VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI
SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
DO THI THEM NGOC

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION ASSESSMENT
ON VIETINBANK’S CARD SERVICE QUALITY
Major : Business Administration
Code : 60 34 05

Master of business administration thesis Supervisor: VU ANH DUNG, PhD.
HA NGUYEN, MBA.
Hà Nội 11/2011 v
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKOWLEDGEMENT i
LIST OF TABLES vii
LIST OF FIGURES viii

CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS 46
3.1 Characteristics of the sample 46
3.2.Customer satisfaction on Vietinbank’s card 49
3.3. Comparison between customers’ satisfaction toward each service
attribute and the overall satisfaction level 54
3.4. Comparison of Vietinbank’s and other banks’ card service quality 58
CHAPTER 4- CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 64
CHAPTER 4- CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 64
4.1. Conclusions 64
4.2. Recommendations 64
4.2.1. Suggestions to improving debit card service quality 65
4.2.2. Suggestions for Vietinbank to improving credit card service quality 67
4.2.3. Suggested action plan for Vietinbank to improve card service quality
in the next two years 68
REFERENCES 69
APPENDICES 72
Appendix 2: Data from survey 73
Q 2: Gender of respondents 73
vii
LIST OF TABLES
TABLE 1.1- SERVICE ATTRIBUTES 10
TABLE 1.2- SERVICE ATTRIBUTES 11
TABLE 2.1- MEASUREMENTS OF INDICATORS 33
TABLE 2.2- VIETINBANK’S CARD 41
TABLE 3.1- CUSTOMER SATISFACTION ON VIETINBANK’S CARD SERVICE QUALITY 54
TABLE 3.2- CUSTOMER PERCEPTION OF VIETINBANK’S CARD SERVICE 60
TABLE 4.1- SUGGESTED ACTION PLAN FOR 2012 AND 2013 68

FIGURE 3.7- CUSTOMER SATISFACTION ON VIETINBANK CARD SERVICE RANKING BY
SATISFACTION LEVEL 51
FIGURE 3.8- CUSTOMER SATISFACTION ON VIETINBANK CARD SERVICE RANKING BY
DISSATISFACTION LEVEL 52
FIGURE 3.9- TROUBLE IN TRANSACTION 53
FIGURE 3.10- CUSTOMER SATISFACTION TOWARD TROUBLE SOLVING OF VIETINBANK 53
FIGURE 3.11- CUSTOMER SATISFACTION OF VIETINBANK CARD 54
FIGURE 3.12- SPIDER CHART OF VIETINBANK’S CARD SERVICE QUALITY 56
FIGURE 3.13- HISTOGRAM DIAGRAM OF SATISFACTION LEVEL 57
FIGURE 3.18- COMPARISON OF VIETINBANK AND OTHER BANKS’ CARD SERVICE 59
FIGURE 3.15- COMPARISON OF CUSTOMERS’ EVALUATION ON VIETINBANK’S AND OTHER
BANKS’ CARD SERVICE QUALITY 63
1
INTRODUCTION
Problem identification
Retail banking services especially bank card services are increasingly popular in
daily life (Hue, 2010). Most of banks in over the world develop retail services
having remarkable contributions to their revenue and profit. Nowadays, banks not
only concentrate on traditional service including deposit, loan and letter of credit
but also develop value added services such as card, internet and mobile banking.
These services have been becoming really important because they created
differentiation among banks. In Vietnam, bank card services have been toughly
competitive (Hue, 2010). Among 47 domestic banks, 37 joint stocked commercial
banks together with four 100% foreign banks including Citibank, ANZ bank, HSBC
and Standard and Charter Bank can issue cards and have point of sales through
which customer could pay by cards. However, financial experts in Vietnam believed
that banking card market in Vietnam is still in early stage as the market size is much

