ST.

MARY’S UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES

ASSESSMENT OF CUSTOMERS’ SATISFACTION AND

SERVICE QUALITY OF AWASH INTERNATIONAL
BANK (S.C.)

BY
ELSABETH GIRMA MENGISTU

JUNE 2015
ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA
 ASSESSMENT OF CUSTOMERS’ SATISFACTION AND
SERVICE QUALITY OF AWASH INTERNATIONAL
BANK (S.C)

BY
ELSABETH GIRMA MENGISTU
SGS/0251/2005B

A THESIS SUBMITTED TO St. MARY’S UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF

GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILLEMENT OF THE
REQUIREMENTNTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF BUSINESS
ADMINISTRATION

JUNE 2015
ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA
 St. MARY’S UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF GRADUATE
STUDIESFACULTY OF BUSINESS

ASSSSMENT OF CUSTOMERS’ SATISFACTION AND SERVICE

QUALITY OF AWASH INTERNATIONAL BANK (S.C)

BY
ELSABETH GIRMA MENGISTU

APPROVED BY BOARD OF EXAMINERS

_________________________ ___________________ ___________________

Dean, Graduate Studies Signature Date

_______________________ ___________________ ___________________

Research Advisor Signature Date

________________________ ____________________ ___________________

External Examiner Signature Date

________________________ ____________________ ___________________

Internal Examiner Signature Date
 DECLARATION

I, the under signed, declare that this thesis is my original work, prepared under the
guidance of Asst.Professor, Tiruneh Legesse. All sources of materials used for the
thesis have been duly acknowledged. I further confirm that the thesis has not been
submitted either in part or in full to any other higher learning institution for the
purpose of earning any degree.

____________________________________ _____________________________
Name Signature & Date
 ENDORSEMENT

This is to certify that this project work, “Assessment of Customers’ Satisfaction

and Service Quality of Awash International Bank S.C.”, undertaken by Elsabeth
Girma for the partial fulfillment of Masters of Business Administration [MBA] at St.
Mary University, is an original work and not submitted earlier for any degree either
at this University or any other University.

__________________________ __________________________
Research Advisor Signature & Date
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Initially I would like to deeply thank the almighty God for his blessing and permission to
accomplish this research. Then it is with immense gratitude that I acknowledge the support and
help of my advisor Tiruneh Legesse (Assistant Professor) for his countless support, invaluable
advice and patience.

I am also greatly indebted to Awash International Bank former colleagues for their cooperation in
collecting the data on time.

Finally, my appreciation and special thanks goes to all to my beloved family and friends for all the
encouragements and supports.

Thank you all!

 Acronyms/Abbreviations

AIB = Awash International Bank S.C.

NBE = National Bank of Ethiopia

SERVQUAL = Service Quality

SPSS= Statistical Package for Social Science.

 List of Figures / Tables

Figure 2.1. Theory of Determinants of Perceived Quality………………………………………..16

Figure 2.2. Measuring Service Quality Using SERVQUAL Model………………………………20

Table 3.1. AIB Branch Categories……………………………………………………………….23

Table 4.1. Customers Type………………………………………………….……………………26

Table 4.1.1. Age Distribution of Respondents ……………………………………………………27

Table 4.1.2. Educational level of Respondents……………………………………………………27

Table 4.1.3 Respondents year of relation with the bank………………………………………….28

Table 4.1.4. Customers Relationship with other banks……………..………………………….... 28

Table 4.2. Service Quality Using Tangibility Dimension ………………………………………. .29

Table 4.2.2. Reliability …………………………………………………………….……………. .30

Table 4.2.3. Responsivness of AIB to Customers………………………………………………. .31

Table 4.2.4. Assurance …………………………………………………………………………. ..32

Table 4.2.5. Empathy ……………………………………………………………………………..33

Table 4.2.6. Ranking the five quality dimensions ………………………………………………..34

Table 4.3.1. Rating modern Banking system, mobile banking……………………………………35

Table 4.3.2. AIB modern banking compared to other banks………………………………………35

Table 4.3.3. Measuring waiting time of AIB ………………………………………………….…. 36

Table 4.4.1. Deviation between customers expectation and performance………………………...37

Table 4.4.2. Customer relationship with other banks……………………………………………..37

Table 4.4.3. Complaint given to the bank………………………………………………………...38

Table 4.4.4. Rating AIB’s complaint handling process & time of response……………………..39

Table 4.4.5. Willingness to continue being customer of AIB……………………………………40

 Abstract

Today competition is getting intense than before. So that companies need to start paying special
attention to their service quality, competitors, development of new technological aspects ever
after. Companies should constantly anticipate the customers unlimited needs and expectations
and try to address the gap. The aim of this study is to assess customers’ satisfaction and the
service quality of Awash International Bank S.C. and to give an insight for the management for
areas of improvement. A total of 363 respondents who have used AIB’s service were participated
in the study from 26 branches. The data has been analyzed using descriptive statistics. From the
analysis made, it is found that 85 percent of the respondents are satisfied with the service quality
of the bank but still looking for improvement in the cashless banking system of AIB. The five
SERVQUAL dimensions (empathy, reliability and assurance) showed good rating but tangibility
and responsiveness was found to be the areas that need special attention of the bank management.
The overall service quality perceived by the customers is good and need improvement. For the
attainment of its vision, “to be the strongest and most preferred bank of the People “and to
maintain its competitiveness in the market the bank should work on the entire aspect of quality
dimensions and especially on those with the higher gaps i.e. tangibles in introducing
technologically advanced banking system.

Key words: Service Quality, Customer Satisfaction, SERVQUAL dimensions, AIB

 Table of Contents
Page

Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………………………….…..iii
List of Abbreviations/Acronyms……………………………………………………………........... iv
List of Tables……………………………………………………………….………………….……v
Abstract…………………………………………………………….……………………………... .vi
Chaptet One: Introduction…………………………………………………… …………………1
1.1. Background of the Study …………………………………….………….…………………1

1.1.1. Banking History in Ethiopia and Profile of the Study Bank……………..………..... 2

1.2. Statement of the Problem…………………………………………….…..…………......... 6

1.3. Research Questions…………………………………………...…………………………...7

1.4. Objective of the Study…………………….…………………….………………………. ..8

1.4.1. General Objectives……………………………………………..……………………8

1.4.2. Specific Objectives……………………………….……….………………..………..8

1.5. Significance of the Study…………………………………….……….………………….. 8

1.6. Scope of the Study ………………………….…………………..……………………….. .9

1.7. Organization of the Study……………………………………….…….………………….. 9

Chapter Two: Review of Related Literature……………………………………….…………. 10

2.1. Customer Service ………………………………………….………………………….. . .10

2.2. Service Quality……………………………………….………………………………… .10

2.3. Total Quality Management …………………………………………….……………. .. ..12

2.4. Characterstics of Services……………………………………….……………………….. 13

2.5. Service Quality Dimensions…………………………………………….………...…….. 14

2.6. Customer Perception……………………………………………….…………………... . 16

2.7. Relation between Customers’ Perceiption & Customer Satisfaction………………… .. . 17

2.8. Distinction between Service Quality and Customers Satisfaction………………………..18

Chapter Three: Research Methodology…………………………………………….……… .. 21

3.1. Research Design …………………………………………….………………………….. 21

3.2. Sampling Technique and Sample Size…………………………………………….…….. 21

3.3. Method of Data Collection…………………………………………….…………..……. 24

3.4. Method of Data Analysis…………………………………………….……………….….. 25

Chapter Four: Results and Disscussion …………………………………………….……… .. 26

4.1. Socio-Demographic Profile of the Study Participants……………………………………. 26

4.2. Service Quality of AIB using SERVQUAL……………………………………………… 29

4.3. Overall level of Customer Satisfaction…………………………………………….………33

4.4. Ranking the Five Quality Dimensions…………………………………………….………34

4.5. Service Quality with respect to technology and waiting time……………………………. 34

4.6. Meeting Customers’ Expectations and Complaint Handling………………………….…. 36

4.7. Complaint Handling Process of the Bank…………………………………………….……38

Chapter Five: Summary, Conclusion and Recommendation…………………………………42

5.1. Summary …………………………………………….…………………………………… 42

5.2. Conclusions …………………………………………….………………………………….44

5.3. Recommendations…………………………………………….……………………………45

Reference…………………………………………….…………………………………………….

Appendexis …………………………………………….………………………………………….
 Chapter One: Introduction

1.1. Background of the Study

Customer service quality is a crucial source of distinctive competency and often considered as key
success factor in sustaining competitive advantage in service industries. Service quality has
become one of the key driving forces for business sustainability and is vital for firms’
accomplishment (Palmer, 2001). Service quality in banking implies consistently anticipating and
satisfying the needs and expectations of customers. Parasuraman et al., (1985) and Zeithaml et al.,
(1990) noted that the key strategy for the success and survival of any business institution is the
deliverance of quality services to customers. Provisions of high quality service results in higher
customer satisfaction and enhance customer loyalty.

Customers are the sole judge of service quality; an organization can build strong reputation for
quality service when it can constantly meet customer service expectations, Berry et al., (1990).
Gefan (2002) defined Service quality as the subjective comparison that customers make between
the quality of the service that they want to receive and what they actually get. Similarly, customer
satisfaction is crucial in the banking sector because of the special nature of the financial services
which are characterized by intensive contacts with customers who have different needs and require
customized solutions (Molina et al., 2007). In addition, customer satisfaction is known to be one
of the most important and serious issues towards success in today’s competitive business
environment, as it affects company’s’ market shares and customer retention (Ooi, et al., 2011).

