ASSESSMENT OF SERVICE QUALITY ANDCUSTOMER

SATISFACTION

A CASE STUDY OF SARO-MARIA HOTEL

BY

ABRAHAM NEGUSSIE

Senior Essay Submitted To Unity University The College Of Business, Economics

And Social Sciences, Department Of Management And Marketing

Addis Ababa

November, 2019
 Student’s Declaration

I, the undersigned, hereby declare that this senior essay is my original work prepared under the
guidance of ______________________. All sources of materials used for this paper have been
duly acknowledged and this senior essay is not presented by me or any other party for any
purpose.

Name: _______________________

Signature: _____________________

Date: ________________________
 Advisor’s Declaration

This paper has been submitted for examination, by

Student ___________________________ with my proper advice and

Approval thereof.

Name of Advisor: _________________

Signature: _______________________

Date: __________________________
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The first gratitude goes to GOD, next I want to give my special thanks to my advisor Mr. Abebe
Jada for his continuous evaluation and for his valuable and constructive suggestion on the study.
Finally I extend my equal appreciations for Saro Maria Hotel Management for their contribution
to the research.

I
 ABSTRACT

Service quality refers to the difference between customers' expectations of service and their
evaluation of the services they received. The purpose of the study is to assess customer
satisfaction and service quality of Saro-Maria Hotel in terms of tangibility, reliability,
assurance, responsiveness and empathy. Information was gathered from customers through
structured questionnaires based on non-probability sampling approach called convenience
sampling. The data collected through questionnaire evaluated and interpreted by using
quantitative techniques and presented in the form of tables and graphs.

The findings showed that customers were satisfied more on the assurance aspects of service
quality followed by tangibility and empathy. On the other hand, customers where seen to have
relatively lower level of satisfaction with respect to responsiveness and reliability. I hereby
recommend that Saro Maria Hotel should improve the responsiveness and reliability aspects of
service quality. More specifically by providing prompt service to customers, comply with
promises to customers and perform the service requested right the first time. Therefore, the hotel
needs to revisit the problems and take appropriate actions.

II
 Content
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS......................................................................................................... I
ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................................. II
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................1
1.1 Background of the study ....................................................................................................1
1.2. Background of the Company .........................................................................................3
1.3 Statement of the problem ...................................................................................................3
1.4. Objective of the study .......................................................................................................4
1.4.1. General objective........................................................................................................4
1.4.2. Specific objective .......................................................................................................4
1.5. Significance of the study ...................................................................................................5
1.6. Scope of the study .............................................................................................................5
1.6.1 Delimitations ...............................................................................................................5
1.6.2 Limitation of the study ................................................................................................5
1.7. Research Design and Methodology ...................................................................................6
1.7.1 Research design...........................................................................................................6
1.7.2 Sampling procedure.....................................................................................................6
1.7.3 Source of data..............................................................................................................6
1.7.4 Data Presentation and Analysis Tools ..........................................................................6
1.8. Organization of the paper ..................................................................................................7
Chapter Two: Literature Review .................................................................................................8
2.1. Customer ..........................................................................................................................8
2.2. Customer Service ..............................................................................................................8
2.3. The Customer Perceived Service Quality ..........................................................................9
2.4. Customer Satisfaction ..................................................................................................... 11
2.9 Barriers To Customer Satisfaction.................................................................................... 13
Chapter Three ........................................................................................................................... 16
Data Presentation And Analysis ................................................................................................ 16
3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 16
3.2 Results ........................................................................................................................ 16

III
 3.2.1 Respondents’ Profile ............................................................................................ 16
3.3 Customer's Perception on Service Quality ................................................................... 17
3.3.1 Tangibility ........................................................................................................... 17
3.3.2 Reliability ............................................................................................................ 19
3.3.3 Responsiveness .................................................................................................... 21
3.3.4 Assurance ............................................................................................................ 23
3.3.5 Empathy .............................................................................................................. 25
3.4 Barriers to Customer Satisfaction ................................................................................ 27
CHAPTER FOUR: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ................... 28
4.1 Summary .................................................................................................................... 28
4.2 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 28
4.2 Recommendations ....................................................................................................... 29
Bibliography ............................................................................................................................. 31
APPENDICES .......................................................................................................................... 33
English Questionnaire ............................................................................................................ 34
Amharic Questionnaire .......................................................................................................... 36

IV
LIST OF TABELS
Table 1: Profiles of respondents ............................................................................................................. 17
Table 2: Customers perception on tangibility aspects of service quality .................................................. 17
Table 3: Customers perception on reliability aspects of service quality................................................... 19
Table 4: Customers perception on responsiveness aspects of service quality .......................................... 22
Table 5: Customers perception on aspects of service quality .................................................................. 23
Table 6: Customers perception on empathy aspects of service quality .................................................... 25

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 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the study

Ethiopia, strategically located in the Horn of Africa, has unique historical and cultural heritages,
magnificent scenery, a surprisingly cool climate, rich flora and fauna, important archaeological
sites and hospitable people. Ethiopia is the seat for the African Union and other international
organizations thus there are many international meetings and conferences held in Ethiopia. The
role of Ethiopia in Africa and the horn is growing and as a result many international
organizations have been continuously strengthening their institutions and augmenting their
personnel in Ethiopia. This opportunity creates a huge demand for accommodations at an
international standard and even an increase in such a demand is expected in the future. The stock
of hotels in Ethiopia has increased sharply over the last few years and currently is growing at a
large scale.(Molla,2015)

Tourism is becoming one of the fastest growing economic and business sectors that generates
foreign currency, offers job opportunities for the youth, and extends widely the service providing
sector in Ethiopia. In a nutshell it‟s generating economic and social benefits to the country. In
order to visit the magnificent features of the country many visitors are coming every year to
Ethiopia. Thus, hotel industry of the city of Addis Ababa plays an important role in the growth of
tourism (AHA, 2014). For many obvious reasons indicated above hotel groups in the capital of
Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, are expanding partially because the diplomats and corporate clients
coming are growing very largely. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism has the vision to make
Ethiopia by 2020 a top five tourist destination in Africa (AHA, 2014 and Molla,2015).

