Mhlanga, Osward. "EXPECTATIONS AND EXPERIENCES OF FORMAL FULL-SERVICE RESTAURANT DINERS IN PORT ELIZABETH." Thesis, Bloemfontein: Central University of Technology, Free State, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/11462/230.
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Thesis (M. Tech. (Tourism and Hospitality management)) -- Central University, Free State, 2014The formal full-service restaurant industry in South Africa is undergoing a period of anaemic growth due to the after effects of the 2009 global economic recession. Since the recession, industry growth has been subdued as diners seek more for their money when spending at restaurants. Consequently, industry revenue declined 1.8% in 2013 as diners tightened their purse strings. It is for this reason that it was decided to investigate diners’ expectations and experiences in selected formal full-service restaurants in Port Elizabeth. A pilot study was conducted among five diners in two formal full-service restaurants in Port Elizabeth, and the empirical study was conducted in December 2011 and January 2012 among 400 diners of eight formal full-service restaurants in Port Elizabeth. The research findings revealed that respondents with a tertiary diploma recorded the highest expectation score (4.25) whilst those who spoke languages other than Afrikaans, English, IsiZulu and IsiXhosa recorded the lowest (3.69). Respondents in the age group 55 to 64 years recorded the highest experience score (4.53) whilst those who spoke IsiXhosa recorded the lowest (3.84). Altogether 44.5% of the respondents frequented restaurants at different intervals two to four times in the previous six months whilst 51.2% spent on average, R200 to R299 per person and 18.5% held occupations in business, commerce and finance. Respondents who spent more than R399 had the highest expectation score (4.53) whilst those who frequented restaurants at different intervals more than 10 times in the previous six months had the lowest (3.97). Respondents with an occupation in education reported the highest experience score (4.36) whilst those who frequented restaurants at different intervals of nil to one time in the previous six months reported the lowest (4.04). A total of 22% of the respondents patronised restaurants because of good service. Restaurant B obtained the highest expectation (4.39) and experience (4.51) scores whilst restaurant C recorded the lowest expectation (3.71) and experience (4.03) scores. All diners’ experiences were below expectations giving an overall gap of -0.47. The strongest correlation with diners’ expectations was level of service whilst the strongest correlation with diners’ experiences was food quality. The regression model showed that the level of service was rated as the most important variable for diners’ expectations whilst the quality of food was rated as the most important for diners’ experiences. However, recommendations were made to improve diners’ experiences in the selected formal full-service restaurants in Port Elizabeth. The results of this study would help restaurateurs to identify areas of improvement and increase customer satisfaction.
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Madzivhandila, Rofhiwa. "Investigating factors affecting customer retention at Nedbank South Africa." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020100.
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The banking sector plays an important role in the economy of any country across the world. The recent financial crisis shows how much of the world’s economy is influenced by the banking sector. There are different roles that banks play in contributing to the operation and growth of an economy. Their role spreads from that of intermediary to that of provider of payment clearing services. Banks are an important and integral part of any economy. According to a study by Greenberg & Simbanegavi (2009), the South African banking sector is fertile ground for high levels of competition amongst its players. This competition is important for the proper working of the modern economy. According to Van Leuvensteijn et al. (2008), because banks act as the main vehicle for monetary policy, reduced competition in the banking sector can hinder the efficiency of monetary policy. As a result of the competition in the banking sector, customer retention is a key component of banks’ strategies in today’s market. The main aim of the study was to investigate factors affecting customer retention at Nedbank South Africa. The study focused on the institutional causes of bank customer defection and sought to investigate the effects of three factors (Customer service quality, Satisfaction with product, and Switching costs) on Customer Retention. This study showed the importance of customer retention and more importantly how the mentioned three factors affect customer retention at Nedbank South Africa. One of the highlights that came out of this research was that 50 perscent of the respondents were either considering closing their account or were likely to close their account within the next 12 months. In conclusion, these three factors were found to be important in the customer retention strategy of the bank. Recommendations were presented by the author on how to integrate the factors into a retention framework that can contribute to the profitability of the bank. Areas of future research that can be helpful to the bank were also highlighted by the author.
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Rothner, Donne. "Improving customer service through effective supply chain management in a pharmaceutical company." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1490.
