BANK SERVICE DELIVERY AND CUSTOMERS’ SATISFACTION

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background to the study
Bank service delivery is concerned with the provision of quality services to customers. Obviously, one of the factors that separate competitors (banks) from the other (other banks) in the Nigerian banking industry is their level of services delivery. This is because service delivery determines the level of customers’ satisfaction and consequently, the customer patronage of any bank. The patronage by customers on the service delivered by a given Bank, no doubt is a function of the satisfaction they so derive from it. Satisfaction in relation to bank service delivery is the customers’ evaluation of the service in terms of whether that service met their needs and expectations (Babatunde and Olukemi, 2012). Happy and satisfied customers behave in a positive manner.
The effect of service delivery by banks and the satisfaction derivable by the customers are becoming perceptible. Given that the contemporary customers are more informed than ever before, Leboeuf (1987) posited that meeting their expectation as regards satisfaction is increasingly becoming more difficult.
According to Woldie (2003), bank customers in Nigeria have been found to be dissatisfied with the quality, of services provided by banks. This calls for the need to actually investigate how customers behave or get satisfied with regards to the services of commercial banks in Nigeria.
No doubt that information from current technologies in banking operations has improved efficiency and effectiveness of their operations so that more transactions can be processed faster and most conveniently. However, this development in the Nigerian banking industry seems not to have achieved the very essence and goal of satisfying the myriad of customers (Babatunde and Olukemi, 2012). Long queues are still seen in the banking halls, bank customers still handled too much cash, and hardly the people talk about the electronic banking service delivery that are presumed to enhance customers satisfaction in Nigeria banking industry. Against this backdrop, this study examines Bank services delivery and customer satisfaction in Nigeria.

Statement of the research problem
Satisfaction is a challenge particularly in a bank based service, in that customers can easily switch from one bank to another of a better service delivery. However, almost every Nigerian bank encounters problems in meeting customers expectation of services and satisfaction. The long queue and huge crowd in the banking halls are obvious indication that bank service delivery may not actually meet the needs of customers in a satisfactory way. It is important to know customers perception concerning bank services and therefore it is pertinent that answers to the following research questions needs to be ascertained
How does customer service influence customer satisfaction in the Nigerian banking industry?
If there a relationship between bank service delivery and customers’ loyalty in Nigeria?
Which service/activities do Nigerian banks deliver that really satisfy customers.

Objectives of the study
The general objective is to examine how bank service delivery affects the level of customers’ satisfaction in Nigeria. The specific objectives are stated as follows:
To find out how bank service delivery affects customer satisfaction in the Nigerian banking sector.
To establish if there is a relationship between service delivery and customer loyalty in the Nigeria banking sector.
To identify which service/ activities, customers will regard as satisfactory in Nigerian banks.

1.4 Statement of research hypotheses
In this study, the following hypotheses tested:
Ho: There is no relationship between service delivery and customer satisfaction in the Nigerian banking sector
H1: There is relationship between service delivery and customer satisfaction in the Nigerian banking sector
Ho: There is no relationship between services delivery and customers’ loyalty.
H1: There is a relationship between services delivery and customers’ loyalty.

1.5 Scope of the study
This study specifically investigates the perception of the customers regarding the satisfaction they derive from bank services in Oredo Local Government Area. Though this study aimed at bank service delivery, however, the focus is on bank customers in Oredo Local Government Area.

1.6 Significance of the study
Bank has customer service as one of its products, hence the need to find out whether they really are providing that service and what ways they can improve so as to have competitive advantage over rivals in the market or banking environment.
This work will therefore provide information regarding excellent customer service and its effects on customer satisfaction in the branches of banks in Oredo local government Area of Edo State. This piece will be available to the bank being researched for the management to know the perception of their customers on services being provided or delivered to them and to help improve on service quality with a view to ensuring customers satisfaction.
It will benefit other business service providers to make informed decisions as far as service is concerned.
Educational institutions, corporate entities, business policy makers and other researchers will also benefit from this research in making informed decisions when it comes to quality customer delivery to satisfy the customers. Furthermore researchers no doubt will find this study useful in terms of reference material on a similar subject.

1.7 Limitation of the study
A study of this type no doubt is replete with same limitations.
One obvious limitation of this study is that the structured questionnaire proposed to elect responses from the customers of the banks (respondents) within the geography being studied may not be fully retrieved, thus affecting outcome of the study.
Another limitation of this study is the problem of generalizing the outcome of the study to other banks as well as other non-bank service providers in varying geographical location in Edo State and Nigeria at large. Despite these limitation the findings provides possibly explains the relationship between policy formulation and can be used for further research as well as forecasting