Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences
School of Agricultural and Food Sciences
Department of Consumer Science
Selected Highlights from Research Findings
The customer service of the prominent supermarkets in Tshwane was investigated to identify shortcomings in terms of the lelments of customer service that could be addressed to improve the service quality. Qualitative as well as quantitative procedures were used. A significant difference in customers' judgement of the service quality was indicated and dissatisfaction was mainly due to personnel related issues. In general, customers realise that the same products can be found at different supermarkets but they are willing to travel further not be frustrated by poorly trained and incompetent personnel. Interestingly the supermarkets that were judged less satisfactory were those who spent the most on advertising during the previous year. The conclusion was that more effort and money should go into proper training of staff so that the store could benefit by "word of mouth" referrals of satisfied clients. At the moment it seems as if the marketing budget is not allocated to the areas that deserve greater concern
Contact person: Mrs NJMM Marx Pienaar.
The way a garment fits, is key to whether or not a consumer will buy it. It also influences the consumer's perceptions about the workmanship or quality of the garment, its comfort and lifespan. In the clothing industry the only true competitive advantage is to keep existing customers happy. The costs associated with recruiting new customers are much higher.
Internationally it has been found that there is growing dissatisfaction – especially among women – about the fit of ready-to-wear clothing. It has also been found that few manufacturers take cognisance of the great variety of human shapes. However, body measurements and proportions are both essential inputs when a garment is designed.
In South Africa the problem is exasperated by the fact that very little is available in the public domain about the basis on which the local clothing industry incorporates body measurement data in their designs.
The aim of this study was to investigate and describe how the South African clothing industry incorporates body measurement data in their designs, to compare international and South African descriptions of body measurements needed by the clothing industry, and to describe the problems that the local clothing industry experiences with body measurements.
The research among clothing and footwear manufacturers and retailers revealed a number of problems being experienced with body measurements and their use. There are for example either no international descriptions available or no consensus as to how body measurements should be taken and there are no height measurements available for more than two thirds of the population.
The survey also established the knowledge base of body measurement descriptions, what the South African sizing system entails, how block patterns are generated and how fit-and-wear testing is done.
Recommendations include the establishment of a national standard for identifying reference points and the development of methods for measuring the body accurately. This should precede a survey of the morphology of the South African population
Contact person: Mrs M Strydom.
The project investigated the shortcomings in terms of the elements of customer service that could be addressed to improve the quality of service to customers of prominent supermarkets in Tshwane. Qualitative and quantitative surveys revealed significant differences in customers' judgement of service quality.
Dissatisfaction was mainly due to personnel related issues. In general, customers realise that the same products can be found at different supermarkets, but are willing to inconvenience themselves and travel further to avoid being frustrated by poorly trained and incompetent personnel.
Interestingly, the supermarkets that were judged to be less satisfactory were those that spent the most on advertising during the previous year. The conclusion was that more effort and money should go into proper training of staff so that the store could benefit by "word of mouth" referrals by satisfied clients
Contact person: Prof AC Erasmus.
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