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All organisations compete on the basis of service. In today‘s highly competitive world, organisations need to compete to retain their customers and to offer good customer service that will give them a competitive advantage. In the South African pharmaceutical market, the introduction of the Single Exit Price (SEP) and generic substitution have led to the price of equivalent medicines no longer being the differentiating factor in a customer deciding which manufacturer‘s product to purchase. The availability of generic medicines at the pharmacy or hospital has become the differentiating factor. Two types of customers exist in any organisation, namely, external customers and internal customers. Much has been written about the external customer, but less about the internal customer. Many managers do not perceive internal customer service as a priority. Any organisation attempting to deliver quality service to their external customers must begin by serving the needs of their internal customers. Internal service quality is characterised by the attitudes that people have towards one another and in the way that employees serve one another inside the organisation. By improving customer service, the organisation can improve its profitability, sustainability and customer retention. The aim of this study was to determine whether the levels of internal customer service between the three sections of Aspen Pharmacare are optimal. Determining the current performance levels between the staff of the sections will assist in highlighting the areas that require attention. The three sections of Aspen Pharmacare that are internal customers of one another and have been used in the study are: - production; - demand planning; and - distribution. The results of the study show that all three sections rate three service quality dimensions (communication, tangibles and reliability) as important. The results were used to develop an internal customer service model for Aspen Pharmacare.
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Meyer, I. T. "Challenges facing a financial insitution to improve service quality and customer retention." Thesis, Port Elizabeth Technikon, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/45.
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The financial industry and more specifically Retail banking is a very competitive industry. The profit margins are shrinking with the entrance of newcompetitors into the market place. During the last two to three years various foreign banks have opened offices in South Africa, cherry picking the high net worth customers fromthe traditional high street banks. The product range between these banks is the same, maybe at times presented in a different wrapping. The one differential factor between the various banks is service and the quality thereof. The researcher, being a banker, decided to investigate how to improve the quality of service which is the main problemof this study. The secondary problems or subproblems are: * How to solve service breakdown? * How to retain customers after a service breakdown? The researcher first did a literature survey focusing on the key drives of this research namely: * Improving quality service. * Problem resolution. * Customer retention. An empirical investigation was also undertaken focusing on the personal market segment and the high net worth individuals. The demarcation of the survey was restricted to a specific area on the South Coast of KwaZulu Natal, and in particular the retail market and three specific branches on the South Coast, namely: * Scottburgh; * Margate, and * Port Shepstone. The main finding of the empirical survey indicates an average service rating of 8.38, which is in excess of the financial institution’s national service objective of 8.22 for 2001. This indicates that in most areas the service quality of this financial institution is good. The results fromthe literature survey as well as the empirical investigation indicated that service quality can only be achieved through a collective effort from all role players within the bank. The resolution of service breakdown needs to be controlled and managed to rectify breakdowns effectively within specific time limits that are acceptable to the individual customer. The barriers to retain customerswill become less effective should the financial institution not be able to restore or improve service quality for their customers.
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Mtyalela, Kanyisa Highly. "An evaluation of the delivery of the Eskom Customer Safety Education Programme in the Queenstown Customer Services Area." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013569.
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The aim of this research is to evaluate the Eskom customer safety education programme in the Queenstown Customer Services Area. The research focuses on the implementation of the programme with the aim of assessing whether there is need for optimisation in the way that the customer education and training is delivered. The paper consists of three sections. Section one is directed to Eskom and is made up of (i) a review of the literature that is relevant to the Eskom safety education programme, (ii) the findings made from the study and (iii) recommendations from the author. Section two is a review of the key concepts which were identified for this paper and these are: (i) education and training, (ii) consumer education, (iii) citizenship education, (iv) training programme development, and (v) training programme evaluation. Section three provides detail on and justifies the research methodology that was followed for this paper. The author adopted the deductive approach and collected data from literature sources and Eskom documents as well as face-to-face interviews with the Eskom trainers and customers. Qualitative data was collected from the interviews and is presented in section one of the report in the form of (i) narratives, (ii) graphs and (iii) tables. The research has identified some shortcomings in the delivery of the training and recommendations have been made on how these shortcomings can be addressed. Trainer skills, training evaluation and training tools are amongst the issues that require attention in the Queenstown Customer Services Area. The results revealed that 67 percent of the trainers have not received training related to conducting customer forums. Inconsistencies with regard to the evaluation of the training interventions were also identified and there were differences in terms of the training tools that are utilised at the forums. The recommendations made by the author are based on the literature that was reviewed as part of this study and are aimed at addressing the delivery of the training. The respondents all displayed an understanding of the objectives of the Eskom safety education programme and made recommendations in terms of how Eskom can reduce the tampering of Eskom equipment. The recommendations made included the involvement of the community as well as unannounced door-to-door audits aimed at identifying damaged and tampered Eskom equipment. These recommendations are in line with the guiding principles of safety education presented in McWhirter (2008: 32) which include the involvement of young people in real decisions to help them stay safe, as well as the use of active approaches in addressing safety issues. A review of the electrical contact incidents which were reported to Eskom in 2011/12 revealed that in 61,5 percent of the cases that occurred in the Eastern Cape, Eskom had conducted electricity safety education before the incidents occurred. The recommendations in terms of the training delivery should be implemented to improve the delivery of the training. The author however recommends further research on how Eskom can reduce the number of electrical contact incidents that occur, as it has been proven through previous studies that safety education “has an impact on knowledge, behaviour, risk and skills and no papers have provided evidence of the impact of safety education on injury rates” (Mulvaney, Watson and Errington, 2012: 27).