 How are Vietinbank’s customers satisfied with card service quality?
 What should Vietinbank do to improve its card service quality?
Research Scope
The research focuses on Vietinbank card service quality. The survey is conducted
from January to June, 2011 in Hanoi. Comments are given to Vietinbank up to
2020.
Data resource
There are two kinds of information sources using for analyses. First, the secondary
data is collected from annual reports, magazines, newspapers and previous
researches. Second, the primary data is gotten by a survey with customers of private
banking service sector through questionnaires delivery and in- dept interviews.
Method
The research is based on the quantitative and qualitative method. For the 3
quantitative method, questionnaire delivery was used to collect information.
Quantitative data is process by SPSS (Statistical Products for Social Services)
software. For the remaining, in- dept interview technique was used. Qualitative data
is processed by NVIVO principle. These approaches will be presented in details in
Chapter 3.
Significance
After finishing the thesis, theory of customer satisfaction and framework of
customer satisfaction measurement on bank card service quality are completed.
Besides, the research can get information on customer satisfaction toward
Vietinbank card services through research result. The thesis is also a reference
material guiding for other banks in assessing customer satisfaction.
Research result
The research result suggests the most suitable model to assess customer satisfaction
in bank card service quality. It also recommends what Vietinbank should do to

about customer satisfaction toward Vietinbank’s card service quality. Some
suggestions for further study are also given. 5
CHAPTER 1 - CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
This part presents the literature about service quality and customer satisfaction and
information about previous in research in Vietnam and aboard. Then more specific
information about Vietinbank card service and bank card market in Vietnam is also
introduced.
1.1. Service quality
1.1.1. Service definition
There are many definitions on service. Most of them are defined from the
distinction of service from goods. In the simple way, service is everything except
manufacturing, growing, processing. Afterwards, people said that services are
intangible things which are derived from an activity or some activities. Some other
said services are intangible things which are derived from a process or some
processes. Recently, International Organization for Standardization (ISO) reckons
that services are set of activities between customers and providers and within
provider to satisfy customer’s demand.
Services are different from products because of its components. They are derived

capacity cannot be reserved. This characteristic leads to the difficulty in balancing
demand and supply. However, the problem can be overcome in some ways, such as
use of creative price to help firm to reduce the demand fluctuation. Another
solution for this situation is that service companies can provide the complementary
sevice that directly relate to core service offering. By this ways, they can create new
market segments. Other alternatives are utilizing part-time employees, outsourcing
to cut down the cost, increase the customers.
Finally, it is not easy to measure service quality. Because services are intangible and
unstable in term of the quality requirement, it is difficult to measure their quality.
Service often is provided in a specific situation for each customer while product is
manufactured under a given standard. This characteristic leads to a difficult for
customer access service quality. During the measuring process, people have to base 7
on customers’ feeling. In addition to that, the result of service quality survey is
based on majority of customers’ ideas. Understanding the nature of service may be
useful to explore further into service quality.
1.1.2. Quality definition
Gurus on quality gave many quality definitions. So far, there are several principal
approaches on quality: the transcendent, product-based, user based, manufacturing
based, value-based, competitiveness – based, and ISO’s concept.
According to the transcendent view, quality is absolute, unique and perfect. People
having quality definition on transcendent view would say that they know when they
see it but they could not define it exactly. This view shows that, quality can not be
defined precisely, that is only learned through experience. The approach is more
reasonable in case quality is difficult to measure. In some extent, the approach
reflects how to make things different from other and how to take competitive
advantages. It warns that innovation is the best way to get high quality.
Product based quality is based on a product attributes. It implies that the more

