Die kwaliteit van diensherstel van 'n lojaliteitsprogram binne die landbou-bedryf in Suid-Afrika

Abstract

AFRIKAANS: Bestuurders en personeel van dienslewering instansies staar huidiglik meer intensiewe klantediens eise in die gesig as ooit tevore. Vandag se klante is beter ingelig, stel meer vereistes en is meer self geldend wanneer diensprobleme ontstaan. Dit is gedeeltelik die gevolg van 'n styging in die vraag na toegevoegde waarde by produkte en dienste wat deur klante aangekoop word. Die klant se vraag na waarde lei tot 'n sterker fokus op 'n kombinasie van kwaliteit, billike pryse en goeie diens. Wanneer diensfalings ontstaan kan die diensverskaffer se reaksie die band versterk tussen die onderneming en die klant of dit kan 'n onbetekenisvolle irritasie verander in 'n groot insident. Gegewe dat 'n onderneming dieselfde effek het op winste as om kostes te sny met tien persent (Power 1992) is dit noodsaaklik dat bestuurders diensfalings en diensherstel kwessies versigtig oorweeg en bewus is van die vereistes van hoë kwaliteit diensherstel; en die uitwerking daarvan op die onderneming se winsgewendheid en oor 'n diensherstelplan moet beskik om die falings aan te spreek wanneer hul voorkom en nie bloot krisis bestuur toepas nie. Ten spyte van die belangrikheid van die opvolg en analise van diensfalings en diensherstel is daar slegs 'n beperkte empiriese navorsing gedoen wat falings en diensherstel ondersoek. Die hoofdoel van die navorsing was om die kwaliteit van diensherstel te bepaal van 'n lojaliteitstelsel in die landbou-bedryf vir produsente in Suid-Afrika. Die lojaliteitstelsel is tans die enigste van die kwaliteit van diensherstel, punte opgebou en herhalingsaankope intensies asook taal en geslag is ook ondersoek. Asook, die faktore wat verantwoordelik was dat produsente die diensherstel ervaar het as goed of swak. Tydens die studie is daar gebruik gemaak van die kritiese insidente tegniek wat ontwikkel is deur Flanagan. As 'n sistematiese, sekwensiële metode kan spesifieke insidente van effektiewe en oneffektiewe gedrag geanaliseer word met betrekking tot 'n vooraf bepaalde aktiwiteit. Die volgende faktore blyk die belangrikste faktore te wees wat verantwoordelik was vir hoë kwaliteit diensherstel: Werknemervriendelikheid, Bereidwilligheid, Een-tot-een persoonlike aandag en Kennis van produkte of klagtes. Die faktore wat statisties beduidende was en gelei het tot swak kwaliteit diensherstel is eerstens onvoldoende outoriteit van die dienssentrum personeel gevolg deur beleid wat optrede verhoed, geen kennis van 'n spesifieke reëling, stadige diens en die feit dat die klant in die verleentheid gestel is. Geslag het geen invloed gehad op die tevredenheid met die diensherstel nie, maar taal wel in 'n statistiese beduidende invloed het op respondente se tevredenheid met die oplossing van 'n probleem. Daar is geen verwantskap tussen die feit dat respondente reeds punte opgebou by die lojaliteitsprogram en hul ervaring van die bevredigende oplossing van probleme en klagtes nie. Daar is wel 'n verband tussen die opbou van punte en die gebruik van ander dienste wat die onderneming bied. Die meerderheid respondente 81,67 persent is tevrede met die diensherstel teenoor slegs 18,33 persent van die respondente wat ontevrede was met die regstelling. Die navorsing stel die onderneming in staat om sy sterk punte meer te beklemtoon en daarop te fokus asook om negatiewe punte in heroorweging te bring en aan te pas dienooreenkomstig die eise van die klant. Die aanstel van die regte dienspersoneel is dus van kardinale belang asook opleiding in kommunikasie vaardighede en etiket en bemagtiging is essensieel vir hoë kwaliteit diensherstel. Daar is 'n aanduiding dat die onderneming sy beleid rondom taal en ander diensleweringskwessies soos bemagtiging, outoriteit en verantwoordelikheid sal moet hersien.

ENGLISH: Service managers and personnel are facing more intensive customer service pressures than ever before. Today's customers are more demanding, better informed and more assentive when service problems arise. This may be due in part to increased customer demand for value in the products and services purchased. Customer demands for value result in a stronger focus on a combination of quality, fair price and good service in the purchases they make. When service failures occur, the service providers reaction can either reinforce a strong customer bond or change a minor distraction into a major incident. Given that improving a company's customer retention rate by t20 percent has the same effect on profits as cutting costs by 10 percent (Power 1992), it is imperative that managers consider failure and recovery issues and know what effect it has on the company's profitability. It is essential that a company has an established service recovery plan to overcome failures when the occur and don't apply crisis management. Despite the importance of tracking and analising service failures and recovery strategies, only limited empirical research examining failures and recoveries has been conducted. The purpose of this research study was to determine the quality of service recovery of a loyalty system in the agricultural industry of South Africa as perceived by produces. This loyalty system is the only of its kind. The correlation between the quality of service recovery, points accumulated in the loyalty system, repeat purchase intentions as well as sex and language were examined. The factors that led to high and low service quality as perceived by the respondent were identified. During the study the critical incident technique developed by Flanagan was used. It is a systematic, sequential method whereby specific incidents of effective and ineffective behaviour can be analised with regarding to a predetermined activity. The following factors appear to the most significant and important for high quality, good service recovery; friendliness of contact personnel, willingness to help, One-to-one personal attention and knowledge of the product of service. The statistical significant factors which led to low service recovery quality was first of all insufficient authority of service personnel followed by policy hindering needed action, no knowledge of a specific arrangement made, slow service and the fact that the client was humiliated in the process. The sex of the respondents didn't have any significance regarding the perceived quality of service recovery, but language did have a statistical significance on respondents satisfaction with the recovery effort. There is no correlation between the fact that respondents had already build up points in the loyalty system and their experience of the satisfactory resolving of problems and complaints. But there is a correlation between the build-up of points in the loyalty system and the use of their services the company provides. The majority of respondents 81,67 percent is satisfied with the service recovery against only 18,33 percent of the respondents that were dissatisfied with the recovery efforts. This research findings enables the company to focus and expend its positive strengths of service recovery and work on the weaknesses as identified by the clients. The appointment of the right personnel as well as sufficient training in communication skills and etiquette is of extreme importance for good service recovery. There is an indication that although the majority of respondents rank their service recovery effort very high, five out of seven, that the company must readdress certain policies regarding authority, responsibility and empowerment.