Perceived Service Quality amongst Employees in the Utility Industry A Case Study of Kenya Power and Lighting Co. Ltd

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to establish the perception of employees in the utility industry towards the quality of service they deliver, a case study of Kenya Power and Lighting Company Ltd (KPLC) For a long time, KPLC has operated in a relatively stable environment. As a monopoly in the energy sector, it has enjoyed both the government and the donor community support. In the recent past, however, a lot of changes have taken place in the environment. The donor community which has supported the energy sector has given very stringent conditions if they are to continue to fund the sector. This has served as a major wake up call for this very essential service provider. It is also important to understand that there is a positive correlation between satisfying internal customers and meeting external customer's needs. Internal customers who are not happy with their jobs are not expected to treat external customers differently. This implies a link between a firm's success in the market and the firm's internal marketing practices. The researcher sought to determine the perception of KPLC internal customers towards the quality of service they provide, to determine whether the different categories of KPLC employees differ in their perception towards service quality, and to study the various gaps on all the service quality attributes. The study used both qualitative and quantitative research approaches and the method used for data collection was mainly the questionnaires. Secondary sources of materials from KPLC human resource department were also used to contrast practice from theory. The study came up with several findings that KPLC has a problem with several of the service quality dimensions and in particular, security, access, responsiveness as well as reliability and this was prevalent in all the three categories of KPLC internal customers.