know how to assess quality level; the ISO’s view on quality shows objects are
requirements including Customer requirement, manufacturer/ service provider
requirement, and community requirement. It surmounts limitation of old definition
by giving requirements which are used to define quality. By this way, people can
image quality clearer. Secondly, ISO’s quality definition also mentions current and
potential demand which overcomes time limitation of previous definitions. If there
are customers’ demands appear today but they were not recognized in the past, so
people can include these demands in the quality definition. By these reasons, the
ISO’s quality definition has been considered the most popular up to now.
1.1.3. Service quality
It is more difficult for customer to evaluate than product quality. The definition is
mainly based on customer perception of the outcome of service and their evaluation
about the service supplying process. Service quality perception is driven from
comparison of customers’ expectation prior to the service and their perception about 9
the level of service received (Hoffman & Bateson, 1997).
However, customer may evaluate service quality in different ways from how they
perceive product quality. In evaluating service quality the experience and credence
quality is more important than search quality. Search quality are attributes that
customer can evaluate before purchasing. Experience quality is attributes that
customers only perceive during or after the consumption process. Credence quality
is attributes that customer difficulty to evaluate even after consumption of service.
(Hoffman & Bateson, 1999). Those things make service quality become more
complex and difficult to evaluate. It may be helpful when people view service
quality base on its ten dimensions. These ten dimensions are reliability,
responsiveness, competence, access, courtesy, communication, creditability,
security, understanding the customer, and tangible (Table 1.1).


informed, and ability to listen to them
functional
technical
Creditability
Perceived trustworthy, believability and
honesty of the retailer company and its
staff.
Functional
Security
freedom from doubt, danger or risk
technical
Understanding
the customer
Customers recognize that the retailer make
an effort to know them and their need.
Functional
Tangible
Appearance of the store, its merchandise,
displays, and staffs
technical
Source: Parasuraman, 1985
All of these dimensions can be classified as technical quality or functional quality.
Technical quality describes what customers get and when they get from service
providers. While, functional quality describes how customers get service. Access,
security, and tangible can be classified as technical quality. Responsiveness,
courtesy, creditability, competence, understanding customer is functional quality. 11
Reliability and communication are both functional and technical quality.

of this can be considered “service quality”.
Bank card service quality can be considered as the difference between customers’
expectation toward service and their perception of the real service. The difference
can be one of three cases. Firstly, it is the gap between perception and expectation 12
by customers. By comparing perception and expectation, customers can decide the
level of service quality. If the perception is higher than expectation, customers are
satisfied with service. If the service is provided in the way that customer wished,
service quality is acceptable. If service provider does not meet customers’
expectation, customers are dissatisfied. Secondly, the difference can be identified
between customer and service provider’s perception. In this way, customer and
service staff or manager, in turn, answer same questions, the gap between their
evaluation will show quality level. Thirdly, it is assumed that customers expect the
highest level of service attributes, the difference, thus, will be the gap between the
maximum level and the perception.
There are three components of bank card service quality. They are presented as
followings:
(i) core service: including such items as reasonable interest rate, short providing
time, simple procedure, security;
(ii) supporting service: including easy accessibility, easy transaction, short
processing time;
(iii) assurance: qualification, skills and attitude of staffs.
1.2. Measurement of service quality
1.2.1. Review of multi- attribute concept
The multi- attribute concept about service states that a service (or product) can be
viewed as a bundle of benefits and costs. Whenever anyone would like to consider
and examine a service or product, he or she can focus its attributes (Wilkie and
Pessemier, 1973). Although this concept has advantage of yielding feasible
14

Source: Gronroos, 1984
1.2.3. Review of Servqual model
Quality definition
The concept of Servqual model is generally based on gap theory of Parasuraman,
Zeithaml, and Berry (1985), which suggests that “the difference between customers’
assessment of the actual performance of a specific firm within a general class of
service providers and their expectation about the performance of that class (P-E
gap) drives the perception of service quality.”

