An Investigation of Customers' Perception and Expectation of Quality Service: the Case of Selected Banks in Kenya

Abstract

The primary objective of this study was to investigate customers' perception and expectation of service quality in the banking sector. The specific objectives included an identification of the critical factors of service quality from the customers perspective in addition to measuring customer perception based on the identified factors. The study also carried out a "gap" analysis using SERVQUAL procedures of customers' perceptions and expectations (P-E) of quality in banking.

To facilitate this study, a survey was carried out across five top bank customers in

Kenya. The size of the banks was based on a classification in the Economic Review

2000 by the central Bank of Kenya. The response gave information aimed at evaluating quality service based on a twenty two-item instrument developed by Parasuraman et al.

The results showed that:

1. Customers' expectations of service quality were very different from their perceptions. 2. There are certain critical factors that banks should focus on in order to provide quality services. 3. The factor analysis results confirmed that the SERVQUAL items are important in definition of bank service quality.

These results should however be interpreted in consideration of the limitations of the study, specifically with regard to the number of customers being small, the researcher managed 56% response rate as opposed to the 100% expectations.