A Study on service quality and gaps in customer satisfaction - Naturals Salon

A project report submitted to GITAM School of Business in partial Fulfilment of the requirement for
the award of the degree
‘MASTER’S IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION’ (Marketing & Operations)
SUBMITTED BY

P. Veeresh Naidu
UNDER THE ESTEEMED GUIDANCE OF

Prof. Rajeshwari Panigrahi

Associate professor

GITAM SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

(GITAM DEEMED TO BE UNIVERSITY)
(Established U/S 3 of UGC Act, 1956) (2021-2023)

Team Members

P. Veeresh -VP21MGMT0100307
G. Vennela-VP21MGMT0100314
CH. Divya- VP21MGMT020025
T. Sandhya-VP21MGMT020050

1
 Declaration

I, P. Veeresh Naidu a student of Masters of business administration (MBA), Marketing and Operations

, GITAM School of Business (GSB), GITAM (Deemed to be University), Visakhapatnam,

hereby declarethat the study entitled A study on service quality and gaps in customer

satisfaction with reference to naturals salon is in partial fulfilment for the award of the degree of

MASTERS IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION.

The matter embodied in this project report has not been submitted to any other university or

institution for the award of the degree.

P. Veeresh Naidu

VP21MGMT0100307

2
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

CONTENTS PAGE NO.

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 4-9
CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 10-13
CHAPTER 3: ANALYSIS STUDY 14-23
CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS 24-25

3
 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

INTRODUCTION

In the early 2000s, she made that dream a reality by setting up her first salon in Chennai. It took her only a
while to understand the market potential and the ever-increasing demand for professional grooming. In
2004 her husband co-founder & CEO, CKKumaravel joined and ever since then, the Naturals team has
been able to meet every challenge in this competitive industry. Today, Naturals is India’s most prominent
chain of hair and beauty salons.

Founded by K. Veena, whose knowledge of the international beauty industry pioneered a new era in the
hair and beauty care industry in India, Naturals has made a path-breaking change in the way the beauty
industry has been perceived. Naturals was conceived with the idea of the modern Indian The modern
Indian woman has many responsibilities, from caring for her family to meeting deadlines at work. Every
woman needs a place to escape. Naturals is that place for women. It is an oasis to detox, rejuvenate and
relax!

Naturals now has 700+ salons across the sub-continent and aims to expand to 3000 salons by 2025.With
two decades of experience, Naturals has revolutionized the beauty and franchising industry with over
700+ salons spread across India. They are happy about the fact that Naturals has created 400 women
franchise partners and trained over 10000 staff.

Naturals School of Makeup offers a wide range of Hair and Makeup training modules. Their training
extends to Professional Makeup and Advance Bridal Makeup which covers all technical and practical
aspects of enhancing a person’s beauty. These courses help to stay ahead of the curve with the latest
techniques in Makeup and Hair styling. The courses offered at the Naturals Training Academy range from
basic styling for bridal to high fashion and international styles. Courses are Bridal Makeup & Hair,
Advanced Bridal Makeup, Creative Makeup, Bridal Hairstyling, Eye Makeup, Contouring and Corrective
Makeup, Saree Draping & Styling, Consultation Course, Mehendi (Hands & Legs), Health and Safety
Measures, Portfolio Creation.

4
 OBJECTIVE OF PROJECT

• To understand the concept of services in natural’s saloon.

• To measure the services and gaps in customer satisfaction.

• Enhance the effectiveness of a new services or delivery method.

• Identify the feasibility of new services by natural saloon.

• To identify the new areas for services improvement.

DATA COLLECTION:
A methodically created questionnaire that was created utilizing a standardized SERVQUAL scale was
used to collect the data. The clients received the survey URLs from our team. The questionnaire's
description informed participants that its goal was to gauge their perceptions of the services they
anticipated from the Naturals salon and the ones they received.

The most widely used and reliable approach for gathering primary data is the questionnaire. It has a set of
structured questions that are intended to elicit the desired data from the respondents. They are challenging
to develop and may require numerous revisions before a good questionnaire is produced. In order to
gather the appropriate data, questionnaires must be both thorough and concise.