Satisfaction is an overall customer attitude towards a service provider, or an emotional reaction to

the difference between what customers anticipate and what they receive. Customer satisfaction is
a collective outcome of perception, evaluation and psychological reactions to the consumption
experience with a product/service Hansemark and Albinson (2004). Here customers’ perception
takes the major share towards customers’ satisfaction because satisfaction is the result of what is
perceived towards the specific service. For example, if the quality of service delivered is beyond
expectation then customers will be delighted and if customer’s perception is equal or under their
expectation level with the delivered service quality the customers will be satisfied and dissatisfied
respectively. Customer satisfaction leads to repeat purchases, loyalty and to customer retention
(Zairi, 2000). However, dissatisfied customers may try to reduce the dissonance by abandoning or
returning the product, or they may try to reduce the dissonance by seeking information that might
confirm its high value (Kotler, 2000).

Service quality is an important antecedent of customer satisfaction which is the result of the
customer’s perception and the quality of the service and it is a significant predictor of customer
satisfaction using SERVQUAL instruments. Service quality and customer satisfaction have been
identified as key elements of the service-profit chain (Heskett et al., 1997). As the perceived
service quality is the key driver of perceived value, one of the determinants of success of a firm is
how the customers perceive the resulting service quality, (Collart, 2000). It is the perceived value,
which determines customer satisfaction. Many firms including banking industries begin to track
customers’ satisfaction through measuring level of service quality perceived by their customers.
Customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction is considered to be the result of a comparison between the
pre-use expectations that a customer has about the product or service and the post-use perception
of product or service performance. The most widely used model to measure perceived service
quality known as SERVQUAL was developed by Parasuraman et al. (1985, 1988).

Excellent service quality is vital to business profitability and survival, Newman and Cowling
(1996). Thus, from the finding of Newman and Cowling, the researcher understands that if service
quality is going down in the organization and doesn’t meet the expectation of its customers, it will
have negative effects on the organization’s profitability. Thus, this study, therefore, will assess
customers’ satisfaction on the service quality of Awash International S.C..

1.1.1. Banking History in Ethiopia and Profile of the Study Bank

The establishment of banks in Ethiopia traces it origin to over 100 years. The agreement that was
reached in 1905 between Emperor Minelik II and Mr.Ma Gillivray, representative of the British
owned National Bank of Egypt, marked the introduction of modern banking in Ethiopia.
Following the agreement, the first bank called Bank of Abysinia was inaugurated on Feb.16, 1906
by the Emperor. The Bank was totally managed by the Egyptian National Bank. (Sofia and Seid,
2005). Within the first fifteen years of its operation, Bank of Abysinia opened branches in different
areas of the country. In 1906 a branch in Harar (Eastern Ethiopia) was opened at the same time of
the inauguration of Bank of Abysinia in Addis Ababa. Another at Dire Dawa was opened two
years later and at Gore in 1912 and at Dessie and Djibouti in 1920. Mac Gillivray, the then
representative and negotiator of Bank of Egypt, was appointed to be the governor of the new bank
and he was succeeded by H Goldie, Miles Backhouse, and CS Collier were in charge from 1919
until the Bank’s liquidation in 1931.

Bank of Abyssinia was legally replaced by Bank of Ethiopia shortly after Emperor Haile Selassie
came to power. The new Bank, Bank of Ethiopia, was a purely Ethiopian institution and was the
first indigenous bank in Africa and established by an official decree on August 29, 1931 with a
capital of £750,000. Bank of Egypt was willing to abandon its concessionary rights in return for a
payment of Pound Sterling 40,000. The transfer of ownership took place very smoothly and the
offices and personnel of the Bank of Abyssinia including its manager, Mr. Collier, were retained
by the new Bank. (Giday B.1987:68-71).

The National Bank of Ethiopia with more power and duties started its operation in January 1964.
Following the incorporation as a share company on December 16, 1963 as per proclamation
No.207/1955 of October 1963, Commercial Bank of Ethiopia took over the commercial banking
activities of the former State Bank of Ethiopia. It started operation on January 1, 1964 with a
capital of Ethiopian Birr 20 million. In the new Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, in contrast with the
former State Bank of Ethiopia, all employees were Ethiopians.

There were two other banks in operation namely Banco di Roma S. and Banco di Napoli S.C. that
later reapplied for license according to the new proclamation each having a paid-up capital of Eth.
Birr 2 million. The first privately owned bank, Addis Ababa Bank Share Company, was
established by Ethiopians initiative and started operation in 1964 with a capital of Birr 2 million in
association with National and Grindlay Bank, London which had 40 percent of the total share. In
1968, the original capital of the Bank rose to 5.0 million and until it ceased operation, it had 300
staff at 26 branches. Following the declaration of socialism in 1974 the government extended its
control over the whole economy and nationalized all large corporations. Organizational setups
were taken in order to create stronger institutions by merging those that perform similar functions.
Accordingly, the three private owned banks, Addis Ababa Bank, Banco di Roma and Banco di
Napoli were Merged in 1976 to form the second largest Bank in Ethiopia called Addis Bank with a
capital of Eth. birr 20 million and had a staff of 480 and 34 branches. Before the merger, the
foreign participation of these banks was first nationalized in early 1975.

Proclamation No.99 of 1976 brought into existence the Agricultural and Industrial Bank, which
was formed in 1970 with a 100 percent state ownership, was brought under the umbrella of the
National Bank of Ethiopia. Then it was re-established by proclamation No. 158 of 1979 as a public
finance agency possessing judicial personality and named Agricultural and Industrial Development
Bank (AIDB). It was entrusted with the financing of the economic development of the agricultural,
industrial and other sectors of the national economy extending credits of medium and long-term
nature as well as short-term agricultural production loans. (Belai Giday,1987).

Monetary and Banking proclamation No.83/1994 and the Licensing and Supervision of Banking
Business No.84/1994 laid down the legal basis for investment in the banking sector. Consequently
shortly after the proclamation Awash International Bank was licensed in 1994 and started
operation in February 13, 1995 and following Dashen Bank was established on September 20,
1995 as a share company with an authorized and subscribed capital of Birr 50.0 million.
Afterward, currently there are nineteen banks in the country and three of the banks are state owned
the remaining are private banks. Even though there is such a move in flourishing of private banks
and branch expansion, Ethiopia remains one of the under-banked economies even by the standard
of Sub-Saharan African countries.
The Ethiopian government promulgated the Monetary and Banking proclamation No.83/1994 to
liberalize the financial sector through reforms by bestowed banking laws that encourage the entry
of private banks into the financial system in order to stimulate competition with the public banks
which significantly promoted the development of the banking sector is tremendous. Accordingly,
many private banks have already been established and their number is increasing from year to
year. Due to this fact a fierce competition among banks has come to exist. Hence, it is vital for
banks to improve on their service quality to be the most preferred bank. Banks that excel in quality
service can have a distinct marketing edge since improved levels of service quality are related to
higher revenues, increased cross-sell ratios, and higher customer retention and expanded market
shares. Through time the banking sector shows progress with respect to the country’s development
and the competition among the emerging private banks.

This research mainly focuses on the first private bank of Ethiopia after the military regime, Awash
International Bank (AIB). Awash International Bank (AIB) was established as the first private
commercial bank (post 1991) on November 10, 1994 by 486 founder shareholders with a paid up
capital of Birr 24.2 million and started banking operations on February 13, 1995. It was named
after the popular river “Awash” which is the most utilized river in the country especially for
irrigation and hydroelectric power. As of June 2014, the Bank has 150 branches spread throughout
the country. Over a period of years, the earnings per share, the number of branches and types of
service provided by the bank increased. All city branches and almost half of the outlying branches
are providing on-line services. (www.awashbank.com).

Vision of AIB

"To be the strongest and most preferred Bank of the People"

Mission

"To provide modern, efficient, competitive, diversified and profitable banking services at domestic
and international banking levels, to a continuously growing number of customers in a socially
responsible manner."
1.2. Statement of the Problem
The unique characteristics of service contribute to the complexities involved in assessing and
managing service quality. Quality can be several things at the same time and may have various
meanings, depending on the person. This complicates both the consumer’s assessment of service
quality and the provider’s ability to control it. Most services involve a direct contact between the
customers and the service provider. This means that, in addition to task proficiency, interpersonal
skills like courtesy, friendliness, tolerance and pleasantness are important dimensions of quality,
particularly in high contact service where frontline employees are the key to customer satisfactions
(Mersha and Abdlakha, 1990). The financial services, particularly banks, compete in the
marketplace with generally undifferentiated products; therefore service quality becomes a primary
competitive weapon (Stafford, 1996).

Satisfaction and dissatisfaction information are important because understanding them leads to the
right improvements that can create satisfied customers who reward the company with loyalty,
repeat business, and positive referrals. Creating satisfied customers includes prompt and effective
response and solutions to their needs and desires as well as building and maintaining good
relationships. A business can achieve success only by understanding and fulfilling the needs of
customers. From a total quality perspective, all strategic decisions a company makes are
“customer-driven.” In other words, the company must show constant sensitivity to emerging
customer and market requirements. According to the study by Collart (2000), one of the
determinants of success of a firm is how the customers perceive the resulting service quality, as
this is the key driver of perceived value. It is the perceived value which determines customer
satisfaction. Many firms including banking industries begin to track their customers’ satisfaction
through measuring their level of service quality perceived by their customers. The most widely
used model to measure perceived service quality was developed by Parasuraman et al. (1985,
1988) known as SERVQUAL. According to this model, the five dimensions of service quality are:
Tangibility, Reliability, Responsiveness, Assurance and Empathy. (A detailed discussion of the
SERVQUAL model will be done in the literature review section of this paper.)