When we trace back to the history of hospitality sector in Ethiopia, we get Itegue Taitu Hotel,
built in the early 1900s, believed to be the first modern hotel in Ethiopia. It was named after its
founder Empress Taitu Betul, the wife of Emperor Menelik II. It was built mainly for the purpose
of providing service to foreigners as a cozy place to rest and dine. Taitu Hotel is found in the
middle of Addis Ababa commonly known as Piazza. The ancient hotel has 264 historic
bedrooms, equipped with various important facilities. There are roughly around 300 hotels in

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Ethiopia, of which 170 are located in Addis Ababa and 88 of them have 1 to 4 star rating.(saro-
mariahotel.com)

Service quality refers to the difference between customers' expectations of service and their
evaluation of the services they received (Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry, 1985). It is
perceived as subjective since it relies on the judgement of the customer. However, it is an
important concept in influencing the extent and nature of customer satisfaction experienced after
service delivery.According to Gronroos (1984); service quality is dependent on two variables:
expected service and perceived service. Expectations are beliefs about the level of service that
will be delivered by a service provider and they are assumed to provide standards of reference
against which the delivered service is compared. If there is congruence between the performance
and the expectations, then a customer is said to be satisfied. (Watiki 2014)

Customer service is the provision of service to customers before, during and after a purchase.
Everyone in the organization is providing one or all of these. Kurtenbach (2000) explains that
those who are successful in customer service rank their customers experience as the top priority.
Concentrating on current customer‟s information can and should be obtained to better understand
their view of the service provided. The quality of service provided determines the level of
satisfaction of the customer even though what is seen as quality by one customer may not
necessarily be quality to another.Customer satisfaction is a measure of how products and services
supplied by a company meet or surpass customer expectation. In a competitive marketplace
where a business competes for customers, customer satisfaction is seen as a key differentiator
and increasingly has become a key element of business strategy. Customer satisfaction is an asset
that should be monitored and managed just like any physical asset. The relationship between
customer service and customer satisfaction is a vital one.(Ako-Nai,2011)

In a competitive market place, understanding customer needs become crucial, therefore

companies and Hotels in this case, have moved from product-centric to customer-centric
positions. Customer satisfaction is influenced by the type of service provided. Satisfactionis a
challenge particularly in the hotel based service as customers can easily switch from one hotel to
another of a better service.

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High levels of customer satisfaction bring several positive aspects to a company; it is believed
that customer satisfaction has a positive relationship with economic profit (Anderson, Fornell,
and Lehmann, 1994). Moreover, it will lower customer‟s price sensitivity (Fornell, 1992), and
contribute to the creation of loyal customers, which in turn implies a stable future cash-flow
(Matzler, 1996).

Any organization that has satisfied customers is bound to increase customer base and hence
profitability. Satisfied customers may sell your organization either consciously or unconsciously.
It is therefore important that service industries provide quality service to customers so as to
satisfy them, make them loyal and retain them at the end.

1.2. Background of the Company

This study focuses on Saro Maria Hotel. Strategically located in the heart of the capital city of
Addis Ababa, Saro Maria Hotel is a pleasant 4 Star Hotel which evokes imagination of fresh
ideas in the hospitality industry. The Hotel‟s proximity to major attractions like the National
Museum, Meskel Square, shopping malls, night clubs, African Union Headquarters, UN
Economic Commission for Africa Headquarters, National Heritage Sites, Major Exhibition
Centers. It has 96 rooms.(www.saromariahotel.com)

1.3 Statement of the problem

Customer satisfaction is the single most important issue affecting organizational survival. It has
the most important effect on customer retention and in order to narrow it down, focus on
customer service quality as one of the customer satisfaction factors. Despite this fact, most
companies including hotels have no clue what their customers really think. They operate in a
state of ignorant bliss, believing that if their customers were anything less than 100-percent
satisfied they would hear about it. Then they are shocked when their customer base erodes and
their existence is threatened.

For Saro Maria hotel to achieve its objective of delivering quality service for its customers, it is
imperative to study how the hotel can conceivably meet and even exceed customers‟ service
delivery expectations. This study seeks to know the level at which the customers are satisfied
with the hotel's services and the kind of service quality levels its customers would like in order to

3
offer the exactly what would be taken positively. Provided a list of five determinants of service
quality as a result of this study with service providers and customers, Reliability,
Responsiveness, Assurance, Empathy and Tangibles.(Parasuraman 1988)

In a study to evaluate service quality dimensions that impact customer satisfaction, Harr (2008)
concluded that assurance, empathy and tangibles are the most important to customers‟ evaluation
of service quality and thus, this study focuses on the three out of the five determinants of service
quality mentioned above. Harr (2008)

Knowing that customer service is a pillar of the hotel, this study therefore tried to assess the
service delivery practices of Saro Maria Hotel and its customer satisfaction with the fiveservice
delivery determinants. This can be done by asking selected number of customerswith regard to
their satisfaction in the quality of the service based on the variables mentioned above.

Research Questions

 What is the level of service quality and customer satisfaction in Saro Maria Hotel?
 What are the barriers to quality customer service provision by customer service staff at
Saro-Maria Hotel ?
 What services are preferred by the customer at Saro Maria Hotel?
 What should Saro-Maria do to tackle barriers of service quality?

1.4. Objective of the study

1.4.1. General objective
The general objective of the study is to assess customer satisfaction, service quality and to
suggest the service providers with recommendations so as to improve customer services of Saro
Maria Hotel.

1.4.2. Specific objective

 To identify the level service quality and customer satisfaction in Saro Maria Hotel
 To identify if there are some barriers to quality customer service provision by customer
service staff of Saro Maria Hotel
 To identify which services are preferred by the customers at Saro Maria Hotel
 To identify what actions should be taken by Saro Maria Hotel to tackle barriers of service
quality?

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 1.5. Significance of the study
This study assesses customers' satisfaction and of service quality of Saro Maria hotel. It can also
be significant because it would assist in the future improvement of service quality, and service
delivery.The study aims to identify the service quality and customer satisfaction a case study of
Saro Maria Hotel. The findings will lead to a better understanding of operations and quality
dynamics involved at Saro Maria Hotel and ultimately lead to customer satisfaction. The findings
will also provide insights to the management of hotels in re-examining their services strategy
development particularly in the context of increasing customer satisfaction and service loyalty. In
addition, the study will help the researcher develop and advance the researcher's skills.

1.6. Scope of the study

The study was conducted at Saro Maria Hotel in Addis Ababa located near Cameroon Street in
Bole sub city. Aslearnt from the hotel there are no branches of the hotel in Addis Ababa or
elsewhere in Ethiopia. This study was mainly focused on the service quality and level of
satisfaction based on selected number of customers.

1.6.1 Delimitations
This research work was proposed to be taken in Addis Ababa, capital city of Ethiopia. The study
does not focus on other topics apart fromcustomers‟ satisfaction in service qualityof Saro-Maria
Hotel.

1.6.2 Limitation of the study

The limitations are as usual most of research studies such as finance, time and access to
respondents. However, the issue of finance was taken care of as the study was limited only to
Addis Ababa. The constraint of time is a very essential block to any research but as a researcher,
time management is a very key component in carrying out a research work. To overcome this,
the research was well budgeted in the account of time with the time scale so as to meet the
deadlines. In addition, the use of a survey instrument to gather information has inherent
limitations since it is limited to those who respond. The information collected may not be true for
other hotels and the results of the assessment can't be conclusive.

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 1.7. Research Design and Methodology
1.7.1 Research design
For this research, descriptive research methodwas applied so that to meet the general and specific
objectives stipulated in this research and answer the research questions outlined.

1.7.2Sampling procedure
The sampling technique employed in this research was a non-probability sampling called
convenience sampling. In such a situation, the probability of each case being selected from the
whole or total population is not known and it is impossible to answer research questions or to
tackle the objectives that necessitate making of statistical inferences about the characteristic of
the population.

