University of Mauritius

Faculty of Law & Management

Research Study on Customer Satisfaction

At
KD Supermarket
In Riviere Du Rempart

Course: BSc Hons Management with IS

Module: Research Methodology
 Abstract

This paper relates to customer satisfaction at KD

Supermarket in Riviere Du Rempart. It will assess the level
of service that is delivered to all customers. Furthermore,
it will help in improving customer satisfaction
particularly in areas where they need improvement like
better quality of service.

Without an understanding of the marketplace and customer

needs and wants, it is impossible to capture value from
customers in order to create profits and customer quality.
Today customers are more demanding than before and
businesses that don’t deliver customer satisfaction will be
crowded out of the marketplace. That why KD Supermarket
will carry a research.

A survey method will be used where information will be

collected from a target population. The use of
questionnaire will be taken into consideration which will
be administered through personal interviews. Besides, in
order to get to the root of the situation, a focus group
will also be carried out with the employees and the
targeted ones.

Last but not least, SPSS 13.0,i.e, Statistical Software

will be used for inputting data. With that, recommendations
will be made and the report will certainly help to assist
in improving performance at work, that is how to improve
customer satisfaction. As far as it concerns the validation
of the hypotheses, future research can be done later.
 Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Problem Definition
3. Background
4. Literature Review
5. Justification for this research
5.1. Why this topic?
5.2. Aim of the study
5.3. Research Objectives
5.4. Research Hypotheses
6. Methodology
6.1. Introduction
6.2. Research Design
6.2.1. Primary Data
6.2.2. Secondary Data
6.2.3. Qualitative / Quantitative
6.2.4. Sampling
6.2.4.1. Sampling Size
6.2.4.2. Sampling Method
6.2.5 Data Collection
6.2.5.1 Questionnaires
6.2.5.2 Pilot Testing
6.2.5.2.1 Survey
6.2.5.3 Personal Interviews
6.2.5.3.1 Focus Groups
6.2.6 Data Analysis
6.2.7 Limitations
7 Conclusion
Time Plan of the research study
Mth1 Mth2 Mth3 Mth4 Mth5 Mth6 Mth7 Mth8
Introduction
Problem Def
Background
Lit Review
Justification
Methodology
Significance
Conclusion
1. INTRODUCTION
Recently KD Supermarket has had renovation because there were not much space
for people to move freely. As it plays an important role in serving the nearby villages,
it is important to construct a marketing program that delivers superior value and that
ultimately helps in building profitable relationships and creating customer delight.
KD Supermarket is in existence for quite a long time and nowadays other businesses
are expanding rapidly such as WINNERS. In other words, KD Supermarket operated
in a very dynamic environment and it becomes important to deliver good quality
service to all customers. Consumers have become very demanding and they want
value for money. They opt to so their daily, weekly and monthly shopping at that
Supermarket itself as it is very near and they can also save on travel expenses in some
way. They have a broad array of products that do satisfy them. But due to some
criticisms, it is being heard that some customers are dissatisfied with the quality of
services being offered.

2. PROBLEM DEFINITION
The problem that will be analysed will be based upon the level of customer
satisfaction that KD Supermarket delivers to its customers. As stated above, there
have been criticisms and complaints from, say, various customers that they do not
like the services being offered and they have had bad experiences.

3. BACKGROUND
Customer value and customer satisfaction are key building blocks for developing and
managing customer relationships. If KD Supermarket wants to improve a customer
service policy, it must make changes through training programs and others in order to
win and retain its customers.
Customer service can affect the value of a business in several ways. From the
perspective of customer retention and profitability, the value of customer service
should be ignored. The old stage- that it costs far less to keep a customer than to find
a new one is very true. So, in order to stay competitive, KD Supermarket must
understand the value of customers in order to succeed.

4. LITERATURE REVIEW
When referring to this part, one important focus is on customer service where the
primary role of customer service is concerned with getting the right product to the
right place at the right time. However, a new vision of customer service has
started to emerge. This view of customer service places it in a much broader
context as a multi-dimension issue with an impact on relationships with specific
target groups across a broad range of a company’s activities.
The Literature review part will also talk on the role of customer service, quality
creating true customers, delighting customer, understanding service quality
dimensions, complaints handling and finally dealing with unsatisfied customers.