The industry is the back bone of the country economy. Modern banks are playing lots of new roles
and making life of common consumer as well as business men easy. In the past decade, the
banking sector has undergone radical changes, resulting in a market place, which is characterized
by intense competition, little growth in primary demand and increased deregulation. The
government of Ethiopia increased deregulation, in order to encourage the investors to participate in
the banking sectors, as a result the number of bank has been increased which further raises the
competition and difficulty among the banks. In this competitive environment, each bank wants to
attract new potential customers and retain the existing ones to ensure its survival and keep its own
competitiveness in the market. This can be achieved through providing quality services to
customers. Failure to do so will lead to bankruptcy or will make organizations out of competition.

Several studies have been done on service quality and customers’ satisfaction which results to
measure the satisfaction level of the customers on service organization in Ethiopia and all the
studies used SERVQUAL to measure the service quality. However, most of these studies were
conducted on non-banking service organization (Electric Power Corporation, insurance, hotels).
Only a few studies have been done on banks, but many of the studies were conducted only at the
government bank which is the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia. What makes this research different
from the previous is that this research assesses the service quality and customers’ satisfaction of
one of the private banks, Awash International Bank S.C.

Awash International Bank has been the first private commercial bank since the year of 1994 and
currently has 150 branches all over the country as of June 2014. As the preliminary interview
showed customers are not happy with the bank’s service despite its years of service in the market.
In addition, it will not be sufficient to give generalization about other banks with a research made
only in one bank, Commercial Bank of Ethiopia. Thus, identifying these gaps strived the
researcher to assess customers’ satisfaction and the service quality of the bank and give an insight
for the management about customers’ satisfaction on the service quality of the bank.

1.3. Research Questions

The research has the following key research questions:

o To what extent customers are satisfied with service quality of Awash International
Bank S.C.?
o How are the five service quality dimensions ranked by AIB customers?
o Does Awash International Bank’s service quality meet its customers’ expectations?
1.4. Objectives of the study

1.4.1 General Objectives

The general objective of this study is to assess customers’ satisfaction pertaining to quality of
service at Awash International Bank S.C. on selected Addis Ababa branches and to give an insight
for the management regarding the level of service quality of the service they rendered and to
provide suggestions for their future actions.

1.4.1. Specific Objectives

To assess the service quality of Awash International Bank S.C.

To measure customers’ satisfaction with each of the five dimensions of service quality
using SERVQUAL instrument.

Examine the bank’s challenges in meeting quality standards and expectations.

1.5. Significance of the Study

The research provides some insight about service quality of Awash International Bank S.C. and
the satisfaction level of customers towards the bank service with respect to the various services
that the bank rendered. It can also be a good indicator for managers to identify the gap between
management’s perception of service quality and that of their customers and taking actions to close
the gaps. It is also intended to help the company management to consider the level of service
quality as per the view point of customers so that based upon customers feedbacks the managers
might to divert their attention to this valuable essential function of the business and to attract new
potential customers and enable them retain the existing customers.
The study has also the following importance:

The findings of this research will help the bank’s management to understand the role of
good quality service.

It provides literature for the bank industry under customer service quality.

It helps to other researchers who want to conduct further study on the subject in the future.

It provides solution for AIB service quality problems and it may give an insight for the
management what they should do in the future.
1.6. Scope of the Study
The Study covers the theme of commercial banking service quality and customers satisfaction
specifically the case of Awash International Bank S.C. The research methodology has deployed
SERVQUAL model and customer Satisfaction Index through administering questionnaire to
individual customers. The study is confined in the service provision of Addis Ababa branches of
the bank.

1.7 Organization of the Thesis

The study report is organized in to five chapters. The first chapter dealt with Background of the
study, Statement of the problem, Objective of the study, Significance of the study and delimitation
of the study.

In the second chapter literature review of the topic which includes different perspective of different
authors and various theoretical concepts that relates with service quality and its measurement and
dimension of service quality and issues related with quality service were discussed.

The third chapter was dealt with the research design & methodology of the research briefly. The
fourth chapter discussed the data analysis part of the research. The techniques used to analyze the
data are also part the fourth chapter. Finally, the fifth chapter covered with cover Summary,
Conclusion and Recommendation of the research.
 Chapter Two: Review of Related Literature

The primary purpose of this chapter is to get the theoretical understanding of the concept of service
quality, characteristics of service quality, dimensions of quality, what customer service and
satisfaction means, and what Quality management is. The researcher beliefs that this part of the
research gives a clear insight for readers about the components of service quality management and
customers’ satisfaction. In addition, in this chapter, literatures that are related and important for
this research are reviewed and presented as follows.

2.1. Customer Service

According to Davidow and Uttal (1989) customer service means all features, acts and information
that augment the customer’s ability to realize the potential value of a core product or service.
Customer service is concerned with establishing, maintaining and enhancing relationships between
and/or among relevant business parties in order to achieve the objective of the relevant parties
Osuagwu (2002). According to W.L. Robert (2005) customer service is defined as the ability of
knowledgeable, capable and enthusiastic employees to deliver products and services to their
internal and external customers in a manner that satisfies identified and unidentified needs and
ultimately result in positive word-of-mouth publicity and return business.

2.2. Service Quality

Though quality is a much studied subject in manufacturing, as well as service sectors, there is no
universally accepted definition to define quality. The definition of quality is subjective, personal
and changes from person-to-person, place-to-place, organization- to- organization, situation- to-
situation and time-to-time. However, "Conformance to Standards" and "Fitness for Use" is the
classic definitions of quality, FEATHER [John] and STURGES Paul (2003). Quality research in
the goods sector was established long before it was established in the service sector.
(Bandyopadhyay (2003, 187-188) claimed that quality in goods sectors is commonly defined as the
product’s fitness for its intended use, which means how well the products meet the needs and the
expectations of its customer. However, understanding quality in the goods sector is inadequate for
understanding service quality because of the fundamental difference between the two terms.
Service quality is performance based rather than objects, therefore precise manufacturing
specifications concerning uniform quality can rarely be set (Parasuraman, et al., 1985, 42).
Service quality is more difficult for consumers to evaluate than product quality; this is due to a
lack of tangible evidence associated with the service (Hong and Goo, 2004). However in the
above definitions, the concepts of quality were mainly applied to tangible products in the
manufacturing sector. Due awakening of consumerism in 1980s, the quality of service as a subject
of academic interest caught the attention of marketing professionals and they attempted to define
service quality from customers' perspective. Experts like Kotler, Levitt, Gr6nroos, Garvin, Cronin,
Taylor, Teas, Rust, Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry have contributed to the growth of the
subject and many models were developed on its measurement.

In the past decades, researchers (Carman 1990; Garvin 1983; Parasuraman et al, 1985, 1988) have
defined and measured service quality by examining the attributes of service quality, while others
(Bitner and Hubbert 1994; Iacobucci, Grayson, and Ostrom, 1994; Oliver, 1993; Oliver and
DeSarbo, 1988; focused on the application in services to conceptualize the relationship between
service quality and customer satisfaction. Therefore, a combination of the service quality and
customer satisfaction literature has formed the foundation of service quality theory (Clemes et al.,
2007; as cited in Wei 2010). The conceptualization and measurement of service quality is one of
the most debated topics in service marketing literature. Several researchers pointed out that
service quality is difficult to measure as it is an elusive and abstract construct (Carman 1990).
Parasuraman et al., (1985) argue that service quality involves not only the outcome but also the
delivery process. And also, service quality relates to satisfaction but the two are not the same.

In addition, different researchers defined service quality in different ways. Lovelock and Wright
(1999) define quality as the degree to which a service satisfies customers by meeting their needs,
wants and expectations. On the other hand, other researchers like Bitner and Hubbert (1994)
describe that the service quality as the customers’ overall impression of the relative inferiority or
superiority of the organization and its services. It is the evaluation process outcome, in which
customers are involved and where a certain experience is always compared to the perceived
service received. It cannot be objectively measured according to some technical standards but is
subjectively felt by customers and measured relative to customer determined standards as per
Kwortnik, 2005. Berry et al., (1990) also defined service quality as the discrepancy between
customers’ expectations or desire and their perceptions.

The previous literature suggests that the evaluation of quality in services is more difficult than
goods and that delivering quality services is increasingly recognized as the key to success for
service providers (Cronin and Taylor, 1992 as cited in Wei 2010). But, perceived service quality
has confirmed to be a complex concept to understand as per (Brady and Cronin, 2001, pp.34).
Therefore, Rust and Oliver (1994) propose that it is essential for companies to develop the
awareness of customers’ perceptions of service quality. In the same taken the team of
Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry (hereafter PZB) 1990 had conducted several research studies to
define service quality and identify the criteria that customers use while evaluating the service
quality in service organizations. They define service quality as "the extent of discrepancy between
customers' expectations or desires and their perception of what is delivered" . In other words, it is
the comparison of what customers expect before the use of product/ service with their experience
of what is delivered. This definition has been widely quoted and referred in service marketing
literature and the researcher chooses this definition as more appropriate for this research.

