The Relationship Between Perceived Waiting Time Management And Customer Satisfaction Levels Of Commercial Banks In Kenya

Despite the diverse strategies being implemented to address the challenges of fixed capacity in an increasing demand context, there are limitation to the level these strategies can be implemented. In this context, Qureshi, Bhatti, Khan, & Zaman, (2014) in a study on measuring queuing system and time standards notes that an increase in capacity is not cost effective in the long run. This is because the capacity acquired during the peak seasons would be idle during off peak seasons leading to unsustainable cost implications. Therefore, in the face of these challenges the waiting time is inevitable in most service based industries. The waiting time has an impact on perceived service quality and customer satisfaction levels within an organization. According to Makowenga (2013) in a study on customer satisfaction indicates that customer satisfaction refers to a psychological concept of involving a feeling of well-being. This feeling of well-being occurs as a result of the customer being able to obtain services and products that match their expectations. On the other hand, Zakaria et al., (2014) indicates that customer satisfaction is based on the outcome of service provision. In this context, Lee & Moghavvemi (2015) argues that customer satisfaction relates to the customers’ emotional feeling of pleasure or disappointment that relates to the comparison between perception and expectation of the Abstract: Perceived waiting time management impacts on customer satisfaction in the extent that customers see excessive waiting as wasted time if it exceeds their expectations. Similarly if customer’s waiting time is reduced below their expected time estimates, they end up being happy and satisfied in as far as that criteria is concerned. This paper evaluates how customers of commercial banks perceive various dimensions of waiting time management in relation to influencing their satisfaction levels when accessing diverse bank services. The following research questions were used to guide the investigation; To what extent does unoccupied waiting time influence customer satisfaction levels? To what extent does pre-process waiting time affect customer satisfaction levels? To what extent does uncertain waits affect customer satisfaction levels? To what extent does unexplained waiting time influence customer satisfaction levels? To what extent does waiting for valuable services contribute to customer satisfaction levels? The paper is based on findings from a sample of 237 respondents drawn from commercial banks operating in the Nairobi Central Business District. Structured questionnaires on a 5point likert scale were used to gather data, which had a reliability threshold of .844 and a good validity index. Findings were analyzed using descriptive statistics, and a regression model. Charts and tables were used for presentation. From the findings, it is established that perceived waiting time management alone does not significantly influence customer satisfaction levels, save for the waiting time for valuable services component. However, the descriptive statistics show that majority of the respondents agreed that all the variables influenced their satisfaction levels. This was seen from the means and mode values of between 3.9 and 4, and 5 and 4 respectively. The study concludes that though inferential statistics gave a different verdict, it is important to consider the findings from the descriptive analysis.