5. JUSTIFICATION FOR THIS RESEARCH

5.1 Why this topic?
Customers are truly King! This everyone knows. They are becoming more
demanding and they want satisfaction and value for money for what they are
paying. There are so many supermarkets in Mauritius and the topic Customer
Satisfaction seems to be an interesting one. That’s why I choose the nearest
supermarket to my place and decided to do the research survey.

5.2 Aim of the study

The main aim is to find out which areas need to be reviewed and improved.
The research will help in improving and enhancing the way KD Supermarket
can deliver service to its customers.

5.3 Research Objectives

This study tries to assess the level of service that is offered to customers by
KD Supermarket.

The research will demonstrate the factors that affect the level of customer
service there. It will also identify and analyse the specific needs of customers,
their perception on the level of service that they get and the extent to which
the staff are committed and well trained and adapted to deliver such as service
to the customers.

5.4 Research hypothesis

A research hypothesis has been formulated to describe whether there is a
relationship between the quality of customer service offered and the employee
commitment to deliver such a service. A second one has been formulated to
know whether there is a relationship between customer satisfaction and the
service offered the supermarket because it may happen that consumers are not
satisfied even though a quality service is offered to them, implying that there
are other factors to be considered.

The hypothesis is as follows:

H1: there is a relationship between the commitment of the employees and the
quality of customer service provided by the supermarket.

H2: there is a relationship between customer satisfaction and the quality of

customer service delivered by the supermarket.
6. METHODOLOGY

6.1 Introduction
According to the Market Research Society, research is defined as:
“The collection and analysis of data from a sample of individuals or
organizations relating to their characteristics, behaviours, attitudes, opinions or
possessions. It includes all forms of marketing and social research such as
consumer and industrial surveys, psychological investigations, observational and
panel studies” (MRS,1994)
Many customers opt to go that supermaket as its easier for them. Yet they
expect good quality service in return. KD supermarket provides them with variety
of products and as many go to work, reach home late, some have transport
problems, they have no choice than to go there and buy. Finding out what
customers expect from KD supermarket is crucial to offer quality service and
market research is the main medium for understanding customer expectations. It
also helps in understanding its customers much better.

This chapter explains how the study will be conducted to fulfill its
objectives. It shows the methodology to be used and the statistical techniques to
be used to analyse the data. The limitations will also be taken into consideration.

6.2 Research Design

The research design includes a clear and technical description of the
research type such as primary data, secondary data, qualitative and quantitative. It
also includes details on the choice of the method of acquiring the data such as
personal interview, focus group and survey and so on.

6.2.1 Primary data

This refers to research that has not previously been carried out and
involves the collection of data for the collection of data for specific purpose. It
includes letters, memos, speeches, laws, regulations, court decisions or some
standards, census and so on. These data are important and the information given has
not been filtered or interpreted by others. Here, information available will be the
inventory results, personal records and others.

6.2.2 Secondary data

Nearly all reference materials fall into this category. Internally, sales
analysis summaries and an annual report would be examples of secondary sources as
they are compiled from a variety of primary sources.
Hence, both types of data will be used for the study. Secondary sources
will be obtained internally within the organization whereas primary sources will be
collected through personal interviews among others.

6.2.3 Quantitative / Qualitative

Qualitative research will include studies done on smaller groups of
people at the preliminary stages. The focus group will be of help in order to know the
exact factors affecting customer service at KD Supermarket.

Quantitative research will include studies done that result in a large

amount of data-like surveys to obtain responses to predetermined and standardized
questions. It is also valid and can be used to make predictions. Thus, questionnaires
will be designed and administered to the target population in order to get information
needed.

6.2.4 Sampling
A sample of the population will be enough as targeting the whole
population is time-consuming and costly.
For this research study, sampling will be used for the administering of the
questionnaires since it has many advantages and it is convenient too. The sampling
plans may be grouped into probability techniques and non-probability techniques. In
probability sampling, every element in the population has a known non-zero
probability of selection. In non-probability sampling, the probability of any particular
member of the population being chosen is unknown. The selection of sampling units
in non-probability sampling is quite arbitrary, as researchers rely heavily on personal
judgment. Some of the examples of probability sampling method are simple random,
systemic sample, cluster and stratified sampling. Examples of non-probability
sampling are convenience, judgment sampling, snowball and quota sampling.

