Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction of the Beauty Parlors : A Study in Asia Perception
Chapter One: Introduction
- 1 Background of the study
Beauty parlor is a service oriented induction in which women receive treatment to increase their beauty. Skin care, facial make up, hair nourishment and model hair cutting are the most important nourishing activities of a beauty parlor. The use of machinery, ayurvedic formulations and approved synthetic chemicals and medicines vary from person to person as per need. In present project the arrangement of different beauty therapy are present with use of limited number of machinery.
Life style is fast changing in the modern era, and the women have become more conscious about their makeup. More women are seen frequenting the beauty parlors for availing themselves of some kind of service to improve their appearance to look good. The status of women has improved a lot and is improving further. This has resulted in their life style changing. Also their economic independence encourages them to support to this type of service.
Everyone wants to be beautiful. One’s beauty can be enriched with proper nourishment, treatment and care. For that reason beauty parlors have been established in cities and towns. It’s a flourishing business in service sector. This study attempts to measure customer satisfaction on parlors in Chittagong city. A structured questionnaire is developed on SERVQUAL model. The survey is conducted among 100 respondents in 5 most popular beauty parlors in Chittagong. The purpose of the study is to identify customer perception on tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy in beauty parlors in Chittagong and to evaluate the effect of service quality on customer satisfaction. The statistical tools SPSS is used to calculate the mean and linear regression analysis. The findings show that tangibility has the highest mean score among five factors. Moreover, tangibility factor has significant influence on customer satisfaction. Beauty parlors should consider these factors more to satisfy customer.
1.2 Objectives of the study
• To study customer perception on tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy in beauty parlors in Asia using SERVQUAL model.
• To evaluate the impact of service quality factors on customer satisfaction.
• To explore the customer satisfaction and service quality provided to measure beauty parlors.
1.3 Importance of the study
Prior to this no research has been conducted on the Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction of the Beauty Parlor in Asia City Corporation so there is a huge scope to gather new ideas on this topic. I have visited Asia University library & central library of Asia division but I have found no previous research has been conducted in this topic. I have also goggled this topic but I have not seen the presence of any research conducted on this topic there. This clearly indicates that this area of investigation is still in its infancy.
1.4 Limitation of the study
Some problems occurred while conducting the report paper. These are given below:
- The study is conducted in few popular parlor located in Chittagong city with 100 respondents.
- The respondents’ response may have the biasness, which may not give true picture about the chosen research topic.
- Lack of co-operation and negligence
- Inability to reach every potential sample.
- Data was collected from customers of the beauty parlors only. Due to shortage of time it was not possible to incorporate more samples.
- Nonprobability convenient sampling was used as population size was unknown.
Chapter 02: Literature Review
2.1 Introduction
The worldwide trend toward service quality was initiated in the 1880s, when businesses realized that maintaining competitive advantage is not guaranteed by a quality product, standing alone (van der Wal, Pampallis & Bond 2002). Quality of services can be the difference between success and failure in both service and manufacturing firms (Gupta, McDaniel & Herath 2005). Service quality, customer satisfaction and customer value have become the main concerns in both manufacturing and service organizations (Wang, Lo & Yang 2004), as many researchers recognize that service quality can bring an organization a sustainable competitive advantage (Moore 1987, Lewis 1989).
2.2 Customer Satisfaction
Customer satisfaction is one of the important outcomes of marketing activity (Oliver 1980, Mick & Fournier 1999). According to Zeithmal and Bitner (2003), "satisfaction is the consumer fulfillment response. A product or service feature, or the product or service itself, provides a pleasurable level of consumption related fulfillment" (p. 86). According to Kumar, Kee and Manshor (2009) high quality of service can result in high customer satisfaction and increases customer loyalty. Thus customer satisfaction is the outcome of service quality (Parasuraman, Zeithaml& Berry 1988, Naeem&Saif 2009), which can further stimulate the profit and growth of the businesses through increased customer loyalty that is a Volume 12 (2010-11) High-End Beauty Parlors direct result of customer satisfaction (Heskett, Sasser&Schle-singer 1997). As a result, many organizations are paying increasing attention to improved service quality (Gupta, McDaniel &Herath 2005). "Service quality" is considered a more important order winner than "product quality" in some manufacturing industries (Ghobadian, Speller & Jones 1994), as service-quality improvements can lead to customer satisfaction and cost administration that result in improved profits (Stevenson 2002). Thus service quality is widely regarded as a driver of corporate marketing and financial performance (Buttle 1996).