Scale used:

A five-point Likert scale which is a psychometric response method was used to collect responses from the
respondents which consisted of the following points:
• Strongly disagree
• Disagree
• Neutral
• Agree
• Strongly agree

5
Hair Care

Hair Cuts & Styling

Natural hair stylists are skilled in adding movement to hair and creating a look that defines customer face and adds
volume. At Naturals, customers can trust hairstylists to give them latest hairstyle, while keeping in mind their
preferences. New hairstyles come with a relaxing hair wash and conditioning, giving them a natural shine.

Hair & Highlights Colouring

All Naturals hair colouring services include root touch up, global colouring, streaking, block colouring and creative
colouring. All Naturals hair colouring products are ammonia-free. Hair experts can transform customer entire look
with just a few streaks of their ammonia-free hair colour!

At Naturals, they know how important healthy hair is, which is why they choose the colour of customer hair with
great care. Depending on customer complexion, the shape of face, and overall personality, they will help in
choosing the right colour.

Hair Spa

Pampering and hair with a good hair spa is a must! At Naturals, they pamper every strand of hair care
professionals with gentle hands. Hair spa services are a healthy indulgence that exfoliates hair, stimulates scalp,
and promotes hair growth. A hair spa treatment is the best solution for dry, frizzy hair. It also relaxes body and
relieves stress.

Hair Straightening
Ever wish customers had straight, silky hair. Naturals Hair Straightening Services give them super straight, silky
hair leaving the curves. Hairstylists ensure customers get a damage-free hair straightening treatment with safe and
internationally tested equipment.

Skin Care

Face Clean Up
Everyday pollution, tanning and stress take a toll on a face. Treating face weekly to remove dirt and tan is vital for
facial skin health. At Naturals, they offer face clean up options for all skin types. A face scrub to remove any
impurities hidden in pores followed by a face massage nourishes face from within giving skin a Naturals glow.

6
A facial done by a professional, deep cleans and hydrates skin as well as relieves acne. A good facial also improves
blood circulation, giving skin a healthy glow. At Naturals, facial options cater to all skin types. They use products
containing vital minerals and nutrients that reduce wrinkles and remove dead skin, giving skin a youthful
appearance. Black mud, fruit acids, vitamins, enzymes, gold, and anti-oxidants are just a few of the special
ingredients found in their facials.

De-Tanning at the Naturals beauty parlour is effective yet gentle on skin. Facial bleaching is the best way to de-tan
quickly while adding brightness to skin. Natural’s beauty parlour’s skincare professionals bleach face using
techniques that do not damage, harm or change the texture of skin. A face bleaching done at the Naturals beauty
parlour leaves with skin that is fairer, fresher, and flawless

A facial mask is a beauty and cleansing treatment that is designed to tackle specific problems for each skin type. A
facial mask deep-cleans nourishes and brightens skin as well as heals acne scars and hyper pigmentation. Naturals
face masks are made with ingredients to suit customer skin type choose from an array of face mask options.

Body Care

Manicure

Naturals offer three unique manicures – Spa Manicure, Radiant Manicure, and Intense Moisturizing Manicure. The

Spa Manicure is an all-herbal manicure that helps de-stress by releasing the tension from your nerves using organic

products. The Radiant Manicure is an excellent way to whiten dull or tanned skin. Get rid of unevenly tanned skin

with this special manicure. The Intense Moisturizing Manicure is recommended for dry hands. Soak hands in a

special moisturising mixture for soft, beautiful hands.

Pedicure
A pedicure is the best stress relief for the body. It releases the tension from feet, relieving and detoxing the entire
body. At Naturals, they specialise in 3 types of pedicures – Radiant Pedicure, Intense Moisturizing Pedicure and
Spa Pedicure. The Radiant Pedicure is best. The Intense Moisturizing Pedicure is recommended for dry feet. Soak
your feet in a specially designed moisturising mixture and watch the dryness disappear!