2.3 Total Quality Management

Total quality management (TQM) is different from the old concept of quality because its focus is
on serving customers, identifying the causes of quality problems, and building quality into the
production process. According to Heizer and Render (2006) TQM stress a commitment by
management to have a continuing companywide drive towards excellence in all aspects of
products and service that are important to the customer. Heizer and Render(2006) have also
developed seven concepts for effective Quality Improvement (QI) program by modifying the 14
points developemd by Deming as follow: (1) Continuous Improvement, (2) Six Sigma, (3)
Employee empowerment, (4) Benchmarking, (5) Just-in-Time, (6) Taguchi concept, and (7)
Knowledge of TQM.
Gurus of Quality Management

The concept of quality has existed for many years, though it’s meaning has changed and evolved
over time. In the early twentieth century, quality management meant inspecting products to ensure
that they met specifications. In the 1940s, during World War II, quality became more statistical in
nature. Statistical sampling techniques were used to evaluate quality, and quality control charts
were used to monitor the production process. In the 1960s, with the help of so-called “quality
gurus,” the concept took on a broader meaning. Quality began to be viewed as something that
encompassed the entire organization, not only the production process. Since all functions were
responsible for product quality and all shared the costs of poor quality, quality was seen as a
concept that affected the entire organization. Quality gurus have put forth several approaches to
improve company performance. These approaches are embodied in a set of quality management
practices, known as total quality

2.4. Characteristics of Services

According to Bitner et al., (1993) service has four characteristics: intangibility, inseparability,
heterogeneity and pershability.

Intangibility of Services

The idea of services being activities, benefits or satisfactions which are offered for sale, or are
provided in connection with the sale of goods. The degree of tangibility has been suggested as a
means of differentiating tangible products with services (Levitt, 1981). Most of the time, services
are explained as being intangible since their outcome is considered to be an action rather than a
physical product (Johns,1999). (Darby and Karni 1973 and Zeithaml 1981) highlight the fact that
the degree of tangibility has implications for the ease with which consumers can evaluate services
and products. Other researchers propose that intangibility cannot be used to differentiate clearly
services with all products. (Bowen 1990 and Wyckham, Fitzroy and Mandry 1975) suggest that the
intangible-tangible concept is difficult for people to grasp. Bowen (1990) provides empirical
evidence to support this view feel that the importance of intangibility is over- emphasized.
Inseparability of Services
Inseparability is taken to reflect the simultaneous delivery and consumption of services and it is
believed to enable consumers to affect or shape the performance and quality of the service
(Grönroos, 1978; Zeithaml, 1981 as citied in Wolak et al., 1998).

Heterogeneity of Services

Heterogeneity reflects the potential for high variability in service delivery. This is a particular
problem for services with high labor content, as the service performance is delivered by different
people and the performance of people can vary from day to day and from time to time (Rathmell,
1966. Heterogeneity to offer the opportunity to provide a degree of flexibility and customization
of the service. Heterogeneity can be introduced as a benefit and point of differentiation as per
Wyckham et al., (1975).

Perishability of Services

In general, services cannot be stored and carried forward to a future time period (Rathmell, 1966;
Donnelly, 1976; and Zeithaml et al., 1985 as citied in Wolak et al.,1998). Services are “time
dependent” and “time important” which make them very perishable. Hartman and Lindgren
(1993) also claim that the issue of perishability is primarily the concern of the service producer and
that the consumer only becomes aware of the issue when there is insufficient supply and they have
to wait for the service.

2.5. Service quality Dimensions

Service's unique characteristics of intangibility, heterogeneity, and inseparability lead them to

possess high levels of experience and credence properties, which, in turn, make them more
difficult to evaluate than tangible goods (Bitner 1990; Zeithaml 1981). Identification of the
determinants of service quality is necessary in order to be able to specify measure, control and
improve customer perceived service quality. The SERVQUAL is a concise multiple-item scale
with good reliability and validity that researcher can use to better understand the service
expectations and perceptions of consumers and, as a result, improve service. SERVQUAL was
also selected since it is important when it is used occasionally to track the service quality trends,
and when it is used in combination with other forms of service quality instrument identify ten
determinants for measuring service quality which are tangibility, reliability, responsiveness,
communication, access, competence, courtesy, credibility, security, and understanding/knowledge
of customers. Later “these ten dimensions were further purified and developed into five
dimensions i.e. tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy to measure service
quality, SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al., 1988). These five dimensions identified as follows:

Tangibility refers to physical facilities, equipment, and appearance of personnel. Jabnoun and Al-
Tamimi, (2003) indicated that customers choose tangibility factor of service quality in the banking
industry. Bank could build customer relationships by delivering added tangible and intangibility
elements of the core products. According to Ananth et al. (2011) tangibility is measured by
modern looking equipment, physical facility, employees are well dressed and materials are visually
appealing.

Reliability means ability to perform the promised service dependency and accurately. Reliability
is a significant factor of product quality in addition to good personal service, staff attitude,
knowledge and skills (Walker, 1990). It is found that service reliability is the service “core” to
most customers and managers should use every opportunity to build a “do-it-right-first” attitude
(Berry et al., 1990).
Responsiveness means willingness to help customers and provide prompt service. Customers are
very sensitive to employees' working environment in service organizations (Brown and Mitchell,
1993). It involves timeliness of services (Parasuraman et al., 1985). It is also involves
understanding needs and wants of the customers, convenient operating hours, individual attention
given by the staff, attention to problems and customers safety in their transaction (Kumar et al.,
2009).

Assurance indicates knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to inspire trust and
confidence. (Parasuraman et al., 1988) found that assurance is an important factor of service
quality next to reliability and responsiveness towards customer satisfaction.

Empathy refers to caring, individualized attention the firm provides its customers (ibid).
Jabnoun and Al-Tamimi, (2003) found that bank customers believed empathy as an essential factor
of service quality. It is suggested that employees' commitment to deliver quality services,
skillfully handling of conflicts and efficient delivery of services resulted in satisfied customers for
long term benefits (Nelson and Chan, 2005).

Figure 2.1. Source : The Parsuraman et al. (1988) Theory of the Determinants of Perceived Quality

2.6. Customer Perception

The other item that is highly correlated with customer satisfaction is perception. Perception is the
process by which people select, organize, and interpret information, to form a meaningful picture
of the world (Kotler & Armstrong, 2010). Customers perceive the quality of the service in these
two dimensions, what they get and how they get it (Gronroos, 1982). Perceived quality is
considered as good when the expectation becomes realistic. The perception level should be higher
than the expectation level to create the positive perception and satisfaction. If the difference
between expectation and perception is very significant, it can be said that the customers are
satisfied highly. In the moderate level, the gap becomes zero which refers that the expectation
level and perception level are the same. On the contrary, if the expectation becomes higher than
the perception, the negative results come to show that the customers are not satisfied and the
company should improve their service more than before (Gronroos, 1990). The following table
shows determinants of perceived quality.

2.7. Relation between Customers’ perception & Customer Satisfaction

The principal purpose of a business is to create satisfied customers Drucker (1954). Increasing
customer satisfaction has been found to lead to higher future profitability (Anderson, Fornell, and
Lehmann 1994), lower costs related to defective goods and services increased buyer willingness to
pay price premiums, provide referrals, and use more of the product (Reichheld 1996; Anderson
and Mittal 2000), and higher levels of customer retention and loyalty. Increasing loyalty, in turn,
has been found to lead to increases in future revenue and reductions in the cost of future
transactions (Anderson, Fornell, and Lehmann 1994). A firm’s future profitability depends on
satisfying customers in the present – retained customers should be viewed as revenue producing
assets for the firm (Anderson and Sullivan 1993; Reichheld 1996; Anderson and Mittal 2000 as
cited in Malthouse et al., 2003). Empirical studies have found evidence that improved customer
satisfaction need not entail higher costs, in fact, improved customer satisfaction may lower costs
due to a reduction in defective goods, product re-work, etc. (Fornell 1992; Anderson, Fornell, and
Rust 1997 as cited in Malthouse et al., 2003). Customer satisfaction and retention that are bought
through price promotions, rebates, switching barriers, and other such means are unlikely to have
the same long-run impact on profitability as when such attitudes and behaviors are won through
superior products and services (Anderson and Mittal 2000).

Furthermore, Lin (2003) defined customer satisfaction as the outcome of a cognitive and affective
evaluation of the comparison between expected and actually perceived performance, which is
based on how customers appraise delivery of goods or services. Jamal and Kamal (2002)
describes customer satisfaction as “a feeling or attitude of a customer towards a product or service
after it has been used.” Therefore, any business, service or manufacturing industry’s main motive
is increasing profit from time to time and all the industries know that profit is generated only and
only if they can satisfy their customer. Customer’s satisfaction is the positive result of
conformance to a specific service/product of their customers’ perception. Hence customer
satisfaction is the positive end result of customers’ perception.
2.8. Distinction between Service quality and Customer satisfaction

The literature on services has made a distinction between service quality and customer satisfaction
(Bitner, 1990; Bolton & Drew, 1991; Parasuraman et al., 1988). This differentiation is important
for firms to concentrate on enhancing their capability to satisfy customers through providing high
service quality. The position of scholars is that service quality involves an attitude and is an
evaluation over several service encounters over time. It is also thought to be an overall assessment
about a service category or an organization. In support of this, respondents in Parasuraman et al.,
(1988)’s study demonstrated satisfaction with specific service encounters but were not happy with
the service quality of the firm.

Conversely, recent thoughts on customer satisfaction is summarized in the following definition of

satisfaction by Oliver (1981) as a psychological state resulting when the emotion surrounding
disconfirmed expectations is coupled with the consumer’s prior feelings about the consumption
experience. Furthermore, definitions by other scholars (Howard & Sheth 1969; Hunt, 1979 as cited
in Harr, 2008) Support the thinking that it relates to a specific service encounter. Moreover, Oliver
(1981) distinguished customer satisfaction from service quality in his definition of attitude as the
consumer’s relatively enduring affective orientation for a product, store, or process while
satisfaction is the emotional reaction following a disconfirmation experience which acts on the
base attitude level and is consumption-specific Therefore, service quality is “more stable and is
situational oriented (Oliver, 1981, p. 42).