2.3 Service Quality
According to Siddiqui and Khandaker (2007), quality of service is an elusive and imprecise construct and is difficult to measure, because services are intangible, heterogeneous, inseparable and perishable (Lovelock 1996). The conceptualization of service quality has its roots in expectancy disconfirmation theory (Collier & Bienstock 2006). Many early marketing researchers adopted this theory as the foundation for measuring service quality (Grönroos 1984, Parasuraman, Zeithaml& Berry 1985, Parasuraman, Zeithaml& Berry 1988). One of the first service-quality models is the SERVQUAL model, demonstrated by Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1985), with ten components for measuring and managing service quality, which are (1) reliability; (2) responsiveness; (3) competence; (4) access; (5) courtesy; (6) communication; (7) credibility; (8) security; (9) understanding knowing the customer; (10) tangibles. Later, in their 1988 work, these components were redefined as five dimensions; reliability, assurance, tangibles, empathy, responsiveness (Parasuraman, Zeithaml& Berry 1988). These researchers posited that measuring service quality as "disconfirmation," that is, the difference between perceptions and expectations, is valid (Wang, Lo &Hui 2003). The descriptions provided for each of the SERVQUAL dimensions are as follows:
- Reliability: Ability to fulfill the promised service dependably and accurately.
- Responsiveness: Willingness to support customers and provide prompt service.
- Assurance: Employees' knowledge and courtesy and their ability to inspire trust and confidence.
- Empathy: Caring, individualized attention given to each customer.
- Tangibles: Appearance of physical facility, equipment, personnel and written materials (Parasuraman, Zeithaml& Berry 1988).
Though the SERVQUAL model has many limitations, its framework has guided numerous studies in the service sector, which focuses on banks, repair and maintenance services, telephone companies, physicians, hospitals, hotels, academic institutions and retail stores (ParasuramanZeithaml& Berry 1988, Carman 1990, Boulding, Kalra, Staelin&Zeithaml 1993, Kouthouris&Alexandris 2005). In fact, Siddiqi (2010) concluded in his recent study that the SERVQUAL model is still compatible as an assessment tool to measure the service quality perceptions. In Bangladesh, the SERVQUAL model has been used by some researchers to measure the service gap, such as in private universities (Chowdhury, Iqbal&Miah 2010), in advertising agencies (Khan 2010), in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and in retail banking (Siddiqi 2010), in hospitals (Siddiqui& Khan-daker 2007), etc.
2.4 Beauty Parlor
With the growing importance of physical beauty and attractiveness, beauty parlors and spas are mushrooming up in Bangladesh (Star Lifestyle 2009). A beauty parlor or beauty parlor is an induction dealing with cosmetic treatments for men and women. Beauty parlors provide generalized services related to skin health, facial aesthetic, foot care, aromatherapy, (i.e., massage, facial, manicure, pedicure, waxing, etc.) - even meditation, oxygen therapy, mud baths, and innumerable other services (Schwer&Daneshvary 2000). According to the Volume 12 (2010-11) High-End Beauty Parlors industry experts, "high-end parlor" can be explained as a parlor that offers specialized services toward with regular services equipped with all the modern facilities and this type of parlor sets the beauty trends of the industry. They usually target the high profile beauty conscious customer segments. May Fair, the first beauty parlor in Asia, was established in 1965. There was no Bangladeshi owned parlor up until 1977. In that year, ZerinaAsgar, the first Bangladeshi woman to become a beautician, and her parlor Living Doll appeared in the business. After that, in the 1980s, Bollywood (Mumbai, formerly known as Bombay, based Indian film industry) actresses created an image of women with complete makeover. Since the 1990s, as satellite TV was spreading its beauty enigma on urban women, second-generation beauticians started to enter into the industry with sophisticated and educated grooming. This new propagation of beauticians has turned the hobby of homemakers into a profession (Parveen 2006). As a result, there are over 2,000 parlors and parlors across the country (Rahman 2010). Now mothers, housewives, students, professionals and brides - all kinds of women from the age group of 18-40 - visit beauty parlors and spas for beauty and health care services (Pritom 2009). Zahid (2007) found in her study that 88.3 percent women of "upper" socioeconomic class (having a gross monthly income from Tk. 50,000 to Tk. 200,000 or USD 700 to USD 3000; per capita income in Bangladesh is about Tk. 2200 or USD 30 per month) in Asia have the habit of going to beauty parlors regularly. With the clientele becoming increasingly well informed, the beauty-care industry in Bangladesh is under pressure to raise the quality of its services (Star Lifestyle 2009).
