EFFECT OF CUSTOMER SERVICE MANAGEMENT IN BUSINESS PERFORMANCE

1.1 Introduction

Customers are the driving force of enterprises ardently desiring success. Likewise the survival of an enterprise also depends on its customers (Lewis, 2000; Kotler et al., 2001; Kotler, 2000). The importance of Customer Service Management (CSM) has now become very important in the Nigerian banking industry. The banking industry is now confronted with a fundamental business challenges-survival and success in a turbulent environment (Ezeoha, 2007). Measuring business performance based on accounting data is problematic because the accounting data does not (more or less) fully reflect the actual (market) performance of the company (Anderson et al., 2004).

As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research hypothesis and questions, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.

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1.2 Background of Study

In Nigeria of today, quality customer service relations has become very paramount, but as important as this seems, we still see organizations around performing in this area below the expectation despite the keen competition prevailing around. As Nigerian Banks face further deregulation, increasing competition, and continuously evolving customer demand and expectations, they have to adopt proactive approaches in other to guarantee improved performance. Hence, building and maintaining a strong business reputation has become increasingly challenging (Khong, 2005). Human response at all levels of the organization can affect the customer experience for good or ill, even one unhappy customer can deliver a body blow to a business (Pennington, 2007).

Customers are the driving force of companies striving for success; hence, survival of these companies evidently depends on their customers (Lewis, 2000; Kotler, 2000). As competition intensifies, customers find themselves relishing the options and alternatives various companies can offer them. If they are not satisfied with the current products or services, they can easily switch to others. Since its now a buyers’ market, the need for good CSM is imperative. An improved CSM can expedite and enhance customer re-buy, hence leading to improved customer satisfaction, customer retention and relationship management (Khong, 2005; Khong and Mahendiran, 2006). Ultimately the quality of customer service becomes a driving force in ascertaining business survival in the banking industry (Khong and Mahendiran, 2006).

In addition, degradation of customer service level is highly probable (Khong and Mahendiran, 2006). According to Gunu (2009), business performance will be affected when customer service level is compromised during bank mergers and acquisitions, due to the consolidation effort. Therefore merged banks are not assured immediate success albeit the merger plan is preparing them to meet the challenges of globalisation and liberalization (Khong and Mahendiran, 2006). Although the rationalisation of resources allocation and business processes such as customer service and productivity is inevitable, these problems can be resolved with proper integration and management, through effective customer service management (CSM); hence, with effective CSM, business performance of Nigerian banks can be improved (Ezeoha, 2007).

Consequently the aim of this paper is to examine the effects of CSM on business performance in Nigerian banks. This study aims to fulfill this inquiry by examining the CSF of CSM implementation success, as well as, specific relationship between these CSF and business performance. Since an extensive longitudinal study of the rise and fall of CSM with respect to the relationship-factor of the important variables has hardly been done, in the Nigerian context, this study also intends to bridge this gap. In other word, this study will provide a holistic view of the CSM implementation process, by reviewing the hard and soft factors that cause success, as well as, examine the relationship between successful CSM and Perceived Business Performance Measures (PBPM) in the Nigerian banking industry.

effect of customer service management in business performance (a case study of freedom hotel)

Therefore, in Lagos State where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to know the effect of customer service management in business performance.

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1.3 Statement of Problems

Investigation revealed that 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 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.

The key to competitive advantage is proactively gauging customer perceptions and aggressively acting on the findings. The techniques for doing this do not have to be difficult; they just have to be timely and effective. Knowing that customer service is a pillar of the bank, the researcher therefore decided to find out whether the kind of customer service being provided in first bank plc has any effect on customer satisfaction and whether there are barriers that prevent quality customer delivery.

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1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study

The aim of the study is to examine the effect of customer service management in business performance using Freedom Hotel as a case study. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:

1. To examine the extent to which customer service mechanisms and strategies have enhanced the business performance of Freedom Hotel.
2. To examine the influence of customer service provision on customers’ acceptability of services provided by Freedom Hotel.
3. To examine customer service management and its effect on business performance in Freedom Hotel.
4. To examine the relationship between customer service and organizational performance.
5. To examine the available mechanisms and strategies to improve customer service at Freedom Hotel.

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1.5 Research Questions

The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:

• Does customer service management have negative effect on business performance in Freedom Hotel?
• What is the influence of customer service provision on customers’ acceptability of services provided by Freedom Hotel?
• What is the relationship between customer service and organizational performance?
• What are the available mechanisms and strategies to improve customer service at Freedom Hotel?
• To what extent customer service mechanisms and strategies have enhanced the business performance of Freedom Hotel?

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1.6 Research Hypothesis

In order to pursue the objective of this study, the following generalized statements have been designed to guide and aids in obtaining the result for the experiment to be conducted. For this work, the null hypothesis will be represented with H0 while the alternative hypothesis will be represented with hypothesis H1.

Hypothesis One

• H0: Customer service management has no significant effect on Freedom Hotel business performance in Lagos State.
• H1: Customer service management has significant effect on Freedom Hotel business performance in Lagos State.

Hypothesis Two

• H0: There is no significant relationship between customer service and business performance.
• H1: There is a significant relationship between customer service and business performance.

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1.7 Significance of Study

The study is deemed important and relevant to the field of organizational and human resource management as it is to increase employee‘s passion and deliverables in performing their work for the firm‘s performance. Again, eliminating unnecessary barriers to perform and deliver services may hinder employees from becoming an organization with the performance-based culture. Thus, the study assists employees and employers to put forward mechanisms and strategies relevant for enhancing customer care services. Furthermore, this study is also an important part for the researcher‘s master degree accomplishment and knowledge generation.

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1.8 Scope of Study

The scope of the research is focused on effect of customer service management in business performance using Freedom Hotel as a case study.

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1.9 Limitations of the Study

During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:

1. Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
2. Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
3. Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
4. Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).

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1.10 Definition of Terms

Customer Service: Is the process of ensuring customer satisfaction with a product or service. Often, customer service takes place while performing a transaction for the customer, such as making a sale or returning an item. Customer service can take the form of an in-person interaction, a phone call, self-service systems, or by other means.

Organizational performance: It comprises the actual output or results of an organization as measured against its intended outputs (or goals and objectives). Specialists in many fields are concerned with organizational performance including strategic planners, operations, finance, legal, and organizational development.

Banking institution: (also referred to as a universal or commercial bank) can range from a large financial institution with a highly visible brand name and an international presence to a small organization with a local presence.