Tom Kurtis, Manager of Customer Service for National Insurance Company, and his assistant, Jill Baxter were getting ready to analyze data collected through a mail survey of a sample of National’s customers.
The primary purpose of the survey was to ascertain how customers perceived National’s quality of service and to identify areas for improvement.
THE COMPANY
National Insurance Company is one of the leading insurance firms in the United States. It serves over 10 million customers who have insurance coverage from National for a variety of needs (e.g., home, health, auto, life). The company’s customer base, after growing steadily for a number of years, had started to erode during the past two years. Jack Driver, president of National, was concerned about this downturn.
Suspecting that there might be some shortfalls in the service National was providing its customers, Jack had asked Tom to conduct a study to determine the “image” that customers had about National’s service.
THE SURVEY
In designing the content of the survey, Tom Kurtis drew upon insights he gained by reading a number of recent articles emphasizing the importance of service quality and suggesting approaches for measuring customers’ perception of a company’s service. In particular, one journal article that was based on extensive customer research suggested that there were five broad dimensions along which customers evaluated service quality.
1. Tangibles: The appearance of physical facilities, equipment, personnel, and communications materials. 2. Reliability: ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately.
3. Responsiveness: willingness to help customers and provide prompt service.
4. Assurance: Knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to inspire trust and confidence. 5. Empathy: Caring, individualized attention the firm provides its customers.
The article also contained a number of illustrative questions pertaining to each of these dimensions