Chapter 3 - Research Methodology
3.1 Introduction
Every work is needed to have a standard methodology to make it quite successful in the course of its preparation. Descriptive research method was conducted to identify different dimensions of beauty parlors in Asia city. Both primary and secondary data were used for the research. Primary data were collected by questionnaire survey on clients. A structured questionnaire was used for data collection. The survey questionnaire started with customer profile and continued towards variable specific questions.
3.2 Population of the Study
A target population is the population outlined in the survey objects about which information is to be sought and a survey population is the population from which information can be obtained in the survey. This study intended to identify service quality and customer satisfaction of the beauty parlors. Hence beauty parlor employees and customers are the population of the study. However, since this study was conducted in Asia city, beauty parlors available in Asia city were considered as sub population Bangladesh.
3.3 Sampling Technique and Sample Size
Simple random sampling technique was used in this study. The questionnaire was personally prepared with SERVQUAL criteria’s and surveyed among 100 customers in 5 most popular beauty parlors in Asia City Corporation. These are: Nanking, Lucy, Alviras, Fair Touch and New Look.
The sample frame for data collection was the existing customers of the high-end women's beauty parlors of Asia. The sample size was 260 and it included the customers of three leading high-end women's beauty parlor in Asia. The non-probability, convenience sampling technique had been used to collect the primary data from the respondents. The descriptive statistics were used mainly to analyze the collected Volume 12 (2010-11) High-End Beauty Parlors.
3.4 Data Collection Method
A set of structured question was developed for data collect purpose. A 5-point (1 for "Least Important" and 5 for "Highly Important") Likert scale was used for these questions. The second set of questions was designed to identify the responses regarding the performance of the parlors on service-quality criteria. These questions were also asked through a 5-point Likert scale, where 1 stands for "Highly Dissatisfied" and 5 stands for "Highly Satisfied." The other questions addressed issues such as switching tendency, allegation handling process, service requirement, communication and customer care of the high-end parlors. The research procedure included preparation of questionnaire, pre testing of questionnaire, data collection, data decoding, data analysis, interpretation and findings.
The scales used in this research were tested against reliability. Reliability is the enhance to which a variable or set of variables is consistent in what it is intended to measure (Hair, Black, Babin, Anderson &Tatham 2007). The current study applies the internal consistency method, because multiple items in all constructs are used here. The Cronbach alpha, with acceptable cut-off point 0.70, demonstrates that all attributes are internally consistent (Fujun, Hutchinson, Li &Bai 2007, Pallant 2010). The scale of performance rating had good internal consistency, with a Cronbach alpha coefficient reported of 0.876. This value is above 0.7, so the scale can be considered reliable with the sample.
3.5 Data Analysis Method
The total primary data was collected personally from those customers and employers both are directly including in beauty parlors. During data entry phase, 100% data was rechecked with fact sheets and hard copies. Data was considered as 100% accuracy level for entering the data into the system. Generated data from the survey were processed with the help of Microsoft Excel 2007.
Figure 3.1 represents the flow chart of the research process
Flow chart of the study
Chapter 4 - Data Analysis and Interpretation
4.1 Introduction
Having completed the literature review of service quality and customer satisfaction of the beauty parlors and the methodology of conducting this study now we are focusing on data analysis which has come from through survey by face to face interview and interpretation. Data analysis and interpretation helps to identify whether the beauty parlor is capable to increase service quality and customer satisfaction or not.
4.2 Validity of the data
Validity in data collection means that your findings truly represent the phenomenon you are claiming to measure. Validity is one of the main concerns with this study. “Any research can be affected by different kinds of factors which, while extraneous to the concerns of the research, can invalidate the findings" (Seliger & Shohamy 1989, 95).