The Spa Pedicure is an all-natural pedicure that uses organic products, which help soothe your nerves that leaves
you feeling completely relaxed.

7
Threading & Waxing

Natural’s professionals take utmost care to ensure customers have a comfortable and relatively less painful

grooming experience. At Naturals, customer body is treated with the best quality products. Eyebrow threading is

performed with consideration for your facial features, and body waxing leaves you with a silky-smooth finish.

Nail Art

At Naturals, nails are taken the best care of, from giving them simple to a dazed, embellished look. Nail art is a

creative way to decorate and enhance your nails how customer want to, making outfits stand out more. Talented nail

care experts can give you a classy French polish or trendy nail art.

Make Up

Naturals understand that wedding planning is a stressful process. That is why at Naturals, they offer pre-bridal

packages that consist of hair, skin, and body spa services that will help ease the stress and bring out inner glow. To

get the best results, they can opt for pre-bridal services 1-3 months before the customer big day. Bring partner along

and enjoy the benefits at discounted prices with the number of events involved, such as mehendi, cocktail, sangeet,

haldi, muhurtham, and reception, it is natural for the bride and the groom to want the best of looks ranging from

traditional to contemporary. They make all of wedding dreams come true with their professional groom and bridal

makeup services at Naturals.

Natural celebrity artists create the bride and groom makeup looks depending on different face shapes and

complexions to highlight their natural features and make them look stellar. With the help of professional equipment

and techniques, Natural expert stylists create everything from classic, traditional looks to chic, modern looks for

women and sharp, dapper looks for men.

Hairstyling is just as important as wedding day makeup. Natural’s stylists work magic on hair to create anything

from trendy to traditional styles that perfectly complement outfit and the occasion. Not just that, they customize

accessories based on bride and groom outfit and makeup style to tie the whole look together.

In a diverse country like India, wedding traditions and rituals change according to the varied religions and regions,

influencing wedding aesthetics. They stylists are adept at the different saree and dhoti draping techniques and will

make look flawless no matter the style.

8
Weddings are incomplete without Mehendi. Nowadays, it is more than just tradition. Brides and grooms can adorn

their hands with beautiful visual stories or even abstract art by skilled artists. From minimal designs to extravagant

artworks, the professional Mehendi artists at Naturals will help you achieve the look you want for your special day.

Service Blue Print of Naturals:

9
 CHAPTER 2:
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

RESEARCH DESIGN:
Descriptive research:
This study was carried to describe about the service gap of the natural’s salon and study of behavior of
the employees.
Situation analysis:
Situation analysis is the analysis about the company, competition and to obtain the information for the
purpose of research through library etc.
Data collection:
Data can be collected through primary and secondary data to carry out the research.
Primary data:
Primary data is the data which has been collected first hand and for the purpose of analysis. When the
data required by the researcher does not exist, inaccurate, incomplete then researcher
collects primary data through questionnaires.
• Students
• Corporate purpose
• Business purpose

Data collection instrument:

The instrument used for data collection of research was questionnaire. These are used to find out how satisfied the
customers are with Naturals.

Measurement:
Respondents were asked about their name, age, and gender. The respondents were asked to answer a range of
questions that were prepared in accordance to the SERVQUAL scale which included questions pertaining to
reliability, assurance, tangibility, empathy, and responsiveness. This enabled us to obtain a variety of perspectives
with respect to expected and perceived service.

10
Software used: -
The data was streamlined and examined using MS-Excel. In order to simplify things, the data was first transformed
into a coded format by allocating pertinent numbers to each response. Then, average replies from both predicted
and actual service were taken for each element. The variance was then estimated for each dataset. A two-mean t-test
was then performed for each factor to determine whether there were any discernible differences between the
services.

Test used
The test used is t-test, A statistical test called a t test is employed to compare the means of two groups. It is
frequently employed in hypothesis testing to establish whether a procedure or treatment truly affects the population
of interest or whether two groups differ from one another.