A convenience sample is a sample where the customers are selected, at the convenience of the
researcher. This study makes no attempt, or only a limited attempt, to ensure that this sample is
an accurate representation of some larger group or population. Convenience sampling was
applied in this case because; the customers do not come to the hotel in any order. Anyone moves
in any time and since the researcher is only in the hotel at certain hours of the day, it is best to
use convenience sampling in order to get as many as possible customers. The target population
were the customers that visit the hotel seeking the services such as, accommodation, spa
treatment, gym and bar restaurant services. A total sample of 63 customers were contacted
purposelyfor the assessmentbased on the ease of access and also taking the time available into
consideration.
1.7.3 Source of data
The information was collected from both primary and secondary source. Primary data was
collected through handing out questionnaire to the hotel customers. The secondary sources of
datawere the hotel records, brochures and other studies.

1.7.4 Data Presentation andAnalysis Tools

The raw data obtained have been analyzed though tallying and using Microsoft excel. The results
of the assessment are presented in the form of frequency distribution using tables and
graphs.Summary of findings are then interpreted to draw conclusions on customers' satisfaction
and the service quality of the hotel.

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 1.8. Organization of the paper
This paper consists four chapters. Chapter one gives a brief introduction to the study which
includes background of the study, statement of the problem,objectives of the study,significance
of the study, scope of the study, research design and methodology,organization of the study.
Chapter two focuses on the review of the related literature, Chapter three concerns about data
presentation and analysis.Finally, chapter four summarizesfindings and conclusion; it also
providesrecommendations on how the hotel can better improve the service qualities.

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 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter reviews theoretical literature on customer service and customer satisfaction,
customer loyalty, difference between customer loyalty and retention and barriers to customer
satisfaction.

2.1. CUSTOMER
Customers could best be described as those who use the output of work, the end users of
products or services. They may be internal to the organization such as the employees and
directors or external like members of the public, other businesses, or government (Dei-Tumi,
2005). A customer is a person who buys goods or services from the service provider. It may also
refer to any potential buyer(http://en.wikipedia.org). The word "custom" means "habit", a person
who goes to a store on a frequent basis to purchase their products or services, thus it is their habit
to buy from that particular store. In the opinion of Peter Drucker, there are now a complete new
breed of customers with high standards and expectations (Dei-Tumi, 2005). And as competition
increases there is the need to devise creative and new ways of meeting the ever-increasing
demands of the modern- day customer who is very sophisticated, knowledgeable, demands
excellent products and services and has alternatives.

2.2. CUSTOMER SERVICE

Customer service is an organization's ability to supply their customers' wants and needs.
Customer service is the provision of service to customers before, during and after a purchase. It
also means serving the customer, and involves all contact with the customer, be it face-to-face, or
indirect contact (i.e. dealing with complaint letters).
Again, according to Jamier (2002), “Customer service is a series of activities designed to
enhance the level of customer satisfaction – that is, the feeling that a product or service has met
the customer expectation.
Customer service can be expressed in personal and interpersonal skills such as communication
skills, listening skills, language, gestures and posture, telephone techniques.
It is a series of activities designed to enhance the level of customer satisfaction - that is, the
feeling that a product or service has met the customer expectation. Customer service may be

8
provided by a person (e.g., sales and service representative), or by automated means called self-
service.

2.3. THE CUSTOMER PERCEIVED SERVICE QUALITY

Customer perceived service quality is the customers own perception of the service based on
different factors contributing to the service, from the process to the final outcome. According to
Grönroos (2001), “quality is what customers perceive”. Customers buying service consider
everything that contributes to the process and the final outcome in making their assessments of
the service. However the subjective assessment of the actual service experiences is the customer
perceived service quality as pointed out by Zeithaml et al (2006), and Grönroos (2001).
Sureshchander et al (2002), points out that service firms have a difficulty envisioning and
understanding what aspects of the service that define high quality to the consumers and at what
levels, they are needed to be delivered. Also, that the aspect of managing a service interaction
also requires understanding the complicated behavior of employees that find its way into the
customers perception of the service quality.
On a careful inspection of the dimensions of quality, a major focus rests on the component of
human interaction in the service delivery that consists of human behavior and attitudes.
Tangibles: the appearance of physical facilities, the personal. The tools or equipment used to
provide the service and communication material. In other words every material that is used to
give tangibility to service.
Reliability: this is the consistency of the service performance, which breeds dependability, from
the first time the service is correctly performed to the ability of the firm to keep its promises.
According to Zeithaml et al (2006), it is the ability to perform the promised service dependably
and accurately.
Responsiveness: this is the willingness on the part of the service supplier (employee) to assist
the customer and provide prompt service.
Assurance: the knowledge-ability and courtesy of employees towards the customers, their ability
to inspire trust and confidence in handling the customers.
Empathy: This is a quality of the employee to care for the customer and give them
individualized attention. The ability to put him/herself in the customer‟s shoes by seeing things
through the customer‟s eyes. According to Zeithaml et al (2006), “it means treating customers as
individuals, giving them customized service”.

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Various studies in service management have shown that the perception of the quality of services
through the eyes of the customer is formed by a judgment of many encounters, with an
organization. According to Zeithaml et al (2006), “customers perceive services in terms of
quality of the service and how satisfied they are overall with their experiences.” However, these
encounters are mainly the joint effort of the employees who have contacts with the customers,
and the customers themselves, who therefore may be in better position to understand them, and
solve their service related problems. Five service quality dimensions have positive impact on
customer satisfaction. The strongest factor is empathy, followed by responsiveness, reliability,
assurance and tangibles.

From the earlier research work, Parasuraman et al., (1988), five determinants of service quality
were identified as reliability, responsiveness, assurance empathy and tangibles. Ten studies
carried out using the SERVQUAL questionnaire revealed that Reliability is the most critical
dimension when measuring the relative importance of the five dimensions followed by
Responsiveness, Assurance, Empathy and finally Tangibles (Parasuraman et al., 1991)

„Reliability,‟ „empathy and competence of staff,‟ „accessibility‟ and „tangibles‟ are the key
factors that best explained customers‟ expectations. Among the four dimensions, „reliability‟ has
emerged as the most important predictor of perceived service quality. Markovic & Raspor
(2010)Hotel customers are expecting more improved services from the hotels in all service
quality dimensions. They have the lowest perception scores on empathy and tangibles.
Majority of the customers expressed their satisfaction with the overall service they received from
the hotel, especially regarding Tangibility, Responsiveness and Assurance. The hotel had not
fulfilled the customers‟ satisfaction with regard to Reliability and Empathy. (Karunaratne &
Jayawardena 2010). Room attractiveness and décor have strongest affect perceptions of hotel
guests‟ satisfaction, followed by Staff outlook and accuracy, Reliability, Hotel surroundings and
environmental factors, Food and service related factors.

Stromgren(2007) studied the factors influencing service quality in the hotel industry in Peru and
established that the customers were more interested on the dimensions of reliability exterior,

10
tangibles and assurance. The best predictor of overall service quality was identified as the
dimension of reliability. The researcher however noted that a different context would give
different results. This is due to different social demographic variables such as culture and
religion which might impact on customer expectations. Harr (2008) on the other hand studied
service dimensions that leads to higher levels of customer satisfaction in restaurants in Singapore
and found out that assurance, empathy and tangibles are the most important to customers‟
evaluation of service quality, and thus, may have a positive influence on customer satisfaction.