Factor loading represents the correlations between the variables and the resulting factor and loadings greater than 0.5 collectively construct the factor. The SFF was also highly correlated with environment with loading 0.742, materials with loading 0.698 and complaint maintain with loading 0.520. The variable safety had a factor loading of 0.459. The factor loading associated with each of the element or variable is presented in the rotated component matrix in (Table 4.1)
Table 4.1: Rotated Component Matrix
Details Component
1 2 3 4
Environment
Materials
Accurate Service
Prompt Service
Complaint Handling
Service Provider’s
Knowledge
Executive’s Knowledge
Service Provider’s
Behavior
Executive’s Behavior
Credibility
Safety
Accessibility
Advertisement
Service Information
Understanding Client’s
Need
Working According to
Client’s Need .742
.709
.698
.771
.520
.399
.283
.265
.459
.203
.385
.639
.743
.770
.557
.345
.412
.248
.213
.220
.294
.200
.236
.590
.843
.842
.214
.237
.233
.636
.815
.455
Note: Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization
4.3 Profile of the Respondents
4.3.1 Age Group: Information collected about age of respondents is classified into four different group.
Table 4.2: Age distribution of respondents
Age group Frequency Percentage (%)
15-24 55 55
25-34 37 37
35-44 6 6
45-54 2 2
Total 100 100 (%)
Table 4.2 represents the age distribution of the respondents. From the table it can be seen that 55% respondents are aged between 15 to 24 years, 37% respondents are aged between 25 to 34 years, 6% respondents are aged between 35 to 44 years and remaining 2% respondents are aged between 45 to 54 years. So the majority of the customers (92%) are young people within 15 to 34 years of age.
4.3.2 Target group: The sample size is classified mainly on three groups. These are given below:
Table 4.3: Target group distribution of respondents
Target group Frequency Percentage (%)
Student 54 54
Employed 36 36
Homemaker 10 10
Total 100 100 (%)
Table 4.3 represents the target group distribution of the respondents. From the table it can be seen that 54% student, 36% respondents are employed and remaining 10% respondents are homemaker. So the majority of the customers (90%) are students and employees.
4.3.3 Marital Status: Information collected about marital status is separated as unmarried and married.
Table 4.4 Marital status distribution of respondents
Marital Status Frequency Percentage (%)
Unmarried 60 60
Married 40 40
Total 100 100 (%)
Table 4.4 represents information collected about marital status. From the table it can be seen that 60% are unmarried and 40% are married. Hence it can be noticed that 60% respondents are unmarried.
4.3.4 Pattern of consumption of services: A beauty parlor provides numerous services. Here, the most common services are selected and given below:
Table 4.5 Common services distribution of respondents
Services Frequency Percentage (%)
Threading 39 39
Hair cut 77 77
Facial 55 55
Pedicure & Manicure 23 23
Make up 52 52
Spa & Body massage 3 3
Piercing 6 6
Hair treatment 34 34
Hair color 13 13
Total 302 302 (%)
Table 4.5 represents the parlors provide different types of services depending on client’s demand. Regarding the service usage, majority of the clients used to take multiple services from the parlor. Among them, highest 77% of the respondents avail hair cut from the parlor and 55% avail facial. Both of these are part of customers regular grooming practices.
Customers are also concerned about their threading and pedicure, in other words their look as a whole. This is justified by the percentages of clients who took threading and pedicure services, that is 39% and 23% respectively. Besides, 52% respondents took services make up, spa, re-bonding, straightening, and 3% respondents take body massage, waxing etc. 6% respondents avail piercing, which is basically popular to the young and trendy people. Around 34% respondents hair treatment, which were not that much popular or widely available yet. Another 13% respondent avail hair color, as it was an occasional service. So the majority of the respondents are haircut and facial.
4.4 Service Quality Dimension
The arithmetic mean of the perceptions on 22 variables of service quality is measured and shown below:
Table: 4.6 Reliability Dimension
Source: primary and computed data
Table 4.6 from the data it can be seen that customers are fairly satisfied with reliability which includes prompt, promised and correct service from service providers.
Table: 4.7 Responsiveness dimension
Source: primary and computed data
Table 4.7 from the data it can be seen that customers are moderately satisfied with reliability which includes prompt, promised and correct service from service providers. That means customer wants quick service from parlors in Asia
Table: 4.8 Assurance Dimension
Source: primary and computed data
Table 4.8 from the data it can be seen that customers are satisfied. Second, customers are quite satisfied with assurance which includes image of service provider and employee behavior.
Table: 4.9 Empathy Dimension
Source: primary and computed data
Table 4.9 from the data it can be seen that customers are dissatisfied with empathy which includes special care and attention to customers every time. So, empathy dimensions need to emphasized more to enhance the satisfaction level of customers in beauty parlors in Asia.