The 5 dimensions of quality are: -

Assurance, empathy, responsiveness, reliability, and tangible are the five dimensions of quality.

i. Assurance gap: This happens when the staff at the salon fails to inspire the client with trust,
confidence, and reassurance.
ii. The empathy gap is when the employees of the salon do not demonstrate empathy or understanding for the
demands and concerns of the client.
iii. A responsiveness gap develops when the salon staff takes too long to respond to enquiries, grievances, or
requests from clients.
4. The ability of the salon to provide the service on time each time is referred to as the reliability gap in this
dimension. This covers both the salon's capacity to meet client demands and expectations and the promptness of
service provision.
v. Tangible gap: On this dimension, the physical elements of the service—such as the salon's look, its tools, and its
personnel—are discussed. A salon's cleanliness, atmosphere, lighting, and staff members' looks and grooming are
examples of tangibles.

11
We divided the whole Responses into two samples where t-test can be applied.

1. TANGIBLES

t-Test: Paired Two Sample for Means

Variable
1 Variable 2
Mean 4.166667 3.9111111
Variance 0.679775 0.8009988
Observations 90 90
Pearson Correlation #N/A
Hypothesized Mean Difference 0
df 89
t Stat 1.911825
P(T<=t) one-tail 0.029558
t Critical one-tail 1.662155
P(T<=t) two-tail 0.059116
t Critical two-tail 1.986979

For tangibles aspect of naturals, for two data sets the t stat value is 1.911825.

2. RELIABILITY
t-test paired two sample for means

Variable
Variable 1 2
Mean 4 3.866667
Variance 0.719101124 0.701124
Observations 90 90
Pearson Correlation 0.189888631
Hypothesized Mean
Difference 0
df 89
t Stat 1.179247642
P(T<=t) one-tail 0.120721206
t Critical one-tail 1.662155326
P(T<=t) two-tail 0.241442412
t Critical two-tail 1.9869787

12
From the reliability aspect the t stat value is 1.179247642.

3. RESPONSIVENESS

t-test paired two sample for means

Variable 1 Variable 2
Mean 4.088888889 3.888888889
Variance 0.800998752 0.88639201
Observations 90 90
Pearson Correlation 0.038522281
Hypothesized Mean Difference 0
df 89
t Stat 1.489575968
P(T<=t) one-tail 0.069935548
t Critical one-tail 1.662155326
P(T<=t) two-tail 0.139871096
t Critical two-tail 1.9869787

From the responsiveness aspect the t stat value is 1.489575968

4. ASSURANCE

t-Test: Paired Two Sample for Means

Variable 1 Variable 2
Mean 3.966666667 3.688888889
Variance 0.796629213 1.093133583
Observations 90 90
-
Pearson Correlation 0.083480942
Hypothesized Mean Difference 0
df 89
t Stat 1.842518212
P(T<=t) one-tail 0.03436445
t Critical one-tail 1.662155326
P(T<=t) two-tail 0.0687289
t Critical two-tail 1.9869787

13
From the assurance aspect the t stat value is 1.842518212

5. EMPATHY

t-Test: Paired Two Sample for Means

Variable 1 Variable 2
Mean 4.111111111 3.811111111
Variance 0.95380774 0.829088639
Observations 90 90
Pearson Correlation 0.087041881
Hypothesized Mean Difference 0
df 89
t Stat 2.230505611
P(T<=t) one-tail 0.014114105
t Critical one-tail 1.662155326
P(T<=t) two-tail 0.028228211
t Critical two-tail 1.9869787

From the empathy aspect the t stat value is 2.230505611

14
 CHAPTER 3
Analysis of the study

The survey most of the responses are 57.5% m ale and 42.5% is female.

The data is the list of age ranges for a group of individuals. The largest age group 55.2%
which is blue in colour is the range of 18-25 age, 21% is 26-35 of age it is in red colour, 17.7%
is 36-45 of age in orange colour and remaining is 45 & above is in green colour.

15
The data is a list of individual incomes and the income ranges are divided into four categories.
It is used to calculate the percentage of individuals falling under each income range. Below
3lakhs is 18.2%,23.8% is in between 3- 5 lakhs, the highest percentage is in between 5-10
lakhs and above 10 lakhs are 26%.