The two constructs are related in that service encounters of customer satisfaction over time result
in perceptions of service quality (Oliver, 1981; Parasuraman et al., 1988). There is also a lot of
argument regarding whether customer satisfaction is the antecedent of service quality or the
outcome of service quality. Initially, scholars take the position that satisfaction is an antecedent of
service quality since to reach an overall attitude (service quality) implies an accumulation of
satisfactory encounters (Bitner, 1990; Bolton & Drew, 1991). However, other scholars take the
opposite view that service quality is the antecedent of customer satisfaction (Cronin & Taylor,
1992; Ekinci, 2004; Rust & Oliver, 1994; Swan & Bowers, 1998 as cited in Harr, 2008).
Empirical research by Cronin & Taylor (1992) showed that service quality has a significant effect
on customer satisfaction. Similarly, recent studies by (González & Brea, 2005; & Ekinci 2004
using recursive structural models provided empirical support that service quality results in
customer satisfaction. According to Zeithaml et al., (2006), customer satisfaction is a broader
concept than service quality which focuses specifically on dimensions of service.

Satisfaction is an overall customer attitude towards a service provider, or an emotional reaction to

the difference between what customers anticipate and what they receive, Hansemark and Albinson
(2004). Regarding the fulfillment of some needs, goals or desire customer satisfaction is a
collective outcome of perception, evaluation and psychological reactions to the consumption
experience with a product/service (Yi, 1990). Here customers’ perception takes the major share
towards customers’ satisfaction because their satisfaction is the result of their perception towards
the specific service. For example, if the quality of service delivered is beyond their expectation
then the customers will be delighted and if customer’s perception is equal to their expectation level
or under their expectation with the delivered service quality the customers will be satisfied and
dissatisfied respectively. Customer satisfaction leads to repeat purchases, loyalty and to customer
retention (Zairi, 2000). However, dissatisfied customers may try to reduce the dissonance by
abandoning or returning the product, or they may try to reduce the dissonance by seeking
information that might confirm its high value (Kotler, 2000).
Conceptual Framework on factors that contribute for on how customers’ satisfaction or
dissatisfaction.

Figure 2.2 SERVQUAL Model: Adopted from the Journal of Marketing, Measuring Service
Quality Using SERVQUAL Model (Kumar et al., 2009, p. 214)
 Chapter Three: Research Methodology

3.1. Research Design

Research design constitutes the blue print for the collection, measurement and analysis of data. It
helps the researcher in the allocation of limited resources by posing crucial choices. It is used as
the plan and structure of investigation so conceived as to obtain answers to research questions. The
plan is the overall scheme or program of the research (cooper, 2003). This study will be conducted
based on the descriptive research design using quantitative and qualitative method to analyze the
data from customers.

The objective of descriptive research is ‘to portray an accurate profile of persons, events or
situations’ (Saunders et al, 2009). The descriptive research type describes data and characteristics
about the population or phenomenon being studied. Descriptive research answers the questions
who, what, where, when and how. It is mainly concerned with describing the nature or condition
and the degree in detail of the present situation. In addition Creswell (1994) also states descriptive
research design is a technique of gathering information about the existing condition. Descriptive
studies are usually the best methods for collecting information that will demonstrate relationships
and describe the world as it exists.

So this study used descriptive research approach to describe the customers’ satisfaction towards
the service quality of Awash International Bank S.C.. It will also use descriptive analysis to assess
the service quality dimensions and the satisfaction level of the customers. In addition, it will help
obtain an accurate profile of the situation under this study and thus the study will consist of
quantitative and qualitative data types and sources.

3.2. Sampling Technique and Sample Size

Sample is the segment of the population that is selected for investigation (Bryman and Bell, 2003).
Sample size is actually the total number of units which are to be selected for the analysis in the
research study. However, it is not possible for researchers to get in touch with a big number of
samples, as the sample size is critical question in practice. The decision about the size and the
sample needs to consider about time and cost, the need of precision, and a variety of further
considerations (Bryman and Bell, 2003).

The population of the study is all Addis Ababa branches of Awash International Bank which are
eighty eight and categorized in five grading system. Out of which a representative sample branches
were drawn from the five branch categorization of the bank. Stratified sampling is a method
of sampling from a population and it is a process of dividing members of the population into
homogeneous subgroups before sampling. Stratified sampling ensures that at least one observation
is picked from each of the strata, even if probability of being selected is far less than 1. Every
element in the population must be assigned to only one stratum. Hence, based on the above the
researcher used stratified sampling technique. For this study the strata are the different
classification of the branches.

The number of branches drawn from each stratum was selected using proportionate stratified
random sampling method and random selection was used to pick the number of branches within
each stratum. The sample size of each stratum in this technique is proportionate to the population
size of the stratum when viewed against the entire population. This means that each stratum has
the same sampling fraction. Because all samples have the same size in their classification and
have an equal chance of being selected. AIB branches are classified into four categories with the
exception of one special class branch for the purpose of proper administration. The classification
is made based on their profit making ability and the number of depositors of each branch has. The
profit is either due to the location of the branch, proximity to the major market areas and the
number of years of the branch since it is opened. First class branches are the highest profit makers
and have the higher number of depositors next to the special class branch. Based on the above
classification, the branch category and the number of branches in each category are summarized in
the following table.
Table. 3.1 AIB Branch Categories
Category Number of Sample Service Sample
Branches Branches Types/branch Respondents/service
Special Class 1 1 Loan 3
Saving Account 7
Current Account 3
Foreign Banking 2
First Class 8 2 Loan 3
Saving Account 8
Current Account 2
Foreign Banking 2
Second Class 15 4 Loan 3
Saving Account 7
Current Account 2
Foreign Banking 3
Third Class 15 4 Loan 3
Saving Account 7
Current Account 3
Foreign Banking 2
Fourth 49 15 Loan 3
Saving Account 6
Current Account 3
Foreign Banking 3
Total 88 26
Source: The bank business development department confidential document.

When we go up counting the classification numbers (1 - 2 - 3 - 4) the number of depositors and

profit decreases. The target samples for the study was all the bank customers regardless of whether
they are doing their banking transactions with domestic banking service, foreign banking service,
loan service or other banking services of the selected branches. Of the total branches operating in
Addis Ababa, the researcher selected twenty (26) sample branches. The researcher will take the
representative sample size by determining the total number of respondents as 390. The Research
Advisors (2006) states that if the population size is large and known the researcher can use the
table that will help the researcher in managing representative sample size. Hence, since the
research population (customers of AIB in Addis) is known and the number is too large reaching up
to 1,000,000 the table suggests to use 384 sample sizes. The researcher, therefore, used 390 for
better accurate data gathering taking into account the non- returnable questionnaires. The number
of respondent from each branch was determined disproportionately as 15.

The number of branches within each stratum was chosen proportionately. For example in 1st class
branch there were 8 branches and total population is 88 and there will be 26 representative samples
then the researcher manages to arrange a formula (No. of representative sample multiplied by the
No. of first class branches and divided to the whole population (26X8/88) = 2 By rounding up,
two branches will be chosen using simple random sampling from first class branches. Using the
same calculation four branches will be selected from 2nd and 3rd class branches since they are the
same in number and 14 branches were considered from the 4th class branch. In general 26
branches were considered including the special class branch which is the head office branch.
Respondents from each category were proportionately stratified from each service of the branch.

3.3. Method of Data Collection

There are several methodological approaches available to gather data and for the proper
achievement of the objectives of the study; the researcher used primary and secondary data
sources. Primary data was collected using questionnaires. Primary data is a data collected on
source which has not been subjected to processing or any other manipulation which are collected
by the investigator conducting the research. Secondary data is collected by someone other than the
user. According to Saunders et al., (2009) the use of two or more independent sources of data or
data collection methods helps to confirm findings in the study. Therefore, primary sources of data
will be collected through the in-depth interviews and questionnaires. Secondary data will be
obtained from different documents of the bank like service strategy documents, quality service
control results and different literatures will be referred. In this research the original SERVQUAL
model of Parauramna et al. (1985), (five dimensions, namely Tangibility, Reliability,
Responsiveness, Assurance and Empathy) are used.
Questionnaire

The questionnaires are used as a primary data source for qualitative and quantitative data
gathering. It was designed to enable the researcher obtain as detailed information as possible. A
total of 390 questionnaires was prepared and distributed to fifteen customers for each of the twenty
six branches (list of branches is attached). The numbers of respondents were determined
proportionately using the number of customers from each service, Saving Account customer,
Current A/C, Loan service and Foreign banking service customers of the bank. The questionnaires
consist of open ended questions (qualitative data) where the questions provide a guideline for the
respondent but it does not have to be followed strictly and closed - ended questions (quantitative
data). The aim of the questionnaire was to research and gather information on the service quality
of the bank and their level of satisfaction.

3.4. Method of Data Analysis

After collecting the data, the data was analyzed using a descriptive data analysis technique which
was presented by tables, frequency distributions and percentages to give a condensed picture of the
data. This will be achieved through summary of simple statistics, which includes the mean, mode,
median and standard deviation values which are computed for each variable in this study. The
researcher used Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 20 software which helps to
process, analyze and tabulate the data that enables to provide frequency table along with
percentage employed to analyze the responses of customers.
 Chapter Four: Results and Discussion
This chapter of the research illustrates the result of the fieldwork conducted by the researcher. It is
organized based on the research questions. The results are obtained from questionnaires
administered to customers of AIB, who are found to be in the twenty six branches of Addis Ababa.
The chapter presents the data collected and their findings. Analysis is also made based upon the
findings in collaboration with the literature reviewed.

