The importance of customer service : a study on the Singapore garment retail industry.

• Main Authors: Goh, Soo Hui., Khoo, Ju Liet., Tan, Patrick Hak Pheng.
• Other Authors: Mak Wai Yeong
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2013
• Subjects: DRNTU::Business::Accounting
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/51926
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The garment retail industry is getting aggressively competitive since the beginning of the 1990s and would be expected to be more so in the near future. Therefore it is of utmost interest to study what the future holds for these retail establishments. This study attempts to discover both local garment retailers’ and shoppers’ profiles and ascertain the existence of an expectation gap on the quality of service between the two subject groups. To achieve the stated objectives, interviews via questionnaires were administered to the parties involved in the retail scene. Findings indicate that customers and retailers regard cleanliness and merchandise display respectively as individual service variables most important to them across the three categories of services. Other influential factors include efficient cashiers, availability of credit card facilities and courtesy. Retailers are found to possess higher expectations than shoppers when it comes to service quality. Four recommendations for future improvements valuable to retailers cover the following areas: (1) maintaining an efficient system to locate out-of-stock apparel items, (2) understanding that most customers regard design as the most important attribute, (3) establishing more efficient complain channels and (4) providing adequate training for front-line staff.