2.4. CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

Customers perceive service in terms of quality, but how satisfied they are with the overall
experience, is what defines their satisfaction. Whether the customer is satisfied after purchase
depends on the offer‟s performance or the customer service in this case, in relation to the
customer expectations. However, according to Zeithaml et al (2006) although service quality and
customer satisfaction are used interchangeably, there is indeed a distinction.
Zeithaml et al (2003) defines it as the customer‟s evaluation of a product or service in terms of
whether the product or service has met his needs or expectations. Failure to meet needs results in
dissatisfaction, or a poor perception of the service quality.

Satisfaction can be acknowledged in various senses depending on what needs the customer had
before the service; it ranges from feelings of fulfillment, contentment, pleasure, delight, relief,
and ambivalence. Although it tends to be measured as a static quantity, it is dynamic and evolves
over time being influenced by a variety of factors.

Service quality is one of those factors that contribute to customer satisfaction, in other words a
component of customer satisfaction measure. The level of customer satisfaction is the result of
the customer‟s comparison of the service quality expected in a given service encounter, with the
perceived service quality. In addition, the distinction is that in measuring customer satisfaction,
the actual experience of the customer is the basis of assessments while in service quality
measurement the customer experience is not required. According to Zeithaml et al, (2006),
satisfaction or dissatisfaction is a measure or evaluation of a product or service‟s ability to meet a
customer‟s need or expectations.

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If the customers of an organization are satisfied by quality services the result is that, they will be
loyal to them and consequently be retained by the organization, which is positive for the
organization because it could also mean higher profits, higher market share, and increasing
customer base.

Kondo (2001), argues that customers value satisfaction and quality in many different
ways. Therefore, the expression “no customer dissatisfaction", does not necessarily go hand-in-
hand with “customer satisfaction”. Fornell (1992) argues that changes in satisfaction are
consequences from past decisions. He continues to explain that quality is judged by the
consumer and that the most important measurement of quality is how it affects customer
satisfaction (Fornell, 1992). This is further strengthened by Herrmann, Huber and Braunstein
(2000), who argue that whether or not a customer considers their purchase to live up to their
expectations, i.e. whether the customer is satisfied or not, is dependent on the perceived quality.
According to Anderson, Fornell, and Lehmann (1994), there is a positive relationship between
customer satisfaction and economic profit for the company. Arguably, customer satisfaction is an
important component in order for the company to be profitable.
Increased global competition has led to a greater emphasis on customer satisfaction (Johnson and
Fornell, 1991). Matzler, Hinterhuber, Bailom, and Sauerwein (1996), argues that there are an
increasing number of companies that starts to recognize the importance of customer satisfaction
for future business. In attempting to increase customer satisfaction it is necessary to understand
what the customer wants before they realize it themselves.
One major challenge that companies are facing is how to improve customer satisfaction and
continue keeping their customers satisfied, which becomes a way for companies to differentiate
themselves from their competitors.
According to Berry et al (1985), customer satisfaction has ten dimensions as enumerated below:
Access- it refers to the how easily a service can be obtained. That is flexibility of working hours
of the service provider, method of contact, and waiting time.
Communication- addresses how information is conveyed and received from customers among
others, it entails empathetic listening, the use if common language, explanation of the service, its
advantages and disadvantages.
Competence – it deals with the level of skills and knowledge of the service provider

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Courtesy- it is indicated by friendliness and politeness of service provider(s).
Credibility- it is the trust that customers repose in the organization and the staff providing the
service. Reliability- it implies the consistent performance or rendering of the right service at the
right time, done right the first time.

Responsiveness-willingness and readiness of employees to provide immediate service.

Security- absence of danger, doubt and risk. It implies physical safety and confidentiality.
Tangibles-is the evidence that the service and the organization are credible and trustworthy.
Understanding- refers to how well the organization understands the expectations of its customers
in their feeling about services being provided.

It should however be noted that, not every one of the ten points listed above needed to be present
for a customer to be satisfied.

2.9 BARRIERS TO CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

Most companies for that matter have realized the need to offer customer service to other
customers. But most often, this is just on paper. The actual service or the quality of the service is
most at times not present as promised. This often leads to customer dissatisfaction.

Meanwhile, customer service interactions can often be frustrating, and client requests can
frequently appear demanding, there may be barriers in your organization that might make
reasonable customer requests seem excessive. Companies therefore need to understand the
barriers to customer satisfaction and take that into consideration in order to satisfy their
customers. The barriers may range from management, environment, self, processes or systems,
and communication.

Some of the specific barriers to customer satisfaction include:

Having a Non-Caring Culture
The workplace culture can have a substantial effect on how customer service cases are handled.
If the workplace climate is one where customers are not cared for, where staff doesn‟t care about

13
their work, or if the environment is not empowering, your staff will under-deliver whenever
presented with a customer service case.
This culture prevents your staff from caring enough about your customers to make them happy.
Customers are not a priority, and the repercussions of an unhappy client are not apparent to them.

Poor Accountability
If the staff is not held accountable for customer service, there is no reason for the staff to try
harder to make sure customers are happy.
Your staff can always place the blame elsewhere and know they can never get in trouble for
letting a customer leave unhappy (www.entre-propel.com/customer-service).

Insufficient Systems
If the systems used in working with clients perform poorly, are slow, contain insufficient data or
doesn‟t track your client data appropriately, there will always be problem.
Customers will get frustrated very quickly if the turnaround time is long. Therefore they may
start looking elsewhere (www.entre-propel.com/customer-service)
Communication of Customer Value
Customer satisfaction is the responsibility of everybody in the organization; from the Manager to
the cleaner.
All staff members must always be reminded of how valuable customers are, so your staff knows
how to treat clients in the appropriate and valued manner.

Lack of Incentive
Appropriate incentive to staff who give clients outstanding service. If they are not motivated,
they have no reason to go that extra mile for your customers.
Provide rewards, both monetary and non-monetary to ensure your staff is motivated and
empowered enough to want to service your clients to the best of their abilities
(http://www.ehow.com).

Lack of Understanding about Customer Needs

If there‟s no data, it is easy to make the claim that you are customer-centric. But it‟s just words.
Information leads to the realization that there is a gap between what your company is doing and

14
what your customers are experiencing. Once this gap is surfaced, management is faced with a lot
of uncomfortable decisions about what to change. Reliable information can lead to meaningful
innovation that will find greater customer acceptance and market success.

Failure to Deliver on Brand Promise

The old advice of “under promise and over deliver” was never truer than it is in a world
dominated by customers. Adjectives and hyperbole can get companies into trouble. Companies
must therefore make sure their marketing claims are aligned with how the customer really sees
the firm.

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 CHAPTER THREE
DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS

3.1 Introduction
This chapter presents data analysis, interpretations and discussion of the findings. The results are
analyzed and interpreted according to the objective, to know the levels of satisfaction with
respect to five dimensions of service quality of Saro Maria Hotel in Addis Ababa.
3.2 Results
The study targeted the guests of Saro Maria Hotel. The total number of respondents targeted was
70. But 63 respondents completed the questionnaire and returned. The response rate is therefore
90%.
3.2.1 Respondents’Profile
The study sought to find out the distribution of respondents with respect to gender, age,
nationality, purpose of visit and the number of visits to the hotel. The results are portrayed in
Table 1 below. As can be seen from the table, males constituted 33(52.4%) of all the respondents
while females were accounted for 30(47.6%) of the respondent. This implies that the majority of
the respondents are male.