A total of 390 questionnaires were administered while undertaking the research. However, out of
these 390 questionnaires, only 363 questionnaires were correctly filled and returned.

4.1 Socio-demographic profile of the study participants

In the study both individual and business customers were considered and the majority of the study
participants were individual customers, constituting around 71.3 percent and the remaining 28.7
percent were business customers.

Table 4.1 Customers Type

Type of Customer Frequency Percent

Individual 259 71.3

Business 104 28.7

Total 363 100.0

Source: (Own Survey, 2015)

Most of the customers (both individual and business) are in the age category of 35-44, comprising
around 50 percent of the study participants, followed by the age category of 25-34 (23 percent). On
the other hand, those in the age group of 18-24 and 45-64 were 11 percent and 15 percent
respectively. This shows as most of the customers of the bank are adults of middle age.

Table 4.1.1 Age distribution of respondents

Age distribution of Frequency Percent Valid Cumulative

respondents Percent Percent
Valid 18-24 years 39 10.7 10.7 10.7
25-34 years 85 23.4 23.4 34.2
35-44 years 180 49.6 49.6 83.7
45-64 years 56 15.4 15.4 99.2
65 and above 3 .8 .8 100.0
Total 363 100.0 100.0

Source: (Own Survey, 2015)

All of the customers who participated in the study have attended formal school. Moreover, around
74 percent of the customers have diploma and above. Out of those who have professional
qualification, around 28 percent have diploma, 35 percent have first degree and around 12 percent
have second degree and above. It is only 26 percent of the customers who reported having a
certificate level of qualification.

Table 4.1.2 Educational level of respondents

[
Educational Level of Frequency Percent Valid Cumulative
Respondents Percent Percent
Certificate 93 25.6 25.6 25.6
Diploma 101 27.8 27.8 53.4
Degree 126 34.7 34.7 88.2
Valid Masters 42 11.6 11.6 99.7
Above
1 .3 .3 100.0
Masters
Total 363 100.0 100.0
All of the study participants had experience in using the banking services of Awash International
bank for at least 12 months. Most of the customers (around 55 percent) have spent 13-18 years
with Awash International Bank, 23 percent have spent 7-12 years and 9 percent have spent 19
years and above. Those who are young to the bank are around 13 percent of the study participants
have spent 1-6 years with the bank. With regard to the type of banking service 52 percent of the
participants are using, saving account, 29 percent of the respondents revealed that they are using
current account and International banking services, 15 percent declared they are using
International banking and loan service and 4 percent mentioned they are using loan provision
service of the bank. This puts the respondents in the right position to evaluate the quality of service
provision of the bank in respect with the different service types of the bank.

Table 4.1.3 Respondents years of relation with the bank

Years of relation with the Frequency Percent Valid Cumulative

bank Percent Percent
1-6 years 48 13.2 13.2 13.2
7-12 years 83 22.9 22.9 36.1
13-18 years 200 55.1 55.1 91.2
Valid
19 years and
32 8.8 8.8 100.0
above
Total 363 100.0 100.0

Around 46 percent of the respondents are using the service of other private and government banks,
23 percent of the respondents declared they are using other government banks apart from AIB
services and 20 percents of the respondents are also customers of other private banks. It is only 12
percent of the respondents are loyal customers of AIB.

Table 4.1.4 Customers Relationship with Other Banks

Customers relationship with other Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative %

No, I am not 45 12.4 12.4 12.4

Yes, Other private banks 71 19.6 19.6 32.0
Valid Yes, Government banks 81 22.3 22.3 54.3
Both, Other private & Gov. 166 45.7 45.7 100.0
Total 363 100.0 100.0
4.2 Service Quality of AIB using SERVQUAL

The mean score of the overall level of satisfaction by the tangibility domain was 3.8 (SD=1). This
shows as the customers’ satisfaction is good as the mean is closer to the highest point on the scale.
The calculation of the means of the dimensions of tangibility indicated that the neat appearance of
the staff (M=4, SD=0.8) and visually appealing physical equipment are the satisfaction drivers for
the domain. The satisfaction of the customers by convenience of the branches location (M=3.8,
SD=1) and the modern looking equipment (M=3.8, SD=1) were also good. Though the mean score
of customers satisfaction by the visually appealing nature of the material attractiveness associated
with the services was reasonably high, in relative terms the dimension appear to be the key
dissatisfaction driver in relation to the domain.

Table 4.2 Service Quality using Tangibility Dimension

Tangibility N Minimum M SD

Maximum

Modern looking equipment 363 1-5 3.75 1.12

Visually appealing physical 363 1-5 4.40 .89

equipment

Neat appearance of staffs 363 1-5 4.02 .84

Materials associated with z service 363 1-5 3.33 1.28

are visually appealing

Location Convenience of Branches 363 1-5 3.75 1.02

Source: (Own Survey, 2015)

The satisfaction of the customers by the reliability of the bank is good. The mean score of the sub
scale as rated by the customers participated in the study was 4 (SD=0.9). Insistence on error free
records (M=4.7, SD=0.6) and sincere interest to solve the problems of customers’ (M=4, SD=0.8)
were the dominant aspects of reliability by which higher level of customer satisfaction was
reported. The next high customer satisfaction driver was noting that staffs performed the right
service on the first encounter of the customers with the bank service (M=3.9, SD=1), followed by
the staff integrity in keeping their promises (M=3.7, SD=1) and the staff ability to provide
services they promised to do so (M=3.7, SD=1).

Table 4.2.2 Reliability

Reliability N Minimum- M SD
Maximum

Staff keeps promises 363 1-5 3.74 1.12

Sincere interest in solving customers problem 363 1-5 4.02 .84

Staffs performing right the first time 363 1-5 3.85 1.03

Provide service they provide to do so 363 1-5 3.74 1.15

Insist on error free records 363 1-5 4.73 .56

Source: (Own Survey, 2015)

Responsiveness is willingness to help customers and provide prompt service. A firm is known to
be responsive when it communicates to its customers how long it would take to get answers or
have their problems dealt with (Zeithaml et al., 2006). The customers regard the responsiveness of
the bank as good. The satisfaction level of the customers who participated in the research declared
that they are happy by the responsiveness of the bank staff in the service delivery process. The
mean score of the sub scale was 4(SD=1). As can be seen from table 4.2.3 below three of the sub
scale was above 4, affirming that the customers are highly satisfied by the responsiveness of the
staff. These include the staff willingness to help, promptness of the staff in providing service to
customers and informing customers as when service will be performed. On the other hand, the
satisfaction of the staff by the availability of the staff to respond to customers is lower in relative
terms. Yet, it is good in absolute terms - when seen against the rating scale.

Table 4.2.3 Responsiveness of AIB to Customers

Responsiveness N Minimum- M SD
Maximum

Staff telling customers when service will be performed 363 1-5 4.09 1.10

Prompt Service to Customers 363 1-5 4.09 1.10

Staff willingness to help 363 1-5 4.13 .95

Staffs are never be busy to respond to customers 363 1-5 3.60 .97

Source: (Own Survey, 2015)

As assurance explained by Zeithaml et al., (2006) is knowledge and courtesy of employees and
their ability to inspire trust and confidence. This dimension includes willingness to instill
confidence in customers, being consistently courteous with customers, knowledgeable to answer
customers’ questions and feel safe in transactions with the bank. The customers who participated
in the study demonstrated high level of satisfaction by the staff knowledge, courtesy, as well as
their ability to instill trust and confidence in the employees of the bank. The score of the domain
was 4.1(SD=0.8). The key driver of satisfaction for the domain was the staff knowledge in
addressing the concerns and questions of the customers followed by the degree of security (safety)
the customers enjoy in their transaction. The customers also stated their high level of satisfaction
by the friendliness and courtesy of the staff as well as the behaviors of the staff that instill
confidence. Table 4.2.4 shows the score of each of the elements of the sub scale. As can be
inferred from the score in the table, staff knowledge to answer the customers question and the
degree of safety the customers enjoy stands as the two major satisfaction drivers for assurance.
 Table 4.2.4 Assurance

Assurance N Minimum- M SD

Maximum

Behavior of Staffs instill confidence 363 1-5 3.73 .77

to customers

Customers feel safe in their 363 1-5 4.37 .84

transactions

Friendliness and courtesy of staff 363 1-5 3.87 .91

Staff having knowledge to answer 363 1-5 4.46 .86

questions

Source: (Own Survey, 2015)

Among the five domains of the constructs of customer satisfaction, empathy was found to be the
major driver of the customers’ satisfaction. Zeithaml et al., (2006) described empathy as caring
individualized attention the firm provides to its customers and the customer is treated as if he is
unique and special. The mean score of the sub scale was 4.2 (SD=0.8), which is higher than from
all of the sub scales. The level of the customers’ satisfaction by the individual attention they are
given by the staff (M=4.2, SD=0.9), the individual attention they get from the staff (M=4.4,
SD=0.8), as well as the understanding of their specific needs by the staff (M=3.8, SD=1) were
found to be high. Moreover, the customers are highly satisfied by the convenience of the operating
hours of the bank (M=4.4, SD=0.8). On the basis of the level of satisfaction by the dimension of
the domain, it is possible to note that getting personal attention from the staff and convenience of
the operating hours are the primary drivers of customer satisfaction for the sub scale.
 Table 4.2.5 Empathy

Empathy N Minimum- M SD
Maximum

Individual attention given by staff 363 1-5 4.19 .86

Convenient operating hours 363 1-5 4.42 .82

Staff giving customers personal 363 1-5 4.42 .82

attention

Understand the specific needs of 363 1-5 3.81 1.03

customers

Source: (Own Survey, 2015)

4.3. Overall level of customer satisfaction

The issue of customer satisfaction whether being antecedent of service quality or the outcome of
service quality is widely debated across existing literatures. Recent studies by (González & Brea,
2005; & Ekinci 2004 using recursive structural models provided empirical support that service
quality results in customer satisfaction. The overall customer satisfaction of the customers was
found to be high (M=4, SD=0.9). This was measured as the mean of all the five domains indicated
below.

