The efficacy dimensions of TQM and their relationship to the 4- to 5-star grading of guesthouses in the Western Cape

Abstract

This study explores the implementation of Total Quality Management (TQM) in 4-to 5-star guesthouses in the Western Cape in order to enhance, inter alia, service quality levels and ultimately promote customer retention. The researcher followed a project management process to identify and implement twelve (12) important steps in this study. In a globalising and competitive hospitality environment, one of the biggest challenges for South African enterprises is satisfying their customers’ needs and expectations in a preemptive manner. Unless management and staff can offer their customers a higher level of service than their competitors, customers will be lost to other performing guesthouses which will result in lower revenues, staff losses and subsequent financial challenges. The research problem and six (6) research objectives formulated by the researcher, directed the research in identifying, through primary research (survey), the challenges that 4-to 5-star guesthouses face regarding quality service, quality management, TQM and customer retention and to make recommendation, from secondary research (literature review), how to manage these challenges successfully and to systematically attain customer retention. The implementation of integrated quality management systems such as TQM provides owners and managers of guesthouses with the capability to reflect strategically on their establishments. This will include the assessment of the current quality management practices, its position in the competitive marketplace, how it can gain sustainable competitive advantage and how its business management strategy can be enhanced and executed successfully to attain customer retention. This study explored the view that guesthouses implementing TQM successfully will deliver higher service quality to customers and consequently benefit from systematic retention of their customers. In today’s competitive business environment, one should be reminiscent of the fact that commercial reality necessitates long-term relationships with customers. This exploratory and descriptive study focused on guesthouses serving different target markets with different pricing frameworks. Thirty (30) 4-to 5-star guesthouses on the Garden Route and in the Cape Town region that indicated high occupancy levels all year round and regarded customer retention is a very important management priority, were identified and approached to participate in the study. Fifteen of these guesthouses committed to the entire research process and were identified as the unit of analysis. The respondents were 45 internal customers (15 owners and/or managers of the guesthouses and 30 employees) and 61 external customers that were guests at the participating guesthouses when the survey was conducted. The researcher followed a triangular approach towards measurement utilising (a) observation and informal interviews with internal and external customers as part of the qualitative research, also utilising the services of an objective observer (b) a questionnaire for internal customers (owners, managers and staff of participating guesthouses) and (c) a SERVQUAL questionnaire for external customers (guests of the guesthouses at the time of the survey). The questionnaires were utilised as part of the quantitative research which were developed to measure the perception of internal customers (Owner/Manager/Staff) of the guesthouses with reference to the application of quality management and TQM at the guesthouses. The findings of the survey amongst internal customers indicated that only two thirds of the respondents (66.7%) are familiar with the principles of TQM whilst significantly lower percentage respondents (13.3%) are actually implementing these principles at their respective guesthouses. More than half (54.5%) are implementing their own quality programs and quality training. Most of the respondents (86.7%) acknowledge the need for improvements in their current quality programs whilst nearly all (97.8%) acknowledge the value of implementing TQM towards improved customer services which predisposes a positive tendency towards change. Findings of the SERVQUAL survey amongst external customers suggest that only about half (54.1%) of the customers indicated that the guesthouses regularly measure guest satisfaction whilst only about one-in-three (39.3%) indicated that the guesthouse regularly identifies customer needs. Less than half (47.5%) of the customers indicated that the guesthouse regularly collects customer suggestions and complaints whilst only one quarter (26.2%) indicated that the guesthouse regularly determines improvements in customer satisfaction. Based on these findings, as well as from the literature review, it is strongly recommended that TQM and strategies to support TQM, amongst others, are implemented at 4-to 5-star guesthouses on the Garden Route and in the Cape Town region in order to improve their service quality levels and ultimately attain sustained customer retention.