With regard to age distribution, 41 (65.1%) of the respondents were between 18 and 35 years
old, 20 (31.7%) were above 35, and youngsters who were below the age 18 were only
2(3.2%).This indicates that most of the respondents were between the ages of 18-35.

The majority of the respondents, 34 (54%), were Ethiopians while the remaining 29 (46%) were
foreigners.

The study also captured the purpose of visit and 18 (28.6%) of respondents were in the hotel for
leisure, 24(38.1%) of them were for business related issues and the remaining 21(33.3%) were
for meetings/conferences.

Out of the total respondents, first time visitors were 9 (14.3%) andthose who visited the hotel2 or
more times were54 (85.7%).

16
Table 1: Profiles of respondents
Characteristics Count %
Gender Male 33 52.4%
Female 30 47.6%
Age < 18 2 3.2%
18-35 41 65.1%
Above 35 20 31.7%
Nationality Ethiopian 34 54.0%
Foreigner 29 46.0%
Purpose of Visit Leisure 18 28.6%
Business 24 38.1%
Meeting/Conference 21 33.3%
Number of Visits First visit 9 14.3%
2 or more visits 54 85.7%

3.3 Customer'sPerception on Service Quality

3.3.1 Tangibility
Selected customers were asked to assess the tangible aspects of the service quality of Saro Maria
hotel. For this five features were mentioned and customers were asked whether they strongly
agree, or agree or neutral or disagree or strongly disagree for each of these features. These
include: whether the hotel's compound, restrooms, bedrooms, bathrooms are clean and visually
appealing; whether the hotel has an appealing restaurant and bar; whether the Hotel's employees
are neat and appealing; whether the hotel has visually appealing brochure; and whether the hotel
fitted with visually appealing modern equipment. A total of 63 customers were asked the results
are presented in Table 2 below.

Table 2: Customers perception on tangibility aspects of service quality

Descriptions Level of agreement Count %
1.1: The hotel's compound, restrooms, bedrooms, Strongly agree 40 63.5%
bathrooms etc. are clean and visually appealing Agree 18 28.6%
Neutral 4 6.3%
Disagree 1 1.6%
Strongly disagree 0 0%
1.2: The hotel has an appealing restaurant and bar Strongly agree 28 44.4%
Agree 18 28.6%
Neutral 16 25.4%
Disagree 1 1.6%
Strongly disagree 0 0%
1.3: The Hotel's employees are neat and appealing Strongly agree 33 52.4%
Agree 14 22.2%
Neutral 14 22.2%
Disagree 2 3.2%

17
 Strongly disagree 0 0%
1.4: The hotel has visually appealing brochureStrongly agree 31 49.2%
Agree 17 27.0%
Neutral 12 19.0%
Disagree 3 4.8%
Strongly disagree 0 0%
1.5: The hotel fitted with visually appealing Strongly agree 31 49.2%
modern equipment Agree 20 31.7%
Neutral 10 15.9%
Disagree 2 3.2%
Strongly disagree 0 0%

As can be seen from Table 2 above, out of the total respondents, 40(63.5%) strongly agree,
18(28.6%)agree, only one (1.6%) disagree and none of them (0%) strongly disagree that the
hotel‟s compound, bedrooms, restrooms and bathrooms are clean and visually appealing. Four
respondents which represented 6.3% were neutral. Therefore, 68 (92.1%) of the
respondentseither strongly agree or simply agree that Saro Maria hotel has clean and visually
appealing compound, bedrooms, restrooms and bathrooms.

Table 2 also presents the perceptions of customers with regard to pleasant appearance of Saro
Maria‟s restaurant and bar. From the total of 63 respondents, 28 (44.4%) represented who
strongly agree, 18 (28.6%) represented who just agree, 16 (25.4%) represented who were neutral,
only one (1.6%) represented who disagree and none (0%) represented who strongly disagree that
the hotel has appealing restaurant and bar. Thus, 46 (73%) of the respondents were in agreement
that Saro Maria hotel has appealing restaurant and bar.

Respondents views about employee‟s neatness were also assessed and presented in Table 2.
From the total respondents answered, 33 (52.2%) of them strongly agree that the hotel‟s
employees are neat and appealing, 14 (22.2%) of the respondents simply agree, and only 2
(3.2%) of the respondents disagree with the statement. Fourteen (22.2%) of the respondents were
neutral while no respondent replied as strongly disagree. These results imply that 33(74.6%) of
the respondents were satisfied with the neatness of the hotel‟s employees.

Out of total, 31 (49.2%) of the respondents strongly agree and 17(27%) of the respondents
simply agree that the hotel‟s brochure is visually appealing while only 3(4.8%) of them were in
disagreement and 12 (19%) of theme were neutral. This shows that 48(76.2) of the respondents
agreed that the hotel has visually appealing brochure.

Table 2 also portrayed respondent‟s perception regarding the hotel equipment. Among the total
respondents, 31(49.2%) of them strongly agree and 20 (31.7%) of them just agree that the hotel
is fitted with visually appealing modern equipment. Only two (3.2%) disagree on this whereas 10
(15.9%) of the respondent were neutral and none of them replied as strongly disagree. The
results revealed that 51(80.1) of the respondents confirm that Saro Maria hotel is fitted with
visually attractive modern equipment

18
From these findings it can be seen that the majority of the respondents agreedwith all the five
aspects of tangibility. This implies that customers are satisfied with the overall tangibility aspect
of service quality at Saro Maria hotel.

3.3.2 Reliability

In this study, customers were also asked to measure the reliability aspects of the service quality
of Saro Maria hotel. For this five features were mentioned and customers were asked whether
they strongly agree, or agree or neutral or disagree or strongly disagree for each of these features.
These include: whether the hotel promises to do something by a certain time it does so; whether
when you have a problem the hotel shows a sincere interest in solving it; whether the hotel
performs the service right the first time; whether the hotel provides its services at the time it
promises to do so; and the hotel insists on error-free records. Table 3 below portrayed the results.
Table 3: Customers perception on reliability aspects of service quality
Descriptions Level of agreement Count %
2.1: When the hotel promises to do something by a Strongly agree 24 38.1%
certain time it does so. Agree 25 39.7%
Neutral 11 17.5%
Disagree 3 4.8%
Strongly disagree 0 0%
2.2: When you have a problem the hotel shows a Strongly agree 28 44.4%
sincere interest in solving it. Agree 19 30.2%
Neutral 13 20.6%
Disagree 3 4.8%
Strongly disagree 0 0%
2.3: The hotel performs the service right the first Strongly agree 27 42.9%
time. Agree 23 36.5%
Neutral 9 14.3%
Disagree 4 6.3%
Strongly disagree 0 0%
2.4: The hotel provides its services at the time it Strongly agree 27 42.9%
promises to do so. Agree 19 30.2%
Neutral 15 23.8%
Disagree 2 3.2%
Strongly disagree 0 0%
2.5: The hotel insists on error-free records. Strongly agree 30 47.6%
Agree 19 30.2%
Neutral 11 17.5%
Disagree 3 4.8%
Strongly disagree 0 0%

As shown in Table 3 above, 24 (38%) of the respondents strongly agree that the hotel keeps its
promises and 25 (39.7%) of them simply agree with this feature of reliability. Only 3

19
(4.8%)disagree on this while 11 (17.5%) are neutral or indifferent. This shows that 49(77.7%)of
the respondents agreed that the hotel keeps it promises but need improvement as some
respondents werenot satisfied.