Table: 4.10 Tangibility Dimension
Source: primary and computed data
Table 4.9 from the data it can be seen that customers are highly satisfied with the tangibility factor which includes modern equipments, appealing physical facilities and employee appearance
4.5 Price and other user outlays:
Price is the driving factor in terms of profit margin. By price we mean the quantity a customer pays for the product or service. It is determined by a number of factors including market share, competition, material costs, product identity and the customer’s perceived value of the product. Therefore in order to maintain in the market place we need to maintain an effective pricing strategy, by which we can achieve a break-even as early as possible and on the other hand we can compete and transfer value to our customers as well. As we have verified the prices of our services as shown below:
Table 4.11 Value based pricing strategy
Services Price Cost Estimated No. of Customers Per Month Revenue Per Month Annual Revenue Estimated Annual Cost
Hair Segment
Hair Cut (Normal) 400 0 60 24,000 288,000 960
Hair Cut (Stylist) 800 480 50 40,000 480,000 288000
Hair Setting 400 20 54 21,600 259,200 12960
Hair Treatment
Oil Massage 350 20 20 7,000 84,000 4800
Protein Treatment 600 60 13 7,800 93,600 9360
Spa Treatment 800 100 13 10,400 124,800 15600
Herbal Treatment 400 50 30 12,000 144,000 18000
Shampoo 200 10 25 5,000 60,000 3000
Hair Coloring
Per Streak 200 40 15 3,000 36,000 7200
Full Hair (Short) 3500 500 5 17,500 210,000 30000
Full Hair (Medium) 5000 1000 3 15,000 180,000 36000
Full Hair (Long) 6500 1500 2 13,000 156,000 36000
Hair Straightening
Temporary 450 0 20 9,000 108,000 10000
Permanent (Short) 5000 1500 1 5,000 60,000 18000
Permanent (Medium) 10000 2500 2 20,000 240,000 60000
Permanent (Long) 15000 3500 1 15,000 180,000 42000
Full Bridal Package 18000 2500 1 18,000 216,000 30000
Party Makeup 1500 100 15 22,500 270,000 18000
Bridal Makeover
Gaye Holud 4000 200 10 40,000 480,000 24000
Wedding 6000 250 5 30,000 360,000 15000
Reception 6000 250 5 30,000 360,000 15000
Skin Segment
Facials
Normal 350 50 20 7,000 84,000 12000
Herbal 450 80 30 13,500 162,000 28800
Pearl 600 100 12 7,200 86,400 14400
Gold 800 120 4 3,200 38,400 5760
Fruit 600 100 15 9,000 108,000 18000
Whitening 1000 120 12 12,000 144,000 17280
Oxygen 1200 150 5 6,000 72,000 9000
Ozone 1200 150 5 6,000 72,000 9000
Spa
Body Wrap 5000 1000 2 10,000 120,000 24000
Body Massage 3000 500 14 42,000 504,000 84000
Aroma Therapy 2000 400 13 26,000 312,000 62400
Body Scrub 1500 300 5 7,500 90,000 18000
Firming Body Detox 8000 2000 1 8,000 96,000 24000
Others
Eye Brow Pluck 50 0 300 15,000 180,000 600
Upper Lip Pluck 50 0 200 10,000 120,000 600
Pedicure 350 20 30 10,500 126,000 7200
Manicure 350 20 30 10,500 126,000 7200
Waxing
Hand 300 50 65 19,500 234,000 39000
Leg 500 50 45 22,500 270,000 27000
Nose Piercing 450 100 2 900 10,800 2400
Ear Piercing 600 150 5 3,000 36,000 9000
Source: Primary and computed data
As I have already said that we are following a value based pricing strategy, where the core process is to change value by creating a satisfied customer
Table 4.12: Total Variance Explained by the Factors of Service Quality
Component Initial Eigen values Extraction Sums of Squared Loadings Rotation Sums of Squared Loadings
Total % of
variance Cumulative
% Total % of
variance Cumulative % Total % of
variance Cumulative%
1 5.702 35.638 35.638 5.702 35.638 35.638 3.073 19.209 19.209
2 1.444 9.027 44.665 1.444 9.027 44.665 2.751 17.191 36.400
3 1.225 7.654 52.319 1.225 7.654 52.319 2.153 13.457 49.857
4 1.117 6.984 59.303 1.117 6.984 59.303 1.511 9.446 59.303
5 0.961 6.008 65.311
6 0.851 5.318 70.628
7 0.771 4.819 75.448
8 0.639 3.996 79.444
9 0.599 3.744 83.188
10 0.549 3.434 86.622
11 0.497 3.105 89.727
12 0.422 2.635 92.362
13 0.404 2.523 94.885
14 0.335 2.091 96.976
15 0.278 1.739 98.715
16 0.206 1.285 100.000
Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis
Chapter Five: Conclusion
5.1 Summary of the findings
The findings of the study indicated that, customer used to start their regular practice of beauty parlor at a comparatively young age and the majority of the clients had age between 15 and 34. The middle, upper middle and upper class people were the main clients of these parlor and they had different occupation like students, service holder, businessman and professionals. Among the offered services, hair cut, shaving, facial and hair treatment are the most demanding service. The other services are hair styling, body care, piercing, body & foot massage, bride groom package etc. For most of the consumers the reason behind choosing their current parlor was location, quality of service, variety of service and environment & physical facilities. The expenditure in beautification is positively related with the income pattern. Few customers used to go more than one parlor and some customers used to take services from specific service providers.