6.2.4.1 Sampling Size

A good sample size is one which is representative of the whole population.
Since the study covers a relatively large population, a sample size of 100 participants
is chosen for the study out of convenience. The sample has been allocated to the
strata in proportion with their sizes.

6.2.4.2 Sampling Method

Since the target population of the study, the sampling method that will be
used is the cluster sampling method. The supermarket serves mainly nearly villages
like L’Amitie, Des Jardins, Belle Vue, Plaines des Roches, Roches Noires and
Rempart itself. So it can be found that it is divided into 6 areas. Hence, a sample is to
be taken from each of the 6 strata. A sample of 100 respondents is sought for the
study.

6.2.5 Data Collection

This part includes the fieldwork and the collection of the required
information or data. It is at this stage that the questionnaires are administered and
focus group sessions conducted.

6.2.5.1 Questionnaire
A questionnaire will be designed to generate the data necessary for
accomplishing the research objectives. The questions are standardized in terms of
wordings and sequence in order that each component is asked to provide information
exactly in the same manner. This is important in order to ensure the validity of any
comparisons to be made between different respondents, as well as to provide data in a
form that can be easily analyzed. It is also sequenced in order to allow respondents to
maintain their train of thoughts on one topic before moving to another, and to go in
line with the event sequence. The questionnaire is divided into two sessions: Section
A on the general option of the target population and section B on the demographics of
the respondents.

6.2.5.2 Pilot Testing

This is an essential step before the final questionnaire is ready to be
administered for the survey. The questionnaire will be pre-tested with a sample of 5
respondents taken from the target population, in order to look for design errors and
flaws and correct them before undertaking the survey. Some suggestions about the
appropriate headings, rephrasing some questions using simpler words, sequencing of
the questions and about some clarifications on certain questions was performed and
an amended questionnaire was re-designed to cater for these changes.

6.2.5.2.1 Surveys
They are a type of quantitative primary research that aim to collect specific data from
a sample audience. Surveys can be administered via email, snail mail or phone, and
usually target customers or potential customers.
The four steps to follow are: identifying your audience, writing the survey,
conducting the survey, and analyzing the data collected. When writing the survey,
the questions should be kept simple. Here, we will make use of personal interview.

6.2.5.3 Personal Interviews

This is a two-way conservation initiated by an interviewer to obtain
information from a participant. The differences in the roles of interviewer and
participant are pronounced. Both do not know each other well. The consequences
here are usually insignificant for the participant.
 6.2.5.3.1 Focus Groups
They are typically composed of about 10 pre-screened people that meet
specified criteria. They are assembled in one room to discuss and react to a specific
topic relevant to the research topic. I myself I will act as the moderator for this study.
A focus group here will include 3 staff workers and 7 other people, i.e. customers.

6.2.6 Data Analysis

When all data have been collected, they will be inputted into the SPSS
13.0 software for the purpose of analysis whereby the results obtained from the
survey have been edited, coded, tabulated and cross tabulated. The data have been
interpreted and presented in tables, pie charts and bar charts to make the analysis
much easy to understand and for proper and smarter presentations. Mean, Mode,
Median cluster analysis etc can be calculated.

6.2.7 Limitations of the study

 It is time-consuming and demanding

 It is costly also
 Some respondents might be cautious and hesitant to answer properly.
 Some might not be willing to cooperate.
 It is not always the all questionnaires will be valid.
7. Conclusion
This research is of significant importance to KD Supermarket. Given the
literature review that will be taken into account, it will be possible to match the
findings with the literature review. The study will help to know how customers
perceive the level of service that they obtain with the supermarket. After analysis of
data, recommendations will be made in order to improve their service they offer to
their customers. The limitations have also been taken into consideration. Finally, at
the very start, a time plan has been drafted to prepare the study accordingly and to
respect the deadline set.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Principles of Marketing, Philip Kotler and Gary Armstrong, 11th edition,

Prentice-Hall India.

LINKS:
http://www.coba.panam.edu/faculty/thompson/Mark4378/

http://tutor2u.net/marketing/default.html