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Mtatsi, Siyabonga Chris. "Retaining customers through customer service in the telecomminications industry." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1018641.
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South African Mobile network industry has seen many developments since its inception in 1994. When mobile technology was introduced in this country, the first two mobile network operators, namely Vodacom and MTN, enjoyed vast benefits of being early entrance in this business space and they grew at rate that was much faster than they themselves had expected. As expected, in the past five years this growth rate has slowly diminished due to various economic factors; these factors included increase in Government regulations, increase in number of players in the mobile network space and ever evolving technology. The mobile network operators saw interconnect fees, which amounted to fifteen per cent of total revenue for each of these operators, being reduced by more than half, with Government foreseeing total removal of these fees. At the same time, the number of competitors grew from one to three within a period of five years forcing all operators, especially Vodacom and its Vodashops, to search for winning strategies that could ensure retention of their customers thus their revenue. Therefore, the intention of this research is to investigate various strategies that are suitable and can be implemented for one of the Vodashops in Cape Town, namely Canal Walk Vodashop, to ensure that this store manages to retain and possibly grow its existing customers. The investigation led the researcher to find that, in a situation where the affected organisation is at the maturity level of the business, as it is the case with the selected store, the most effective strategy to retain and grow customers is the customer service strategy. This strategy includes various elements which are very important to its success; these elements include providing job specific skills to employees, designing and implementing suitable processes and creating best value for customers on products and services that the company offers. The research was achieved by following the approach below: • A literature study was done in order to determine the key elements of an effective customer service strategy; • A survey of literature focusing specifically on employee skills development, design and implementation of processes and creation of value for the offered products and service; • Insights of customers from the selected Vodashop were obtained via interviews to determine their perception on products and services offered; and • Lastly, interview results were analysed to determine the areas of improvement and also what customer service strategies are suitable for highlighted problems. Through this research, various customer service strategies that must be consistently and continuously executed in order to achieve this excellent customer service were recommended. The recommended strategies include training and development of employees, design and implementation of processes that are aligned to the selected Vodashop and also to the needs and expectations of customers.
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Richards, Scott. "The development of an operations strategy for Eissmann South Africa that addresses market requirements and the needs of its customers." Thesis, Port Elizabeth Technikon, 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/88.
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With global competition becoming a key concept in the majority of companies worldwide, it is necessary for organisations to develop operations strategies that enable them to meet their customers‘ needs. Organisations will never be capable of reaching future goals without their customers. For this reason it is imperative for organisations to identify what competitive factors are required by the market, and which performance objectives are needed in order to increase the competitiveness of the organisation. In this research, Chapters 1 and 2 were used to identify the main and subproblems of the research, to delimit the research and to provide literature background to operations strategies and related operations topics. The empirical study in Chapter 3 was used to gather information pertaining to the specific requirements of ESA’s customers, and the operations performanceof ESA. Chapter 4 was used to analyse the data gathered from the empirical study. From this analysis it was possible for the researcher to identify the specific requirements of ESA’s customers and the operations performance of ESA. Chapter 5 was used to provide recommendations to bridge the performance gap between the customer requirements and the operations performance of ESA. By effectively implementing all of the recommendations suggested in this research, ESA will be able to improve its operation performance and meet the specific requirements of its market and its customers.
