Customer Satisfaction Evaluation

Customer satisfaction has always been a popular topic of discussion in the market and also in the academic research since Cardozo’s (1965) initial study of customer effort, satisfaction and expectations. Many researcher have attempt to measure and explain about the customer satisfaction but still there does not appear to be a consensus regarding the definition of customer satisfaction (Giese & Cote, 2000). Customer satisfaction is defined as a post consumption evaluative judgment concerning a specific product or service (Gundersen, Heide & Olsson, 1996). Customer satisfaction is the result of an evaluative process that contrasts pre purchase expectations with perceptions of performance during & at the experience of the customer (Oliver, 1980).

Asking customer what they prefer is the simple way to determine customer satisfaction. According to Gilbert and Horsnell (1998) and Su 2004, Guest Comment Cards (GCCs) are most commonly used for the satisfaction of customer or guest in the hotel. However, studies show that numerous hotel chains use guest satisfaction evaluation methods based on inadequate practices to make important and complex managerial decisions (Barsky, 1992; Barksy and Huxley,1992; Jones and Ioannou, 1993; Gilbert and Horsnell, 1998; Su,2004). In order to improve the validity of guest satisfaction measurement practice, Barsky and Huxley (1992) proposed a new sampling procedure that is a “quality sample”. It reduces no response bias by offering incentives from completing the questionnaires. Furthermore, Gilbert and Horsnell (1998) developed a list of criteria for GCC content analysis, which is adopted in this study as

Bitner, Booms and Tetreault (1990) claimed that the process or way of handling guest complaint is very important factor of complainants outcome perceptions of recovery. In hospitality industry, staffs should pay extra effort on selecting the suitable frontline employee and train them with proper complaint handling skills (Gilly, 1987; Osen, Teare and Gummesson , 1996). Empowerment is another central issue in the management of the complaint which is mostly neglected specifically, several studies suggested actions like listening, apologizing providing a speed solution, keeping promises, explaining the failure and providing a tangible token of atonement (Kelly, Hoffman and Davis, 1993; Bitner, Booms and Mohr, 1994; Hoffman, Kelly and