From the given responses, we can see that 38.3% means 69 people strongly agree that
Naturals offer good services, 42.2% - 76 people are agree that Naturals offers good services, 26
people are neutral with service and other 9 people are dissatisfied with services.

16
The data provides responses that how employees are supportive and friendly to the customers.
90 people agree and 55 strongly agree that employees are supportive with customer, but others
are dissatisfied with the services.

69 members agree and 55 members strongly agree with the Natural prices but 40 members
says that they are neither satisfied nor dissatisfied with the ambience of the store. 16 are
dissatisfied with the prices.

17
The largest percentage of respondents say that staff is qualified enough with customers
wishes. 95 people are agreeing and 43 people strongly agree with the statement but 30
people reported that they are neither satisfied nor dissatisfied with the services. 11 are not
satisfied with their services.

Most respondents (125people) reported that Naturals take good quality and hygiene
measures

18
Natural products which are recommended to customers are satisfied to 129 members only but
39 members are netural. Remaining 13 members are not at all satisfied.

Most respondents (113people) reported that Naturals use quality and safe products.
While 55 people are neutral with the products.

19
Most respondents (129people) reported that Naturals recommend products to
customers for future use.

133 of respondents are satisfied with the appointment bookings, 41% of respondents are
neutral, indicating that they do not have a strong opinion either way, remaining 7 are not at all
satisfied.

20
46 respondents are neutral about the products indicating that they do not have a strong opinion
on this matter. 111 of respondents agree that products are trustworthy, while 23 of respondents
disagree with this statement.

Most of the respondents says that they are safe in Naturals hands with a good, qualified, and
safe employee. As we can see 124 respondents are happy with the Naturals, 43 are neutral and
other 14 are not satisfied with them.

21
44 respondents (38.7%) reported that they are neutral about naturals are not providing with supportive
extended services, but 120 respondents are happy with supportive extended services.

123 respondents say that Naturals offers good deals and services, but 45 are neutral with their
offers.

22
Most respondents (138 customers) say that they respond to complaints but 34 says they are
neutral

Most respondents (122) recommended friends and family to visit Naturals.

23
 35.2% of respondents are very satisfied and 45.3% of respondents are satisfied with
the overall experience with Natural salon and 14.5% neutral indicating that they do not have
a strong opinion either way.

24
 CHAPTER 4

Findings

• There is no service gap in terms of reliability, assurance, tangibility, or responsiveness for

trends, according to the SERVQUAL scale. The actual service provided by the Naturals
Salon exceeds the respondents' expectations in these areas.

• The SERVQUAL scale indicates that respondents' expectations in terms of service quality

and customer satisfaction are exceeded in these areas. These areas do not have any service
gaps.

• As the respondents believe the salon is not empathic enough, there is a service gap in
terms of empathy.

• By focusing on these elements, green trends will be able to satisfy all responders with the
degree of service quality it provides.

LIMITATIONS:

• Timing constraints were quite tight because it was difficult for the respondents to

complete the questionnaire.

• Customers were unable to respond to several questionnaire questions, particularly those

that focused on employees' points of view from a viewpoint.

• The participants were unable to respond to some questionnaire questions since they did

not use a lot of services.

It is challenging to draw conclusions based just on the responses of survey respondents

when measuring the level of service offered by naturals salon.

25
 Conclusion:

Naturals salon: The dependability, dedication, common sense, empathy, and friendliness of the
customer service should be considered by managers and clients alike. Due to the rising social
awareness of the value of services and the level of competition in e-commerce, SERVQUAL is
crucial for the advancement of green trends (as a result of the opening of numerous new, high-
quality E-commerce). Finally, our team has found that a favorable perception of the service's
quality in the public's mind results in a higher level of satisfaction.

So, Naturals Salons should use their superior level of service as a tactical tool to outperform their
competitors.

Reference:

GOOGLE FORMS LINK: - https://forms.gle/tK4nTfVSkYaxfPhS7

WEBSITE LINK- https://naturals.in/about-us

26