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Van, Deventer Reinard Gawie. "An operational model for increasing customer satisfaction for Detpak South Africa." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020807.
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Detpak South Africa is a subsidiary paper and board company of Mpact Limited, formally known as Mondi Packaging South Africa. The Mpact group of companies operates across 31 sites and employs more than 3 700 employees. Detpak South Africa specializes in three respective niche markets: international fast food packaging, industrial packaging and disposables packaging. The primary objective of this study is to propose an operational model for improving customer satisfaction levels within the disposables market for Detpak South Africa. Further, Detpak’s competitive position with respect to customer satisfaction was assessed and an empirical assessment was conducted to identify imperative attributes impacting on overall customer satisfaction. It is noted from marketing journals that providing a quality product at the right price no longer suffices as an adequate value proposition. Numerous authors have noted that there is no longer a difference between a goods market and a service market, in its purest form, and that manufacturers of goods must embrace the principles of service marketing to develop a competitive advantage within the market. A quantitative research was conducted to obtain data. The measuring instrument used to obtain data was a self-administered questionnaire. A total of 84 questionnaires were distributed nationally across South Africa. From the 84 questionnaires a total of 62 questionnaires were obtained from respondents, from which a final sample of n=59 was considered for capturing. Three questionnaires were excluded from the sample due to response error of non-completion. Correlation coefficient analysis was used to calculate the relationships between independent and dependant variables. It was found that all customer satisfaction attributes, listed below, had a positive relationship to overall customer satisfaction: Customer value; Product quality; Price; Communication; Reliability; Responsiveness; Customer service; Sales support. The hypothesized relationship between overall customer satisfaction and customer loyalty was measured and confirmed to be strongly positive. It can be concluded that a positive movement in overall customer satisfaction will be accompanied by a similarly positive movement in customer loyalty. Furthermore, through secondary review it was noted that the retention of existing customers costs much less and is more profitable than the acquisition of new business. The results presented within this study indicate a strong market position for Detpak South Africa in terms of product quality compared against competitive activity, which means a competitive advantage in the market for the company and which will assist in attaining its strategic objectives. The results also identified a number of customer satisfaction attributes which Detpak South Africa could improve to allow them to establish a firm position in the market through the overall improvement of customer satisfaction levels. Finally, an operational model integrating the important concepts identified within the literature study was proposed to assist Detpak South Africa in enhancing levels of perceived customer satisfaction. The model integrates the important business philosophies of customer relations, best practices, continuous improvement and, finally, customer satisfaction attributes.
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Rasuba, Maanda. "Statistical relationship of customer behavioral characteristics in personal banking." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1165.
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This study investigates the relationship of bank customers’ behavioural patterns based on the customers past transactions, with respect to their profile characteristics. The main aim of this study is to illustrate that different categories of customers (based on demographical variables such as race, gender and age) have statistically significant differences in behaviour, with respect to how they operate their accounts. A theoretical overview on the literature of customer relationship management in the banking sector emphasises the importance of understanding customers to ensure that a business is successful. Four null-hypotheses where formulated based on a general research hypothesis. The data base provided a major South African bank is used to achieve the objectives. Extensive cleaning of the data set was necessary to ensure the validity of the results. The data set had 7860 customer keys. The large data base used contributed to the reliability of the results. The following behavioural variables were used in the study namely, transaction data, average debit and credit transaction amounts and average number of transactions per month. The main results of study indicate that different customer categories have statistically significant differences in behaviour, with respect to how customers operate their accounts. This implies that it is important for the banking sector to consider customer gender differences, age differences and race group differences in the relationship strategies which they employ in their multicultural environment. Further research in the area may be necessary before generalisation can be made on all banking customers.
Books on the topic "Restaurants – Customer services – South Africa"
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South Africa. Public Service Commission. Branch: Monitoring and Evaluation. Citizen satisfaction survey: Economic and infrastructure services sector. Pretoria: Public Service Commission, 2006.
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Paulson, Jo Ann. Financial services for the urban poor: South Africa's E Plan. Washington, DC: World Bank, 1998.
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South Africa. Public Service Commission. Branch: Monitoring and Evaluation. Consolidated report on inspections of public service delivery sites: Departments of education. Pretoria: Public Service Commission, 2008.
