Influence of Demographic Variables on Retail Banking Service Quality -A study of Public And Private Sector Banks in Chennai

Abstract

Banking is a high contact service industry. Service quality in banking implies consistently anticipating and satisfying the needs and expectations of the customer. Hence the quality of service depends on the ability of the server to meet customer's expectations. In the context of growing competition amongst banks, quality of customer service has assumed greater significance. The changing scene has been accompanied by growing expectations of customers, the use of technology, newer products, newer forms of services and customer friendliness. Thus banks are compelled to adopt various strategies to gain competitive edge over each other which ultimately results in the delivery of quality service. So, an attempt has been made by the researcher to study the demographic variables that influence the service quality in retail banking. The study was undertaken in the public and private sector banks in Chennai. The sample size of the study was 827. Both primary and secondary data were used for the study. The primary data collected for the study were analyzed with the help of SPSS package by using AN OVA. The findings of the study help to know which demographic variable influences service quality. This information also helps the banks to understand customers better and improve their service quality in order to increase customer satisfaction, improved customer retention, positive word of mouth, reduced staff turnover, decreased operating costs, enlarged market share, increased profitability and improved financial performance.