1. ANALYSIS OF CUSTOMER SATISFACTION WITH WAITING LINES IN TWO SEVER-
STAGE SERVICE. A CASE STUDY OF FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS IN KOFORIDUA
IN GHANA
By
Godfred Kwame Abledu
ABSTRACT
A basic fact of life is that we spend a great deal of time waiting in queues. In our
service economy, we wait in lines every day, from driving to work to checking out our
balances at the banks, at the supermarket, at fast food restaurant and many other
situations. The central problem in virtually every waiting line situation is a trade-off
decision. The manager must weigh the added cost of providing more rapid service
against the inherent cost of waiting in order to satisfy the demands of the customers.
Organizations and institutions owe their existence to the customers they serve
.Their survival and growth depend on their orientation to customer satisfaction(Chau-
Kuang & Hughes, 2004).Total Quality Management spreads from business to
education. The total quality initiatives also recognises the changing conditions in our
service economy, e.g. a considerable increase in customers' requirements and needs,
increasing demands from business and industry, increasing demands from governing
boards and the public sector, decreasing funds, and increasing competition among
institutions and organisations. Focusing on the customer is an essential principle of
Total Quality Management.
Without perceived value there is no reason for customers to choose a particular
financial institution over an increasingly large number of similar institutions. To raise that
value, customers' perceived quality and satisfaction should be measured and managed.
On this background it is essential to measure customers' perceived quality and
satisfaction within financial institutions
Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to develop and apply a queuing model
and an associated measurement instrument of customers' perceived quality, satisfaction
and loyalty. Three financial institutions in Koforidua would be selected at random for the
study. Managerial implications are discussed and the proposed model and
measurement instrument is used for tracking and benchmarking,

2. Keywords: queuing model, total quality, satisfaction, benchmarking