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Alternative Service Delivery Arrangements at Municipal Level in South Africa: Assessing the Impact of Electricity Service Delivery and Customer Satisf. Centre for Policy Studies, 2003.
Find full textBook chapters on the topic "Restaurants – Customer services – South Africa"
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Mostert, Pierre, Danie Petzer, and Christine De Meyer. "A Theoretical and Empirical Investigation into Service Failure and Service Recovery in the Restaurant Industry." In Service Science Research, Strategy and Innovation, 86–99. IGI Global, 2012. http://dx.doi.org/10.4018/978-1-4666-0077-5.ch005.
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Despite organizations’ best intentions to achieve zero defect service environments, this objective is unlikely due to the multi-dimensional nature of service encounters. Organizations should therefore provide effective service recovery in the event of service failures. This chapter theoretically and empirically considers service quality, service failures, and service recovery among South African restaurant patrons and compares findings to similar studies among United States and Irish restaurant patrons. Despite experiencing a service failure, most restaurant patrons would support the restaurant again in the future provided that service recovery was effective. Even a simple apology may rectify customer satisfaction and lead to customer retention.
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Shambare, Richard. "Consumer Adoption of E-Government in South Africa." In Advances in Marketing, Customer Relationship Management, and E-Services, 190–217. IGI Global, 2016. http://dx.doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-0282-1.ch009.
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This chapter examines South African consumers' patterns of adoption of electronic governance systems. Three elements related to e-government adoption are examined. Firstly, the development of e-government in South Africa is explored. Secondly, the chapter investigates the barriers constraining the public's utilisation of e-gov. Thirdly, suggestions on how e-government initiatives could be better aligned to the Principles of Batho Pele, or people-centred governance, are proffered. To achieve the first objective, an extensive review of the literature encapsulating e-government, South African public services, information communication technologies and commerce is conducted. To achieve the second objective, a survey of 349 consumers from two South African provinces was conducted to explore barriers associated with e-gov adoption. Findings show that although the Batho Pele Principles are pronounced in public sector organisations' missions, their implementation within e-gov still remains a challenge. A plethora of challenges were observed to retard e-government adoption.
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Ojo, Sanya. "Consumption of Landed Properties in Africa." In Advances in Marketing, Customer Relationship Management, and E-Services, 146–67. IGI Global, 2016. http://dx.doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-0282-1.ch007.
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This chapter demonstrates the impact of ethnic entombment practices on the consumption of housing market in a heterogeneous society. It illustrates the dynamics in relationships, either in inter-family interactions or exchanges between ‘the living and the dead'. This signifies an expanded traditional frontiers of stakeholders (e.g., marketers and governments) in the negotiation of consumption in the market. Particularly, the chapter analyses how circumstances of customs and belief systems impact the supply of houses and consequent deterioration of neighbourhoods (e.g., slumming). It draws on narratives gathered from in-depth interviews conducted with eleven informants/gatekeepers undertaken in a large metropolitan city in the South-West region of Nigeria. Findings reveal the interchange between culture and consumption in housing market and how the affective potentiality of a tradition initiates emotive configurations that shape a community's housing stock aesthetic exposition.
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Takhar, Amandeep, Pepukayi Chitakunye, and Ziska Fields. "SMS Marketing." In Advances in Marketing, Customer Relationship Management, and E-Services, 37–66. IGI Global, 2014. http://dx.doi.org/10.4018/978-1-4666-4864-7.ch004.
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This chapter seeks to extend current knowledge relating to innovative methods in marketing. The authors consider the significance of SMS marketing amongst Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) within South Africa and aim to emphasise the various advantages of SMS marketing to SMEs within emerging economies. They look at how SMS marketing has emerged within the Western world and how it could be just as successful in emerging economies. Different factors are considered such as the background to SMS marketing, what SMS marketing entails, the trends of SMS marketing globally and more specifically within South Africa. The authors then discuss the emergent key themes of SMS marketing relating to its most beneficial characteristics such as cost efficiency, reach, and consumer perceptions. The findings offer significant insight into how SMEs can better understand consumer perceptions about SMS and in turn employ SMS marketing as a source of sustainable competitive advantage.
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Hesse, Andreas, Pieter Steenkamp, Holger J. Schmidt, and Virimai V. Mugobo. "Cross-Cultural Differences and Similarities in Retailers' Branding and Digital Maturity." In Advances in Marketing, Customer Relationship Management, and E-Services, 159–75. IGI Global, 2020. http://dx.doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-3115-0.ch009.