and Responsiveness. The explanation of each dimension is as follows:
Reliability dimension: reflects the consistency and dependability of a firm’s
performance. In order to assess the service performance on this dimension, some
questions can be asked such as does the firm provide the same level of service time
after time, or does quality dramatically vary with each encounter? Does the firm
keep its promises, bill its customers accurately, keep accurate records, and perform
the service correctly the first time?
Assurance dimension: addresses the competence of a firm, the courtesy it extends to
its customers, and the security of the service. This dimension refers to how a firm’s
personnel interact with customers and customers’ possession such as courtesy
reflects politeness, friendliness, and consideration for the customers’ property.
Tangibility dimension: because of the absence of a physical product, customers
often rely on the tangible evidence that surrounds the service in forming evaluation.
This dimension includes variety of objects such as desks, lightning, wall color, 16
brochures, appearance of firm’s personnel, etc.
Empathy dimension: is ability of the firm’s personnel to experience customers’
feeling as their own. Empathic firms understand their customer needs and make
their service accessible to customers.
Responsiveness dimension: reflects the commitment of a firm to provide its service
in a timely manner. This dimension concerns the willingness and readiness of
personnel to provide a service. It reflects the preparedness of the firm to provide the
service.
Servqual questionnaires
Servqual questionnaire includes 22 pairs of question designed to capture the
perception of customer about their expectation toward 22 attributes of a service and
their perceived performance of these attributes. These pairs of question have the
same format according to Parasuraman, Berry, and Zeithaml (1991). Customers

implies that the improvement of an attribute which has bigger P-E gap will provide
more benefits than improvement of an attribute which has smaller P-E gap so the
former has higher priority to improve. The results of this research will prove that
this implication is not always valid. In case of some attributes, the improvement is
not worth even though the performance gap is large
1.2.4. Review of Servperf model
Quality definition
Cronin and Taylor in 1992 after their research on Servqual scale showed that it is
better to discard E component and let P component alone be used. According to the
authors, whenever customer rates their satisfaction/ dissatisfaction level (P), he or
she implies a comparison with expectation (E). Service quality in this case is equal
to customer perception of service attributes.
Service quality = perception (of the attribute performance)
18
Where:
SQi = perceived service quality of individual “i”
k = number of attributes
Pij = perception of individual “i” with respect to performance of a service
provider on attribute “j”
Servperf dimensions
The model is based on SERVQUAL model, thus, RATER is still used to develop a
system of criteria to measure service quality (details on criteria are presented in
chapter 2). Service attributes can be classified into 5 dimensions: tangible,
reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. The explanation of each
dimension is same to Servqual model.
Servperf questionnaires
As mentioned above, since the expectation component is discarded in Servperf

defined as quality. This definition links quality concept with customer benefits.
Kano diagram
It is clear that higher service (or product) performance can result in higher customer
satisfaction. However, the relationship between customer satisfaction and service
(or product) performance is more complicated than this. For some attributes,
customer satisfaction can be greatly improved only with a small improvement of
performance; while, for some other attributes, customer satisfaction can only be
improved a little even when the performance of the service (or product) has been
greatly improved. It is because of the fact that whenever a customer looks for a
service (or product), his or her requirements are not equally important. Some
requirements seem to be the most important and a customer will not choose service
(or product) if it does not satisfy him or her. Some seem not to be important as
customer does not focus so much on them. Thus, the deep understanding of this
relationship is the prerequisite to achieving customer satisfaction.
To help people have deep knowledge on the relationship between service (product)
performance and customer satisfaction level, Kano have developed a very useful 20
diagram to classify customer needs (figure 1.1). This diagram is a tool in the field of
R&D for development new products and services, especially in the integration with
Quality Function Deployment (QFD) (Shen, Tan, and Xie, 2000). It devides service
(or product) features into three distinct categories, each of them affects customer
satisfaction in a very different way:
Basic needs - Must-be attributes: these are the basic needs of customers toward the
service (or product). The service must have attributes to satisfy those requirements
from customers. If customer is not satisfied by these atrtributes, they will be very
dissatisfied and it often lead to the situation that they do not choose the service.
Increasing the service performance in these attributes will lead to diminishing return
in customer satisfaction.