Satisfaction guaranteed - SA rates retailers, fuel stations

The data, collected during February and March 2013 using both telephonic and web-based surveys, gave supermarkets a customer satisfaction score of 79 out of 100 and petrol service stations received 81 out of 100, South Africa's highest customer satisfaction industry score to date.

Supermarkets

The supermarkets measured were Woolworths, Pick n Pay, Spar, Checkers and Shoprite, all of which were selected by market share. Woolworths is the industry leader, scoring 6.2% above the industry average satisfaction score. Pick n Pay, Spar and Checkers achieved a rating on par with the industry customer satisfaction score. Shoprite's score was just below par (-2.4%).

The overall customer satisfaction score is influenced by a number of factors, one of which is the customer's expectations of the brand prior to his/her experience with it. Woolworths' customers have the highest level of expectation among those measured, which makes the retailer's top satisfaction score even more of an achievement. The customer satisfaction score recorded for Woolworths is the highest current score for comparable supermarkets in the US (Publix: 82) and in the UK (Waitrose: 83).

"South African customers rated our supermarkets higher in customer satisfaction (79) than supermarket customers in the US (77) or the UK (75). South African supermarkets are second only to Greece, which recorded a score of 80," says Prof. Adré Schreuder, founder and chair of SAcsi.

"SAcsi is the only South African company to hold a licence with the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) and now forms part of a growing number of ACSI-licensed partner countries worldwide. Its patented system is the only benchmark model that allows licenced partners to match the statistical models used to generate ACSI results."

Another factor in the SAcsi model, which influences overall customer satisfaction, is the customer's perceived value. Perceived value is a customer's perception of the quality given the price, and the price given the quality. Interestingly, a different picture emerged on the issue of perceived value, as Checkers and Shoprite both showed higher levels of perceived value than the other supermarkets measured.

One of the outcomes of customer satisfaction is customer loyalty in the SAcsi model. For this reason, given that Woolworths achieved the highest satisfaction score, it follows that this brand also reported a high customer loyalty score. Despite not scoring as highly as Woolworths in terms of customer satisfaction, Pick n Pay and Checkers also showed high customer loyalty scores.

Fuel service stations

The fuel service stations measured were BP, Caltex, Engen, Sasol, Shell and Total, all of which were selected by market share. Caltex and Shell share the industry leader position by scoring 3.4% and 0.9% respectively above the average satisfaction score. Engen and Sasol achieved a rating on par with the industry score, while Total and BP both scored below par with scores 1.5% and 1.8% respectively below industry average.

Schreuder says that Caltex and Shell can attribute their industry leader position to the fact that their customers have a higher perceived value of them than the customers of the other petroleum service stations. "Perceptions play an integral role in customer satisfaction, and it is interesting to see that although there is no price differentiation between petroleum service stations in terms of the fuel price, customers perceive the value that they receive from the various service stations differently. This means that perceived value at fuel service stations is influenced by elements other than the price of fuel."

Once again, South African customers showed the highest satisfaction (81) with fuel service stations in comparison to the countries where the fuel industry is measured, which include top rated countries Turkey (76), UK (75), US (73) and South Korea (70).

Research methodology

Each company was measured through telephonic and web-survey methods at a statistically reliable sample of at least 270 respondents per company. For supermarkets the total sample was 1 565 randomly selected respondents who purchased groceries and food from the selected chains. For the fuel service stations the total sample was 1 757 respondents who frequented the selected fuel stations.

Customer satisfaction is measured using a complex model that has been rigorously evaluated, in line with the American Customer Satisfaction Index methodology.

Three drivers

The model combines three drivers of customer satisfaction: customer expectations, perceived quality and perceived value. The calculated customer satisfaction index is statistically linked to two outcomes: customer complaints and customer loyalty. The industry model can predict the outcome of changes in customer loyalty with a great degree of accuracy.

The SAcsi index gives companies detailed information to assist them in improving customer satisfaction. Each month, customer satisfaction results are released for specific industries. The next monthly report of SAcsi results will include mobile handsets and fast-food restaurants.

"Companies are choosing to subscribe to SAcsi to receive statistically sound information, which speaks volumes about the credibility of the index. This is not research that is commissioned for marketing purposes, it is used as the basis for strategic management decisions," concludes Schreuder.

Summaries are available on www.sacsi.co.za.