Assessing customer satisfaction at Indian Resort & Spa in regards to quality of

services provided. Study carried out from November 2012 to April 2013.
Introduction
Customer satisfaction has been a popular topic in marketing practice and academic research
since Cardozo's (1965, Pg244-249) initial study of customer effort, expectations and satisfaction.
Despite many attempts to measure and explain customer satisfaction, there still does not appear
to be a consensus regarding its definition (Giese & Cote 2000). Customer satisfaction is the
result of an evaluative process that contrasts pre-purchase expectations with perceptions of
performance during and after the consumption experience (Oliver 1980, Pg 460-469).
According to Kotler (2000, Pg36) customer satisfaction as satisfaction refers to a persons
feelings of pleasure or disappointment resulting from comparing a products perceived
performance in relation to his expectation. Studies show that customer satisfaction may have
direct and indirect impact on business results. Anderson et al. (1994, Pg53-66) concluded that
customer satisfaction positively affects business profitability, increases customer loyalty,
influences repurchase intentions and leads to positive word-of-mouth.
Given the vital role of customer satisfaction, a variety of research has been conducted to
investigate the determinants of satisfaction. Satisfaction can be determined by subjective
(customer needs, emotions) and objective factors (product and service features). Atkinson (1988)
found out that cleanliness, security, value for money and courtesy of staff determine customer
satisfaction. Finally, Choi and Chu (2001, Pg 277-297) concluded that staff quality, room qualities
and value are the top three hotel factors that determine customers' satisfaction.
The main aim of this research is to study customer satisfaction with regard to the services
provided at Indian Resort & Spa. The objectives and hypothesis of the research are as follows:
Objectives:

To explore to what extent quality of services provided affect customer satisfaction

at Indian Resort & Spa.
To provide recommendations as regards to the measures that Indian Resort and
Spa should take.

Hypothesis:

H0 Indian Resort & Spa smooth running is affected by the quality of services
being provided.
H1 Indian Resort & Spa smooth running is not affected by the quality of services
being provided.

In order to measure customer satisfaction in the hotel industry, it is important to collect data.
Data can be classified as primary data and secondary data. Primary data are data freshly gathered
for a specific purpose or for a specific research project (Kotler & Keller 2008, Pg 92). The
importance of using primary data is that it improves the validity, authenticity and reliability of
the research. Secondary data are data that were collected for another purpose and already exist
somewhere (Kotler & Keller 2008, Pg 92). Secondary data is important because sometimes it is
difficult to obtain primary data.
Primary and secondary data are obtained from Qualitative and Quantitative research method. For
this research, quantitative approach will be applied as it seeks explanatory laws. Its measurement
is objective, quantitative and statistically valid. Altogether, quantitative assumptions regard
reality, experience and situations as quantifiable, as measurable. (Imperial COE, 2006,John D.
Anderson, Superintendent of Schools, Pg3). The quantitative research would be conducted
through questionnaires in order to analyze the level of customer satisfaction at Indian Resort &
Spa since questionnaires are more flexible and remains the most popular form of data collection
as it is cheap and less time consuming. However, questionnaires do have some disadvantages and
these are: Quality of information is related to the quality of the questionnaire, May be difficult to
construct, May have low response rate, Responses may be incomplete and Responses may be
difficult to interpret.
The questionnaire design for Indian Resort & Spa will comprise of two sections of questions and
each section will mostly consist of close-ended questions. Added to this, simple random
sampling will be adopted since each element the population has an equal chance to be included
in the sample. Finally, the study would involve 120 random customers of Indian Resort & Spa, of
which 60 would be males and the remaining 60 would be females.

Overall layout of the report

After the introduction, the following chapters will be discussed:
Literature Review: This chapter reviews the existing literature put forward by different scholars
and personalities on customer satisfaction and the relationship between customer satisfaction and
services offered.
Research Method: This chapter presents the detailed plan of how the study will be conducted. It
presents the study design, study population, sampling techniques, data sources, data collection
methods and instruments.
Data finding and Analysis: After having collected the questionnaires that would be filled by
customers, the raw data would be analyzed by tally marks, descriptive statistics; mean, standard
deviation, frequency, percentage, cumulative frequency and cumulative percentage. Then the
data would be interpreted on diagrams such as pie chart, bar chart, graphs and histograms in
Excel or SPSS software.
Recommendation: The recommendation will be made on the basis of light on findings obtained
from customers of Indian Resort & Spa regarding the quality of services that have been provided
to them.
Conclusion: The conclusion will be based on the light of findings which will be obtained after
interpreting and analyzing data on the overall study.
Appreciation for need of Study: Service businesses have been growing rapidly in recent decades,
while customer demand for high quality service is increasing. This research study set out to
identify the importance of service delivery in the hospitality industry. The main effort of the
management and the employees should be focused to satisfy the customers during their stay and
respond to their individual requirements. Talking to customers and receiving their reactions and
responses are seen as key customer satisfaction indicators and their responses are regarded
helpful in gaining an awareness of general problems and repeated complaints. Moreover,
customer satisfaction information must also be applied in activities for evaluating employee
performance for the purpose of recognition programmes, such as determining employee of the
month awards. Kotler (2000, Pg36) customer satisfaction as satisfaction refers to a persons

feelings of pleasure or disappointment resulting from comparing a products perceived

performance in relation to his expectation. Studies show that customer satisfaction may have
direct and indirect impact on business results. Anderson et al. (1994, Pg53-66) concluded that
customer satisfaction positively affects business profitability, increases customer loyalty,
influences repurchase intentions and leads to positive word-of-mouth.
According to Huber et al. (2001, Pg160-169), satisfied employees have all the means to make
customers happy by offering a superior quality service and thus reducing the occurrence of
complaints substantially. The eventual result on the profitability of the organization can only be
encouraging, even at its most basic level.