Consumers give highest importance to attributes like quality of services, service provider’s behavior, variety of services, service provider’s skill and environment and physical facilities. The other attributes were location, price, brand name, advertisement and promotion etc. The findings of the study indicated that the selection criteria or variables that are important for customers’ choice of parlor could be categorized into three broad groups; these are Service Value Factor, Marketing Communication Factor and Marketing Mix Factor. The variables covered issues like variety of service, quality of service, location, environment & physical facilities, price, skill of the service provider, behavior of the service provider, advertisement & promotion and brand name.
The study might open up the avenue for further researches in this field of interest. The survey for the study was conducted only in Asia city. Future studies can be conducted outside Asia city to investigate these issues. The results of the study could be different in different geographic locations. There is a scope to classify the variables for further details. Some of the variables have got multiple dimensions and relationship with other aspects. So, further researches can look into those specific areas. This type of study can also be done for other service organization or for specific customer group.
5.2 Managerial Implications:
The study explored the important factors associated with service quality in the high-end parlors of Asia city. It can be beneficial for the female-beautification industry of Bangladesh; in particular, the high-end female clienteles can be better satisfied through the improvement of service quality based on the study results. On the whole, the beauty parlors should emphasize promoting their service quality based on the criteria that were identified as less satisfactory according to the customers. Customers are the driving forces for increasing revenue and market share, so satisfying the customers through higher quality services is the way not only to achieve competitive advantages, but also to make those advantages sustainable. Moreover, the study provided an opportunity to identify the service quality variables the customers consider together for choosing the beauty care services. This improved the scope of enriching the service quality based on customer preferences and requirements. Undoubtedly, all these together can create a satisfactory and loyal group of clientele for the high-end beauty parlors in Bangladesh and other developing countries. As the beauty parlor sector remained almost unexplored in Bangladesh in terms of research, this study can be used as a base for both academicians and practitioners
5.3 Conclusion:
In Bangladesh, the beauty parlor is now booming. As a business, as well as an opportunity, this sector already started to avail in the economic growth. Along with the increase of disposable income, the expenditure of the customers in this sector significantly increases. Today beauty care service is not just a luxury, it is a necessity. Along with this growing significance, the issues of service quality and customer satisfaction have also become burning questions.
The findings of the study indicated that, when choosing a specific parlor, the customer gave importance to the service provider’s behavior and knowledge, the environment of the parlor, counseling facilities and information dissemination system, and affordability. This article also reveals that customers of the high-end parlors were highly satisfied with the environment, the executive’s behavior, the complaint-handling system and trustworthiness. The use of materials, service provider’s behavior, executive’s knowledge level, safety and hygiene issues were also satisfactory. Though the customers were to some extent accepting of such factors as service accuracy, understanding customers’ need, prompt service and accessibility, there was still room for improvement.
The findings of the study indicated that the common service-quality variables that were creating customer satisfaction could be categorized into four broad groups; these are Support & Facility Factor, Employee Performance Factor, Customer Relation Factor and Communication Factor. The variables covered issues such as environment, materials, accurate service, prompt service, complaint handling, service provider’s knowledge, executive’s knowledge, service provider’s behavior, executive’s behavior, credibility, safety, accessibility, advertisement, service information, understanding client’s need and working according to client’s need.