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Digital disruption is not something that may happen in the future; it is currently happening and impacting all types of businesses, including retail. This chapter reflects cross-cultural similarities and differences. German and South African consumers increasingly use the internet to look for product information and to purchase online products and services. Nevertheless, about 25% of German and South African companies in the study sample are more or less offline, not offering even basic digital services, while a significant number of companies ignore opportunities for branding. The digital maturity and branding practices of 933 businesses located within the central business districts of two international cities of similar regional importance, namely Koblenz in Germany and Stellenbosch in South Africa, were investigated. Retailers were analysed in order to compare and contrast their progression along a digital maturity scale as well as their branding practices. The case study presented in this chapter aimed to provide a starting point for the development of such a picture.
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Çelik, Sadullah, and Emel Baydan. "Do Stock Markets Comove in Emerging Economies?" In Advances in Marketing, Customer Relationship Management, and E-Services, 197–213. IGI Global, 2017. http://dx.doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-2139-6.ch010.
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Great Recession has brought the need to model and assess the financial markets with unconventional approaches. The nature of consumer behavior in financial markets has become crucial as real and financial sector comoving overtime was a dream of no rationality. The union of consumers looking for higher wealth and speculative stock market participants was not a sustainable case. But, what happened to the consumers/investors in emerging economies? This chapter assesses the behavior of emerging stock markets during the turmoil using weekly data for Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Russia, South Africa and Turkey with US as the benchmark for January 2003–March 2014. Two unconventional methods are used for checking asymmetric contagion; the wavelet comovement and frequency domain causality. The findings show that markets with rather high concentration of foreign investors are highly affected but consumers were not due to smaller participation. The asymmetric contagion argument is verified for some emerging markets as consumers/investors suffered as much as any other market participant.
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Dutta, Gautam. "International Branding at Mirza International." In Advances in Marketing, Customer Relationship Management, and E-Services, 107–20. IGI Global, 2014. http://dx.doi.org/10.4018/978-1-4666-4357-4.ch009.
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Today, due to globalization, enterprises are increasingly looking towards the global marketplace to market their products. The business opportunities in the foreign markets are no longer considered as only available to large multinational enterprises with long term foreign market presence. Enterprises today, regardless size, take part in a global competitive market which is supported by great advances in information technologies, communication, and transportation. This trend solves one of the main weaknesses found in comparatively smaller enterprises of traditional focus: home country market dependency. The case focuses on Mirza International Limited which originated from a small Indian Tannery business. The company is led by an ambitious, aggressive management team which has helped in achieving phenomenal growth. The company has emerged as a frontrunner in the manufacturing and marketing of footwear. Headquartered in New Delhi, the company markets its leather and leather footwear products, across the globe the UK, Europe, South Africa, the Middle East, and so forth. However, company management is now at a crossroads in regards to a more aggressive approach to international brand building for its product and strategic decisions. This case aims to address these issues regarding smaller company’s internationalization and marketing. The case focuses on the dilemma often faced by medium sized firms from Asia in entering developed country markets in terms of branding or generic product development strategy. The case illustrates the differences in brand building that exist in a big multinational company and in smaller companies during internationalization.
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Ndayizigamiye, Patrick, and Refiloe Gladys Khoase. "Analysing the Relationship Between SMME Geographic Coverage and E-Commerce Adoption." In Advances in Electronic Government, Digital Divide, and Regional Development, 212–23. IGI Global, 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-2983-6.ch008.
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This chapter examines South African SMMEs adoption of e-commerce. The chapter is concerned with four e-commerce adoption options: 1) customer payment by credit card through the SMME's website, 2) customer placing orders through the SMME's website, 3) providing customer services through the SMME's website, and 4) placing orders with suppliers over the internet. By using a sample of 400 conveniently sampled SMME owners, this chapter explores the adoption of the four e-commerce options in two geographic areas within South Africa, Durban and Pietermaritzburg. Specifically, the chapter seeks to establish the extent of the adoption of the four e-commerce options in both locations in relation to the SMMEs' business coverage. Findings revealed that although SMMEs from Durban and Pietermaritzburg have adopted all of the four e-commerce options to various degrees, such adoption is only significant for SMMEs whose business operations extend beyond the local level. Additionally, internet security was identified as a key impediment towards e-commerce adoption in both areas.