Twenty-eight (44.4%) of the respondents strongly agree with statement „when customers have a
problem the hotel shows sincere interest in solving it‟ while 19 (30.2%) of them simply agree
with this statement. Only three (4.8%) disagreed and none responded as strongly disagree with
this statementwhile 13 (20.6%) were impartial. The implication is that the 47(74.6%) of
respondent believe the hotel has sincere interest in solving customers‟ problems. Improvement is
also needed as some respondent didn‟t agree with this feature of service quality.

With respect to the attribute that thehotel performs the service right the first time, 27(42.9%)
respondents strongly agree, 23 (36.5%) of them simply agree,four (6.3%) of them disagree, and
the remaining 9 (14.3%) were neutral.This also shows that 50(79.4) of the respondents agreed
that the hotel performs the service right the first timebut need improvement as some respondents
were not pleased with this aspect of service quality.

Among the total respondents, 27(42.9%) of them strongly agree and 19 (30.2%) of them just
agree that the hotel provides services at the time it promises. Only two (3.2%) disagree on this
whereas 15 (23.8%) of the respondent were neutral and none of them replied as strongly
disagree. This reveals that 46(73.1%) of the respondents believe that Saro Maria hotel is good in
providing services at the times it promises.

In relation to the hotel‟s claims on error-free records, 30 (47.6%) of the respondents strongly
agree, 19 (30.2%) of them simply agree, three (4.8%) of the respondents disagree while the
remaining 11 (17.3%) respondents were neutral or impartial with this claim. This confirms the
hotel‟s claims on error-free record as 49(77.8%) but hints improvement as some respondent
showed disagreement with this claim.

Overall, the findings show that the majority of the respondents are pleased with the reliability
aspects of the service quality although there is a need to improve some features in this dimension
such as keeping promises, showing sincere interest in solving problems and providing timely
services.

20
 3.3.3 Responsiveness

In this dimension, customers were asked to measure the responsiveness aspects of the service
quality of Saro Maria hotel. For this five features were mentioned and customers were asked
whether they strongly agree, or agree or neutral or disagree or strongly disagree for each of these
features. These include: whether the hotel employees tell customers exactly when services will
be performed; whether the hotel employees give you a prompt service; whether the hotel
employees are always willing to help you; whether the employees are never too busy to respond
to your requests; and whether the hotel room service was prompt. Table 4 below presents the
results on these features of the service quality.

From the 63 respondents, 30 (47.6%) of them strongly agree and 20 (31.7%) of them just agree
that the hotel employees tell customers exactly when services will be performed. Only 3 (4.8%)
disagree on this while 10 (15.9%) are neutral or indifferent. The implication is that 50(79.3%) of
the respondents confirmed that Saro Maria‟s employees tell customers exactly when services will
be provided

As regards to the promptness of the hotel employees in providing services, 29 (46%) of the
respondents strongly agree, 22 (34.9%) of them agree, 6 (9.5%) of them disagree, and the
remaining 6 (9.5%) were impartial. This shows that the 51(80.9%) of the respondents agreed that
the hotel‟s employees provide prompt services. But it also suggested improvement as nearly a
tenth of the respondent disagree with this attribute of responsiveness.

The other feature of responsiveness is willingness of employees to help customers. From the
total respondents, 31 (49.2%) of them strongly agree and 19 (30.2%) of them simply agree that
the hotel employees are always willing to help customers while only 4 (6.3%) disagree on this
aspect of service quality. The remaining 9 (14.3%) respondents were neutral. Therefore the
50(79.4) respondentswere in agreement thatthe hotel employees are willing to help customersbut
also tip-offs improvement as some(6.3%)of the respondentsdisagreed with this.

Respondents were asked whether the employees are never too busy to respond to customers‟
requests. 30 (47.6%) of the respondents strongly agree, 16 (25.4%) of them simply agree, one
(1.6%) respondent disagree, another one (1.6%) strongly disagree while the remaining 15
(23.8%) respondents were neutral or impartial with this attribute of responsiveness. From the

21
results, 46(73%) of the respondents confirmed that the hotel‟s employees are quick to respond to
customers‟ requests.

With regard to promptness of room service, 32 (50.8%) of the respondents strongly agree and
11(17.5%) of them simply agree. None of respondents disagreed with this feature of
responsiveness while18(28.6%) of them were indifferent/neutral. The remaining two respondents
didn‟t reply.

Generally,46(76%) of the respondents are satisfied with the responsiveness of the service quality
even though there is a need to enhance some attributes ofresponsiveness namely promptness of
services, willingnessof employees to help customers and providing complete and correct
information to customers.

Table 4: Customers perception on responsiveness aspects of service quality

Descriptions Level of agreement Count %
3.1: The hotel employees tell you exactly when services Strongly agree 30 47.6%
will be performed. Agree 20 31.7%
Neutral 10 15.9%
Disagree 3 4.8%
Strongly disagree 0 0%
3.2: The hotel employees give you a prompt service Strongly agree 29 46.0%
Agree 22 34.9%
Neutral 6 9.5%
Disagree 6 9.5%
Strongly disagree 0 0%
3.3: The hotel employees are always willing to help Strongly agree 31 49.2%
you. Agree 19 30.2%
Neutral 9 14.3%
Disagree 4 6.3%
Strongly disagree 0 0%
3.4: The employees are never too busy to respond to Strongly agree 30 47.6%
your requests. Agree 16 25.4%
Neutral 15 23.8%
Disagree 1 1.6%
Strongly disagree 1 1.6%
3.5: Room service was prompt Strongly agree 32 50.8%
Agree 11 17.5%
Neutral 18 28.6%
Disagree 0 0%
Strongly disagree 0 0%
No response 2 3.2%

22
 3.3.4 Assurance

In this aspect, customers were asked to measure the assurance aspects of the service quality of
Saro Maria hotel. For this five features were mentioned and customers were asked whether they
strongly agree, or agree or neutral or disagree or strongly disagree for each of these features.
These include: whether the behavior of hotel employees fill confidence in customers; whether
you feel safe in your transactions with the hotel; whether the hotel employees are consistently
courteous with you; whether the hotel employees have the knowledge to answer your questions;
and whether there‟s safe storage for belongings of customers is available. The results are
displayed in Table 5 below.