Most of the clients of the high-end parlor are regular, so the parlor must ensure the continuity and consistency of its services in order to gain customer satisfaction. Around 77% of the customers belong to the age group of 15-35, who are more eager to adopt new fashion and style. Thus the latest haircut, make up and advanced hair and skin treatments should be introduced. The service requirement varies by age group, so parlors could offer different service packages to attract different customer groups. The customers perceived that service quality of service providers varies in the high-end parlors and they also mentioned that, despite the quality of the services, SP’s behavior influenced the satisfaction level. Therefore, to ensure the same quality of service from the employees, parlors must arrange proper training for them, in terms of both skill and behavior.
Customers also believed that providing information can improve reliability. Therefore, the parlors should improve their communication process by sharing beauty service information and counseling. Service provider’s knowledge level and advertisement must be improved to match the customer’s expectation level. For the high-end parlors, image portrayal is highly significant and it contributes positively towards satisfaction. Therefore, tangible elements of the parlors, such as suitable space, better quality of material and proper maintenance of environment, should be improved. The parlors could also guarantee prompt services by introducing a prior appointment system and by assigning more employees to the rush hours.
The study might open up the avenue for further research in this field of interest. The survey for the study was conducted only in Asia. Future studies can be conducted outside Asia city to investigate these issues. The results of the study could be different in different geographic locations. There is scope for classifying the variables for further details. Some of the variables have multiple dimensions and relationships with other aspects. Further research can look into those specific areas. This type of study can also be done for other service organizations.
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APPENDIX
Questionnaire
Dear respondent,
You are requested by Sheikh Arif Ahmed, Department of Business Administration Discipline, Asia University to fill-up the questionnaire about “Service quality and Customer satisfaction of the Beauty parlor within Asia City Corporation”. All information will be kept confidential and used only for academic purpose. Perceived benefits of going to Parlor within Asia City Corporation, where 1= Strongly disagree, 2= Disagree, 3= Neutral, 4= Agree, 5= Strongly agree. Tick one of the numbers that follows each item using the following scale.
Dear Madam,
Name (Not Mandatory):
Age:
Address:
Mobile no. (Not Mandatory):
SI Benefits SD D N A SA
A)
1 Beauty parlor has modern looking equipment. 1 2 3 4 5
2 Beauty parlor’s physical facilities are visually appealing. 1 2 3 4 5
3 Beauty parlor’s reception desk employees are neat appearing. 1 2 3 4 5
4 Materials associated with the service (such as pamphlets or statements) are visually appealing at Beauty parlor. 1 2 3 4 5
B)
5 When Beauty parlor promises to do something by a certain time, it does so. 1 2 3 4 5
6 When you have a problem, Beauty parlor shows a sincere interest in solving it. 1 2 3 4 5
7 Beauty parlor performs the service right the first time. 1 2 3 4 5
8 Beauty parlor provides its service at the time it promises to do so. 1 2 3 4 5
9 Beauty parlor insists on flawless performance. 1 2 3 4 5
C)
10 Employees in Beauty parlor tell you exactly when services will be performed. 1 2 3 4 5
11 Employees in Beauty parlor give you prompt service. 1 2 3 4 5
12 Employees in Beauty parlor are always willing to help you. 1 2 3 4 5
13 Employees in Beauty parlor are never too busy to respond to your request. 1 2 3 4 5
D)
14 The behavior of employees in Beauty parlor instills confidence in you. 1 2 3 4 5
15 You feel safe in deal with Beauty parlor. 1 2 3 4 5
16 Employees in Beauty parlor consistently courteous with you. 1 2 3 4 5
17 Employees in Beauty parlor have the knowledge to answer your questions. 1 2 3 4 5
E)
18 Beauty parlor gives you individual attention. 1 2 3 4 5
19 Beauty parlor has operating hours convenient to all its customers. 1 2 3 4 5
20 Beauty parlor has employees who give solution to your personal problems. 1 2 3 4 5
21 Beauty parlor has your best interest at heart. 1 2 3 4 5
22 The employees of Beauty parlor understand your specific needs. 1 2 3 4 5
What is your overall satisfaction level about the service quality and customer satisfaction of Beauty parlor within Asia City Corporation?
a) Very satisfied b) Satisfied c) Neutral d) Dissatisfied
e) Very dissatisfied