The use of indices is standard practice in state-of-the-art modeling, and brings advantages to any
survey. All survey measures consist of two components the true information and error. Combining
a number of measures into a single index increases the proportion of true score to error, and
provides a better picture of the true score, the common element in each measure. A customer
satisfaction index is the best single measure of how satisfied your customers are overall, in relation
to what matters most to them. To calculate a satisfaction index, the importance of the parameters
and satisfaction scores were combined in this study so as to produce a weighted average score,
presented as a percentage of the theoretical maximum.

4.4 Ranking the five quality dimensions

From the five domains empathy, assurance and reliability of the bank were found to be the drivers
of the customer satisfaction. On the other hand, tangibility, was identified an area that needs
improvement with particular emphasis on the drivers of customers satisfaction for the sub scale.
See table 4.2.6 below for the score of each of the major domains.

Table 4.2.6

Tangibility N Minimum M SD

Maximum

Tangibility 363 1-5 3.84 .99

Reliability 363 1-5 4.02 .91

Responsiveness 363 1-5 3.98 .99

Assurance 363 .1-5 4.11 .78

Empathy 363 1-5 4.16 .80

Source: (Own Survey, 2015)

4.5. Service quality with respect to technological advancement, waiting time

and Responsiveness
The evaluation of the service quality of the bank in terms of the utilization of modern technologies
like using mobile banking or E-banking in advancing the services of the bank rated by the
customers participated (52 percent) consider it as good. Looking at the degree of the customers’
appreciation of the bank of using modern technologies, around 16 percent rated it as satisfactory,
17 percent rated it as good, 19 percent rated it as very good and excellent. On the other hand,
around 48 percent of the respondents indicated as the service quality with regard to use of
technological advancements is poor.

Table 4.3.1 Rating Modern banking system, mobile banking

Frequency Valid Percent

Poor 173 47.7

Satisfactory 57 15.7

Good 63 17.4

Very Good 62 17.1

Excellent 8 2.2

Total 363 100.0

The customers’ comparison of the banks’ service with other private banks on the bases of the
utilization of modern technologies by the customers revealed that the relative position of the bank
as perceived by the customers is not good. Around 80.8 percent of the customers who took part in
the study reported as the position of the bank is low (53.8 percent rated it as very low while 27
percent rated as low) in comparison with other private banks. Contrary to this, around 19 percent
of the customers indicated as the bank is better in this regard.

Table 4.3.2 AIB modern banking compared to other

banks

Frequency Percent

Very Low 171 53.8

Low 86 27.0

Moderate 52 16.4

High 5 1.6

Very High 4 1.3

Total 318 100.0

The rating of the bank by its relative position with other private banks in terms of waiting time by
the customers participated in the study also revealed as the bank is in a good position. Around 95
percent of the customers expressed as the bank is performing better than other banks. Out of this,
around 53 percent rated the service as good compared to other banks, 20 percent rated it as very
good, and 12 percent rated it as excellent, and 10 percent of the customers rated as satisfactory.
Yet, around 5 percent of the customers think that the bank is poorly performing than other banks
with regard to waiting time.

Table 4.3.3 Measuring waiting time of AIB

Frequency Percent

Poor 18 5.0

Satisfactory 35 9.6

Good 194 53.4

Very Good 72 19.8

Excellent 44 12.1

Total 363 100.0

The customers also expressed as their level of satisfaction by the banks’ ability to meet their
service needs is good. More than 85 percent of the customers reported as they are satisfied by the
bank with respect to the bank’s ability to meet their specific needs of services. They state some of
the satisfactory drivers like employee’s manner in welcoming customers, helping or guiding
customers with much patience, the availability of branches and convenient working hours. On the
other hand around 39 percent of the customer who were participated in the research was not
satisfied with the bank service. Some of the dissatisfaction drivers were revealed as the waiting
time and lack of E-banking in AIB’s services. Among the administered dissatisfied customer in
the study majority of the customers suggest some way outs for AIB’s service quality progress.

4.6. Meeting customers’ expectations and complaints handling

As it is discussed in the literature review the perception level should be higher than the expectation
level to create the positive perception. As to the responses of the customers participated in study,
the gap between the expectation of the customers while considering to be the customers of the
bank and the extent to which their expectations were realized was found to be wide. The majority
of the study participants indicated as there degree of the difference between their expectations and
the reality was low (41 percent) and 58 percent as moderate. On the other hand, around 0.6 percent
of the study participants reported that the gap was very wide.

Table 4.4.1 The deviation between customers expectation and performance

Gap Frequency Valid Percent

High deviation 2 .6

Moderate 209 57.6

Low deviation 118 32.5

Very low deviation 29 8.0

No deviation 5 1.4

Total 363 100.0

Regarding the effect of the variation, more than half of the participants reported the difference in
their expectation and quality of service they got did not affect them negatively. While around 40
percent expressed as they were not affected by the difference, around 14 percent reported as they
were stayed positive. On the contrary, 46 percent reported as the gap did affect them negatively.
This will have a negative effect on the bank image and customers base in the long term and needs
to be tackled early.

Table 4.4.2 The gap between customers expectation and actual

performance of AIB effect on their relationship with the bank

Effect of the gap Frequency Valid Percent

Yes, it affects 166 45.7

negatively

No, I stayed neutral 146 40.2

Yes, it affects positively 51 14.0

Total 363 100.0

Source: (Own Survey, 2015)

In view of the above, the respondents were asked whether they had presented their complaints to
the bank management in relation to their expectations. Around 45 percent responded as they do so
while a significant percentage of the customers (54 percent) indicated as they did not report their
complaints to the management. The low level dissatisfaction and complaint by the customers to the
management may influence the customers’ satisfaction negatively and hinders the management
capacity to improve the quality of the service they rendered.

Table 4.4.3 Did customers put complaints to the management

Frequency Percent

Yes 166 45.4

No 197 53.8

Total 363 99.2

Source: (Own Survey, 2015)

4.7. Complaint handling process of the bank

Complaint is one way of getting feedback for management and handling complaints on time very
wisely is one of the management responsibilities. In view of this, around 84 percent of the study
participants expressed as they did get response in time. Moreover, most of those who got the
responses reported as the response were satisfactory, in time and positive. In connection to this, 23
percent of the customers indicated as the response was quick and positive, 39 percent indicated as
the response was satisfactory in addressing their concern, and 23 percent indicated as the response
was quick. Nevertheless, around 2 percent of the customers reported as they did not get response
while around 14 percent complain about the delay in giving the response.
 Table 4.4.4 Rating AIB's complaint handling process & time of
response

Frequency Percent

No response at all 8 2.2

Late response 49 13.5

Satisfactory response with 143 39.4

reasonable

Quick response 81 22.3

quick and positive response 82 22.6

Total 363 100.0

Source: (Own Survey, 2015)

As a proxy indicator of the customers’ satisfaction as well as a measure of the customers’

commitment, the customers who participated in the study were asked if they are intending to
continue being the bank’s customers. Most of the study participants (76 percent) asserted as they
will continue being the customers of Awash International Bank. 35 percent of the respondent
customers indicated as they will be limited to AIB in their use of banking services out of which,
12 percent of the respondent declared their loyalty for AIB banking service and 23 percent
declared that they will stay with AIB and wait for changes in the service quality aspect while
around 41 percent of the customers indicated as they will also be using other banks though will
remain customers of Awash International Bank and 24 percent of the respondents confirm that
they will be moving to other banks to get the service that they are looking for.
 Table 4.4.5 Willingness to continue being customer of AIB

Customers willingness to Frequency Valid Percent

continue with AIB

No, I will not 88 24.2

Yes, but will work with others 149 41.0

too

Yes, I will wait and see for 82 22.6

changes

Yes, I will keep my loyalty 44 12.1

Total 363 100.0

Source: (Own Survey, 2015)

Gap Analysis

With the aim of areas where to focus for improvement the satisfaction gab was analyzed. The
answer is not necessarily to concentrate on the areas where satisfaction is lowest. In order to make
sure that maxim ‘Doing Best What Matters Most’ is observed, the gaps between importance and
satisfaction were analyzed for each domain. The key to customer satisfaction is ‘Doing Best What
Matters Most’ to customers. In other words satisfaction should be highest in the areas that are
priorities for customers. In light of this, the gap between the customers satisfaction level and their
importance to the customers is indicated below.
As can been from the above figure, the gap for Empathy is the highest followed by Assurance and
reliability and the lowest socres goes to Tangability followed by Responsivness. Effective way to
target improvement is to focus initially on areas that have large satisfaction gaps, but are relatively
easy and cheap to address. These ‘quick wins’ are an excellent way to bring rapid improvement in
customer satisfaction.
 Chapter Five: Summary, Conclusion and Recommendation

The chapter presents summary of findings, the conclusion finally drawn and recommendations
based on the presented data, analysis made and reviewed literatures.