Table 5: Customers perception on assurance aspects of service quality

Descriptions Level of agreement Count %
4.1: The behavior of hotel employees fill confidence Strongly agree 31 49.2%
in customers. Agree 18 28.6%
Neutral 13 20.6%
Disagree 1 1.6%
Strongly disagree 0 0%
4.2: You feel safe in your transactions with the hotel. Strongly agree 31 49.2%
Agree 22 34.9%
Neutral 5 7.9%
Disagree 5 7.9%
Strongly disagree 0 0%
4.3: The hotel employees are consistently courteous Strongly agree 29 46.0%
with you. Agree 17 27.0%
Neutral 14 22.2%
Disagree 2 3.2%
Strongly disagree 1 1.6%
4.4: The hotel employees have the knowledge to Strongly agree 30 47.6%
answer your questions. Agree 20 31.7%
Neutral 10 15.9%
Disagree 3 4.8%
Strongly disagree 0 0%
4.5: Safe storage of belongings of customers is Strongly agree 31 49.2%
available Agree 22 34.9%
Neutral 9 14.3%
Disagree 1 1.6%
Strongly disagree 0 0%

As shown in Table 5 above, 31 (49.2%) of the respondents strongly agree that the behavior of
hotel employees fills their confidence and 18 (28.6%) of them simply agree with this feature of
reliability. Only 1 (1.6%) disagrees on this while 13 (20.6%) are neutral or indifferent. This

23
shows that 49(77.8%) of the respondents agreed that the behavior of hotel employees fill their
confidencebut need improvement as some respondents were not satisfied.

Thirty-one (49.2%) of the respondents strongly agree that they feel safe in their transactions with
the hotel while 22 (34.9%) of them simply agree with this statement. Only five (7.9%) disagreed
with this statement while 5 (7.9%) respondents were impartial. Hence, 53(84.1%) of the
respondent feel safe in their transactions with the hotel. Improvement is also essentialas some
respondent are not satisfiedwith this feature of service quality.

Respondents were asked whether the hotel employees are consistently courteous with them.29
(46.0%) of the respondents strongly agree, 17 (27.0%) of them simply agree, two (3.2%)
respondent disagree, another one (1.6%) strongly disagree while the remaining 14 (22.2%)
respondents were neutral or impartial with this featureof service quality. Therefore, 46(73.0%) of
theemployees at Saro Maria hotelareconsistently courteouswith customers. On the other hand, it
also hints improvement as 3(4.8%) respondent disagreed with this statement.

Among the total respondents, 30(47.6%) of them strongly agree and 20 (31.7%) of them just
agree that the hotel employees have the knowledge to answer their questions. Only three (4.8%)
disagree on this whereas 10 (15.9%) of the respondent were neutral and none of them replied as
strongly disagree. From this it can be said that that the employees at Saro Maria hotel have the
knowledge to answer customers‟ questions since the 50(79.5%) of the respondents agreed with
feature of the service. But it also hints improvement as some respondent showed disagreement
with this claim.

In relation to whether safe storage of belongings of customers is available, 31 (49.2%) of the

respondents strongly agree, 22 (30.2%) of them simply agree, only one (1.6%) of the respondents
disagree while the remaining 9 (14.3%) respondents were neutral or impartial with this
statement.53(79.4%) of the respondents confirmed that the hotel hassafe storage for belongings
of the hotel customers.

Overall, the findings show that the majority of the respondents are satisfied with the assurance
aspects of the service quality although there is a need to improve some features in this dimension

24
such as being courteous, making the customer feel safe in their transactions, and improving the
knowledge of employees.

3.3.5 Empathy

At last, the customers were asked to measure the empathy aspects of the service quality of Saro
Maria hotel. For this five features were mentioned and customers were asked whether they
strongly agree, or agree or neutral or disagree or strongly disagree for each of these features.
These include: whether The hotel gives you individual attention; whether the hotel's operating
hours are convenient to its customers; whether the hotel has employees who give personal
attention; whether the hotel has your best interest at heart; and whether the hotel employees
understand your specific needs. The findings of the study on these features are given in Table 6
and discussed below

Table 6: Customers perception on empathy aspects of service quality

Level of
Descriptions agreement Count %
5.1: The hotel gives you individual attention. Strongly agree 33 52.4%
Agree 15 23.8%
Neutral 10 15.9%
Disagree 5 7.9%
Strongly disagree 0 0%
5.2: The hotel's operating hours are convenient to its Strongly agree 31 49.2%
customers. Agree 18 28.6%
Neutral 14 22.2%
Disagree 0 0%
Strongly disagree 0 0%
5.3: The hotel has employees who give personal Strongly agree 31 49.2%
attention. Agree 17 27.0%
Neutral 8 12.7%
Disagree 7 11.1%
Strongly disagree 0 0%
5.4: The hotel has your best interest at heart. Strongly agree 28 44.4%
Agree 18 28.6%
Neutral 14 22.2%
Disagree 1 1.6%
Strongly disagree 2 3.2%
5.5: The hotel employees understand your specific Strongly agree 33 52.4%
needs. Agree 18 28.6%
Neutral 7 11.1%

25
 Disagree 4 6.3%
Strongly disagree 1 1.6%

Out of the total respondents, 33(52.4%) of them strongly agree and 15(23.8%)of them just
agreethat the hotel gives customers individual attention. Five (7.9%) disagree while 10 (15.9%)
are neutral and none of them responded as strongly disagree. This indicates that Saro Maria hotel
gives customers individual attention as 48(76.2%) of the respondents approved. However, the
hotel needs improvement in this area as 5(7.9%) respondent showed disagreement with this
claim.

From the total respondents, 31 (49.2%) of them strongly agree and 18 (28.6%) the them just
agree that the hotel's operating hours are convenient to its customers. None of them strongly
disagree or agree while 14 (22.2%) of them were neutral to this statement. 49(77.8%) of
respondents agreed that Saro Maria hotel's operating hours are convenient to its customers.

Respondents were also asked whether the hotel has employees who give personal attention to
customers. 31 (49.2%) of them strongly agree and 17 (27.0%) of the respondents simply agree on
this statement. Seven (11.1%) of the respondents disagree with the statement whereas the
remaining 8 (12.7%) respondents were neutral. Hence, 48(76.2%) of the respondents agreed that
the hotel has employees who give personal attention but improvement is also needed as 8(11.1%)
respondents indicated their disagreement with the claim.

Out of total, 28 (44.4%) of the respondents strongly agree and 18(28.6%) of the respondents
simply agree that the hotel has the customer‟s best interest at heart. Only 1(1.6%) disagree and
2(3.2%) strongly disagree with statement while 12 (19%) of them were neutral. This shows that
the hotel has the customer‟s best interest at heart as 46(73.0%) respondents agreed with this. It
also hinted improvement in this area as 1(1.6%) some indicated dissatisfaction.

Among the total respondents, 33(49.2%) of them strongly agree and 18 (31.7%) of them just
agree that the hotel employeesunderstand your specific needs. Only four (6.3%) disagree on this
whereas 7 (11.1%) of the respondent were neutral and one (1.6%) of them replied as strongly

26
disagree. Hence, 51(80.2%) of the respondents confirm that Saro Maria hotel
employeesunderstand your specific needs.

From these findings it can be concluded that respondents are satisfiedwith the overall empathy
aspect of service quality at Saro Maria hotel. However, the findings also suggest improvement in
customer care.

