Results 2005

Final Results 2005

This is the fourth year that the study has been conducted. During the first quarter of 2005 two new industries, medical aids and municipalities, have been measured. The study covering other industries that have been measured previously will be conducted later in the year.

Overall Ranking Graph

Excellence vs Dissatisfaction
A slightly different way of looking at the results is to examine the variety of responses. The table below demonstrates some of these differences and here, the scores are ranked on what is called the 'Éxcellence Index'. This index is a measure of the proportion of people who rated the service that they received as 9/10 or 10/10. This score is most useful, however, if it is compared to the Dissatisfaction Index which reflects the proportion of people who rated the service that they received as being 5/10 or less.

A service provider who is delivering consistently high levels of service will have a high Excellence Index and a low Dissatisfaction Index. A service provider that is scoring well on the Excellence Index but with a relatively high Dissatisfaction Index score is offering inconsistent service i.e. sometimes very good and sometimes very poor. Where the Excellence Index is low and the Dissatisfaction Index is high, service delivery is generally poor.

The Excellence and Dissatisfaction Indices are reflected in the table below, together with the overall SAS Index^TM score.

	SAS Index™ Score	Excellence Index	Dissatisfaction Index
Medical Aids	73.4	49.5	16.3
Municipalities	71.3	29.6	22.8
Medihelp	81	60.2	8.8
City of Cape Town	79.9	48.8	14.6
Discovery Health	78.9	54.8	10
Other Medical Aid	73.5	47.6	15.3
Ethekwini Municipality (Durban)	70.2	29.5	25.2
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality (Port Elizabeth)	69.9	22.6	31.9
Medshield	67.6	42.8	22.9
City of Johannesburg	66.5	30.8	24.8
Bonitas Medical Scheme	64.6	42.6	26.3

The impact of SAS Index^TM
The question that was a priority in the minds of the participants in the survey was around the industry improvements in service that the measurement supported. The graphs below demonstrate the significant impact on the performance of the two industries included in the survey for the last three years.

Performance in both the Telecommunications and Banking industries in 2004 has improved markedly and this shows, quite clearly, that SAS Index^TM has indeed delivered.

Historical Comparison : Telecommunications Graph

Historical Comparison : Banking Graph

Continued improvements in these industries will become less easy to achieve as companies near ideal performance levels and as customer expectations increase. However, the companies involved have proved they are up to the challenge.

SAS Index^TM has been expanded to include other industries and sectors, amongst them Medical Aids and Municipalities. It is expected that repeat measures in this industry will report similar levels of improvement as those experienced in the banking and telecommunications industries.

Medical Aids
Spiralling membership costs and the uncertainty due to changing legislation have exacerbated negative sentiment felt by many South Africans towards what is essentially a grudge purchase, their medical cover. It is therefore perhaps not surprising that the SAS Index^TM results indicate that customers are not entirely satisfied with their suppliers. While this industry has not previously been measured by the SAS Index^TM, a comparison with a similar industry, the Long Term Assurance industry (79.8%), points to some dissatisfaction with Medical Aids (73.4%).

Two of the Medical Aid suppliers measured have managed to overcome the inherent difficulties in the industry. Medihelp took pride of place with the most satisfied customers of those measured, with Discovery Health not lagging far behind.

For all the companies measured, perceived value was the greatest stumbling block, with customers clearly not considering the costs to be reasonable. Recent changes to legislation, which will make medical aid more accessible to lower income groups, may make it increasingly difficult to meet customers’ expectations in this regard.

Municipalities
In the private sector, organisations wanting to compete successfully in any given industry have little choice with regard to the service levels they provide. Quite simply, if their customers are not satisfied with their service levels, the organisation in question will lose their customers. Given South Africa's isolation in the apartheid years, many South Africans expressed doubts as to whether service levels here were comparable to international standards. SAS Index^TM results over the past few years have dispelled these doubts, reporting satisfaction levels which often exceed those of their European and American equivalents. Furthermore, organisations are not relaxing in light of acceptable service levels - two key industries, banking and telecommunications, have shown great improvements since they were first measured on the SAS Index^TM in 2001.

The next question one might ask, are the improved service levels also applicable to the public arena? Municipalities were measured for the first time in the latest SAS Index^TM survey, and the results are certainly interesting. A restructuring of the municipalities around the country in 2000 saw the previous fragmented system disappear in favour of the new unicity concept. While this overcame the problem of duplication of systems and services, and widely dispersed authority, it did mean these new metropolitan municipalities (incorporated) needed to service areas ranging from the extremely wealthy (e.g.Sandton) to the poverty stricken informal settlements (e.g. Orange Farm).

Satisfying the diverse needs of these different groups within one municipality is never going to be a simple task. The results indicate, however, that it is indeed achievable, with Cape Town leading the way. Having achieved a SAS Index^TM score of 79.9%, satisfaction levels reported for the Cape Town Municipality are comparable to those reported for Telkom, Metropolitan Life and Discovery Health. Although there are areas that need further attention, the municipality staff came across as empathetic and friendly.

The municipalities of Ethekwini, Nelson Mandela and Greater Johannesburg did not match that of Cape Town, and also do not meet the standards set by most of the organisations measured by SAS Index^TM in other industries. Caught between criticism of high rates and expensive services on the one hand, and inadequate service delivery on the other, it seems inevitable that municipalities have to compromise the satisfaction of one group in order to meet the needs of others. However difficult, Cape Town appears to have balanced these opposing needs relatively well, and are providing an example worth following.

The Conclusion
As SAS Index^TM becomes increasingly established and recognised as the benchmark for decision-makers, consumers and other stakeholders, the study will continue to be published annually. In addition when results are compared to the American (ACSI) and European (EPSI) studies, it will continue to offer a benchmark against which customer delights and complaints can be compared across the globe.

The study will be rolled out across other major industries in South Africa in the near future. This measurement of all industries will serve to offer ongoing local and international comparisons to fuel the drive of local businesses to achieve world class levels of customer satisfaction, customer loyalty and customer advocacy.

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