5.1 Summary

From the data collected, analysis made and reviewed literatures in order to meet the objective of
the study which was: To measure the level of customer satisfaction with service quality in Awash
International Bank S.C. using SERVQUAL model, To clearly asses the gap between customer
expectation and perception in the service quality provided by AIB and other related objectives
mentioned earlier, the study put the following as its summary of findings.

After analyzing the information gathered through structured questionnaires, the following major
findings are presented:-

o About 85 percent respondents are satisfied with AIB’s service quality while the remaining
was not satisfied.

o As revealed in the analysis customers ranked the five service quality dimensions as
empathy, assurance and reliability of the bank were found to be the drivers of the customer
satisfaction and the bank should work more on tangibility and responsiveness dimensions
respectively.

o The gap analysis of the five dimensions were rated as good. But improvement in all the
five dimensions is needed, especially on the two service quality dimensions: While
tangibility and responsiveness have shown up to be less; thus requiring concerted effort for
improvement from the Bank.

o The customers of the bank have higher expectations than what they actually receive from
the bank even though the gap is not very high.
o As seen from the analysis around 46 percent of the respondents are customers of other
private and government banks, so that they can compare the service of one bank from the
other.

o Around 46 percent of the respondents confirm that if there are no changes with the service
quality of the bank that they will move to other banks.
5.2. Conclusion

Satisfied customers are a good work of mouth communicators for an organization and will stay
longer. In the contrary customers are difficult to retain and create a negative impact in attracting
the new ones From the overall findings in relation with the literature review in this research it can
be concluded that AIB’s customers perceived the bank’s service quality below their expectation
especially in tangibility aspect of materials associated with the service which is related to cashless
banking service of the bank. We can infer form the findings that around 80 percent of the
customers are satisfied with the service quality of AIB. But the remaining 20 percent are not
satisfied with the service quality. Which in turn has a negative impact on the banks
competitiveness in the market.

Since AIB is the first private commercial bank in Ethiopia, customers have high expectation form
the bank to be the leading bank in every aspects of the service delivery process. The findings of
the research also indicate that should work in all the service quality dimensions and in addressing
customer’s feedback to be competitive in the market. Despite the differences in the result of the
dimensions the bank management should give attention to all the five SERVQUAL dimensions
and tangibility and responsiveness needs special attention of the management.

Generally, to outreach the markets it is very important to the bank to improve in all the five service
quality dimensions and provide quality service that will satisfy its customers in order to keep its
values and attain its vision to be the strongest and most preferred Bank of the People.
5.3 Recommendations

 AIB should make the necessary investments to improve its Tangibles such as, in using
introducing E-banking or cashless banking systems and updating the materials associated
with the service because it will be difficult for the bank to cope-up with its current status in
this dynamic world.

 AIB should improve the Responsiveness dimension of AIB’s service quality and to narrow
the gap between perceptions and expectations, a training initiative should be made focusing
on fast response from management to customers' requests, swift reply to complaints.

 The banks should attempt to remain competitive by providing attractive and prompt
banking service that earns by customers’ confidence and trust.

 A great attention and effort in closing the gap is expected from AIB. The bank needs to
develop a strategy to target and retain the dissatisfied customers. This can also be helpful to
attract the new one at the same token. The strategy could be the one which can clearly point
out the reasons why the customers are not satisfied with regard to the dimensions. Then a
strategy that could help to eliminate or at least decrease these dissatisfactions and that can
measure the results and take corrective actions should be implemented. Or it can be
considered as a strategy that works for the service excellence of the bank.

 AIB should also give attention to the services it promises to customers versus what the
bank can actually deliver and address its deficiencies. The bank have to take in to
consideration the resource that it actually has at hand, some of them are: human resources,
technological capacity, capacity of the stake holders in providing services to the bank and
other factors that have a correlation with its service giving

 As Human resources is the core element in achieving organizational objectives, before. Human
resource is a base for providing a quality service due to the nature of the service delivery
process. Therefore, AIB should keep working on developing the knowledge of its employees
on customer service and other operational areas than before. In addition to this continuous
assessment of customer service excellence should be implemented.
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 ST. MARY’S UNIVERSITY
School Of Graduate Studies
Master of Business Administration Department
Questionnaire to be filled by Awash International Bank S.C. Customers

Dear Respondent,

This questionnaire is prepared to gather data to be used as an input for the research entitled
“Assessment of Customers’ Satisfaction and Service Quality of Awash International Bank S.C.”.
It’s prepared in partial fulfillment of Masters of Business Administration at Saint Mary’s
University. According to the responses of the customers the bank management and staff would
have an opportunity to improve the service quality provided in order to meet your expectations in a
better way. The expected respondents of this questionnaire will be actual customers of the bank.
The study focuses on the customer service quality so that the respondents will be expected to give
accurate data to make a proper analysis. The data will be kept confidentially and it will be used
only for research purpose.

I would like to thank you in advance for your kind cooperation.

Elsabeth Girma
Tel. 0911 89 00 57

Part I. General Information

1. General Profile

a. Type of Customer Private Customer Business Customer

b. Age 18-24 years 45-64 years

25-34 years Older than 64 year
35-44 years
c. Educational Status: Certificate and below Diploma Degree
Masters Above Masters
d. How long have you been the customer of Awash International bank S.C.?

1-5 years 6-11 years 12-17 years 19 years & above

e. What type of services are you frequently using from the bank? You can select more than one
item.
Saving deposits Current account Borrower International Banking
f. Are you customers of other private or government banks?

No, I am not Yes, other private banks Yes, Government banks

Yes, Both government & other private banks

Part II. Information Related to Assessment of the Service Quality of AIB

using SERVQUAL, five dimensions.
1 stands for Poor”, 2 is “Satisfactory”, 3 stands for “Good”, 4 stands for “Very Good”, 5 stands
for “Excellent”.

Dimensions 1 2 3 4 5
A Tangibility
Modern looking equipment
Visually Appealing physical facilities
Neat appearance of staff
Materials associated with the service are visually appealing
Convenience Location of Branches
B Reliability
Staff keeping promise
Sincere interest in solving customers’ problems
Staff performing service right the first time
Provide services at the time they promise to do so
Insists on error free records
C Responsiveness
Staff telling customers exactly when services will be performed
Prompt service to Customers
Staff willingness to help
Staffs are never be too busy to respond to customers’ requests
D Assurance
Behaviors of staff instill confidence in customers
Customers feel safe in their transactions
Friendliness and courtesy of staff
Staff having knowledge to answer questions
E Empathy
Individual attention given by staff
Convenient operating hours
 Staff giving customers personal attention
Staff giving customers best interest at heart
Understand the specific needs of customers
III. Assessment of service quality in respect with technological
advancement, waiting time and responsiveness
1. How do you rate AIB’s modern banking service in relation with technology like, core
banking system, mobile banking etc?

Poor Satisfactory Good Very Good Excellent

2. To what extent do you believe that AIB banking system is advanced in modern technology
utilization compared with other banks in the country?

Very Low Low Moderate High Very High

3. How do you rate the waiting time of AIB’s service?

Poor Satisfactory Good Very good Excellent

4. Are you satisfied with the service of the bank in respect to your specific needs of service,
like loan service, domestic banking & foreign banking service?

Yes No

a) If your answer is ‘YES’ for the previous questions how do you explain its quality? You
can measure the quality in terms of its speed, employee’s manner, technology usage,
internal policy, terms & tariffs and others, if any.
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
b) If your answer is ‘No’ what makes you dissatisfied?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
c) How do you think that AIB can bring change on its service quality?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________

IV. Assessing customers expectation towards AIB service

1. What was your expectation/perception towards AIB’s service quality before you became
customer of the bank?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________

2. If there is a deviation, how do you rate the gap between your expectation and the
actual performance of AIB’s?

High deviation Moderate Low deviation Very low deviation

a) Based on your answer for Question (a) does it affect your relationship with the bank?

Yes, it affects negatively No, I stayed neutral Yes, it affects positively

3. If your answer for the above question is yes, it affects negatively, where do you think that
the gap lies between your expectation and AIB’s performance? Like technology, waiting
time, employees manner and others if any,
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________

4. Did you take any step to put in complaints with management for any dissatisfaction?

Yes No

a) If your answer is ‘Yes’ for the previous question what was the response?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________

b) How do you rate the response of the banks’ management for your complaint?

No response at all Late response Respond at reasonable time

 Quick response Quick & positive response

5. How do you rate the total service quality of AIB?

Poor Satisfactory Good Very Good Excellent

6. How do you rate your satisfaction level with the overall service of the bank?

Highly Unsatisfied Unsatisfied Neutral

Satisfied Very satisfied

7. How do you measure AIB’s service quality compared to other banks?

Poor Satisfactory Good Very Good Excellent

8. Are you willing to continue being customer of the bank?

No, I will move to other banks Yes, I will stay as a customer

Yes, I will wait & see for changes Other comment if any,

Thank you for your willingness and precious time.

 List of Selected Branches
1. Addis Ketema Branch
2. Africa Andinet Branch
3. Arada Giorgies Branch
4. Arat Killo Branch
5. Bisrate Gebriesl Branch
6. Bole Branch
7. Dilgebeya Branch
8. Gerji Branch
9. Gofa Sefer Branch
10. Gurdsholla Branch
11. Hayahulet Branch
12. Head Office Branch
13. Jemmo Branch
14. Kazanchis Branch
15. Kirkos Branch
16. Kolfe Branch
17. Legehar Branch
18. Megenagna Branch
19. Mehal Arada Branch
20. Mehal Arada Branch
21. Merkato Branch
22. Mesalemiya Branch
23. Piazza Branch
24. Sebategna Branch
25. Temenjayaz Branch
26. Urael Branch