3.4 Barriers to Customer Satisfaction

Most of respondents did reply to questions related to barriers. However, according to the
respondents replied, the major barriers to customer satisfaction are: discontent of the hotel
employees, not good in communications with the customers,lack of timely service and poo
quality service.

27
 CHAPTER FOUR: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
This chapter presents the summary, conclusion and recommendation based on the data collected
from the customers of Saro Maria Hotel selected for the study.

4.1 Summary
 The majority of the respondents, 54% were Ethiopians. Most of the respondents, 66.6%
are above the age of 25.
 From these findings it can be concluded thatthe overall tangibility aspect of service
quality at Saro Maria hotel rated high(79.4%) by its customers.
 Most of the respondents (76.5%) were satisfiedwith the reliability aspects of the service
quality but there is a need to improve some features in this dimension such as keeping
promises, showing sincere interest in solving problems and providing timely services.
 Generally, most of the respondents (73.2%)were satisfied with the responsiveness of the
service quality even though there is a need to enhance some attributes of responsiveness
namely promptness of services, willingness of employees to help customers and
providing complete and correct information to customers.
 The findings showed that the majority (79.7%) of the respondents were pleased with the
assurance aspects of the service quality but there is also a need to improve some features
in this dimension such as being courteous, making the customer feel safe in their
transactions, and improving the knowledge of employees.
 Most of the respondents (76.8%) were satisfied with the overall empathy aspect of
service quality at Saro Maria hotel. However, the findings also suggest improvement in
customer care.
 Finally, the major barriers to customer satisfaction are: discontent of the hotel employees,
not good in communications with the customers, lack of timely service and poor quality
service.

4.2 Conclusion

The study showed that the overwhelming majority of the respondents were either strongly agree
or just agree in each one of the following aspects of the overall service quality dimensions: the

28
hotel's compound, restrooms, bedrooms, bathrooms etc. are clean and visually appealing; the
hotel has visually appealing brochure; the hotel fitted with visually appealing modern equipment;
fulfilling promises timely; the hotel performs the service right the first time; error-free records
of the hotel; the hotel employees tell you exactly when services will be performed; promptness
of employees in providing services; willingness of hotel employees to help customers; the
behavior of hotel employees fills confidence in customers; feeling safe in transactions with the
hotel; knowledge of hotel employees to answer questions; availability of safe storage for
belongings of customers; hotel‟s individual attention to customers; convenience of the hotel's
operating hours to its customers; the hotel‟s employees give personal attention; and the hotel
employees understanding of specific needs of customers.

Generally, the results revealed that the service quality dimensions have different levels in
customer‟s satisfaction. Assurance dimension was found to have the highest level of customer
satisfaction followed by tangible and empathy. Responsiveness and reliability appeared to have
relatively lower level of customer satisfaction.

On the other hand, considerable proportions of the respondents were either neutral or disagree in
the following features of the service quality dimensions: the hotel has an appealing restaurant
and bar; the hotel's employees are neat and appealing; the hotel has visually appealing brochure;
when the hotel promises to do something by a certain time it does so; when you have a problem
the hotel shows a sincere interest in solving it ; the hotel provides its services at the time it
promises to do so; the hotel insists on error-free records; the employees are never too busy to
respond to your requests; room service was prompt; the hotel employees are consistently
courteous with customers; and the hotel gives individual attention.

4.2 Recommendations

As mentioned above, substantial portion of respondents indicated disagreement in many aspects

of service quality dimensions of Saro Maria hotel. This study therefore recommends the
following.

29
 Enhance some attributes of responsiveness namely promptness of services, willingness of
employees to help customers and providing complete and correct information to
customers.

 Further improve certain features of reliability dimension such as keeping promises,

showing sincere interest in solving problems and providing timely services.

 Augment the empathy aspect of service quality more specifically improve customer care
and carefully understand specific needs of customers.

 Finally, to tackle major barriers of customer satisfaction at Saro Maria, the hotel should
improve the discontent of the hotel employees by giving proper training and providing
benefits, enhance communications through training, deliver timely services and upgrade
the standard of the service quality.

30
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APPENDICES

33
 English Questionnaire

Unity University

College of Business, Economic and Social sciences

Department of Marketing Management

This is questionnaire aims at collecting information for the partial fulfillment of my first degree
in Marketing Management at Unity University. The purpose of this questionnaire is to gather
data on Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction in the case of Saro-Maria Hotel and give
appropriate recommendations. The study is purely for academic purpose. Therefore, I kindly ask
for you to answer to each items of the question very carefully based on the instructions.

General Instructions

 Don't write your name.

 Use tick mark “” to answer Part I questions in the box provided and to indicate the level
of agreement for each of the statements in Part II.

Thank you in advance for your time and cooperation.

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 PART 1: GENERAL INFORMATION OF CUSTOMERS
Gender: Male Female
Age: Less than 18 18-25 26-35 Above 35
Nationality: Ethiopian Non-Ethiopian
Purpose of Visit:
Leisure Business Meeting/Conference Other (Specify)………........... ……
Number of visits to this hotel:
First visit 2 to 5 visits More than 5 visits
PART 2: CUSTOMER'SPERCEPTION ON SERVICE QUALITY

Disagree

Disagree
Strongly

Strongly
Dimension of Please read each statement carefully and indicate the level of

Neutral
Agree
agree
service quality agreement by making a tick mark “” in the space provided.
1.Tangibles 1.1: The hotel‟s compound, restrooms, bedrooms, bathrooms etc.
are clean and visually appealing
1.2: The hotel has an appealing restaurant and bar
1.3: The Hotel‟s employees are neat and appealing
1.4: The hotel has visually appealing brochure.
1.5: The hotel fitted with visually appealing modern equipment
2.Reliability 2.1: When the hotel promises to do something by a certain time it
does so.
2.2: When you have a problem the hotel shows a sincere interest in
solving it.
2.3: The hotel performs the service right the first time.
2.4: The hotel provides its services at the time it promises to do so.
2.5: The hotel insists on error-free records.
3.Responsiven 3.1: The hotel employees tell you exactly when services will be
ess performed.
3.2: The hotel employees give you prompt service.
3.3: The hotel employees are always willing to help you.
3.4: The employees are never too busy to respond to your requests.
3.5: Room service was prompt
4.Assurance 4.1: The behavior of hotel employees fill confidence in customers.
4.2: You feel safe in your transactions with the hotel.
4.3: The hotel employees are consistently courteous with you.
4.4: The hotel employees have the knowledge to answer your
questions.
4.5: Safe storage of belongings of customers is available
5.Empathy 5.1: The hotel gives you individual attention.
5.2: The hotel‟s operating hours are convenient to its customers.
5.3: The hotel has employees who give you personal attention.
5.4: The hotel has your best interest at heart.
5.5: The hotel employees understand your specific needs.
PART 3: What are the barriers that make you feel dissatisfied by the hotel service?
1.___________________________________________________________________________________

2.___________________________________________________________________________________

3.___________________________________________________________________________________

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 Amharic Questionnaire

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3. ............................................................................................................................................................................

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