The perspectives of management and frontline employees on service quality management at Garuda Indonesia airline

Abstract

The internal understanding of service quality by management and employees is necessary to ensure that the organisation attains service excellence. It is important that a service organisation also devotes its attention to the role of frontline employees in delivering service to the customers. This study was carried out at Garuda Indonesia airline to understand the perspectives of management and frontline employees on service quality management, to compare both perspectives, and to determine what aspects influence frontline employees' attitude and motivation to deliver service quality. It is a descriptive study in nature that employs qualitative and quantitative approaches. The collection of data occurred entirely in Jakarta during the period of March to May 1999. The researcher interviewed six Garuda Indonesia senior managers and distributed questionnaires to frontline employees, as well as to managers. The findings suggest that Garuda Indonesia currently encounters internal and external problems that have hindered the development of a customer-oriented organisation. Managers show understanding of the service quality concepts. They are also aware of a critical role of frontline employees as the "moment of truth agents" in creating a positive image to customers. The research has revealed that frontline employees do not show that they are affected by the company crisis. They are aware of their roles to deliver service to customers. They indicate that management should provide adequate facilities and resources, adequate training and development programmes, and address the issues related to their well-being and satisfaction in order to motivate them to deliver excellent service. Overall, there is support for the hypothesis that managers and frontline employees have different perspectives on some aspects of service quality management at Garuda Indonesia. The study also provides practical advice which will assist the management of Garuda Indonesia to understand the aspects of service quality which have influenced their employees' motivation to deliver quality service.