This research report summarizes a study conducted at Ndumu River Lodge to evaluate the expectations and experiences of guests and tourists. The study utilized questionnaires distributed to 25 randomly selected guests to gather data on demographics, reasons for visiting, expectations, ratings of customer service, and factors influencing satisfaction. Key findings indicated that treating guests poorly or providing incorrect information negatively impacted satisfaction, while working as a team and treating customers well improved service quality and increased return customers. Recommendations included being open on weekends when more people are available and hiring permanent rather than intern staff. In conclusion, customers reported generally positive perceptions of service quality at Ndumu River Lodge.

1. THE RESEARCH REPORT CONDUCTED
BY
LINDANI BHEKITHEMBA KHUMALO
NDUMU RIVER LODGE

2. RESARCH TOPIC
• EVALUATING THE EXPECTATIONS AND EXPERIENCE OF
GUEST/TOURIST AT NDUMU RIVER LODGE

3. PRESENTATION OUTLINE
• INTRODUCTION
• RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
• RESEARCH QUESTIONS
• BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
• THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
• LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
• RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
• DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
• FINDINGS/RESULTS
• RECOMMENDATIONS
• CONCLUSION

4. INTRODUCTION
• THIS PRESENTATION IS ALL ABOUT THE RESEARCH CONDUCTED
AT NDUMU RIVER LODGE.THE AIM OF THE RESEARCH WAS TO
EVALUATE THE EXPACTATIONS AND EXPERIENCE OF
GUEST/TOURIST AT NDUMU RIVER LODGE.
11/27/2022 1

5. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
• TO DETERMINE FACTORS INFLUENCING CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
• TO DEVELOP A BUSINESS SERVICE EXCELLENCE MODEL AND STRATEGY TO
IMPROVE SERVICE QUALITY
• TO EXPONENTIALLY IMPROVE THE NUMBER OF RETURN CUSTOMERS TO
NDUMU RIVER LODGE
• TO EXAMINE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SERVICE QUALITY AND CUSTOMER
SATISFACTION AMONG TOURISM BUSINESS IN INGWAVUMA AREA
11/27/2022 2

6. RESEARCH QUESTIONS
MAIN QUESTION
• WHAT CAN BE USED TO EVALUATE THE GUEST / TOURISTS EXPERIENCE AT NDUMU RIVER LODGE?
SUBSIDIRY QUESTIONS
• WHAT CAN BE USED BY NDUMU RIVER LODGE TO DETERMINE FACTORS INFLUENCING CUSTOMER
SATISFACTION?
• HOW CAN NDUMU RIVER LODGE DEVELOP A BUSINESS SERVICE EXCELLENCE MODEL AND STRATEGY TO
IMPROVE SERVICE QUALITY?
• HOW CAN NDUMU RIVER LODGE IMPROVE THE NUMBER OF RETURN CUSTOMERS?
• WHAT CAN BE USED TO EXAMINE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SERVICE AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
AMONG TOURISM BUSINESS ?
11/27/2022 3

7. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
• NDUMU RIVER LODGE LOCATED AND OPERATING IN THE INGWAVUMA AREA.
• NDUMU RIVER LODGE 1998, ORGANISING AND RUNNING TRADITIONAL GAME DRIVES, BIRD
WATCH AND EDUCATIONAL IN AND AROUND THE TOWN OF INGWAVUMA IN THE PROVINCE OF
KWAZULU-NATAL.
• NDUMU RIVER LODGE WAS AWARDED CERTIFICATE OF PARTICIPATION IN KZN HOSPITALITY
YOUTH PROGRAMME (2016-2018)
• NDUMU RIVER LODGE IT A 3 STAR GRADED
11/27/2022 4

8. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
CUSTOMER SERVICE
• ACCORDING TO KALLENDOR (2010) CUSTOMER SERVICE IS A PROCESS,
NOT A SET OF ACTIONS THAT MIGHT INCLUDE GREETING THE CUSTOMER,
SMILING AND ASKING IF YOU CAN HELP. CUSTOMER SERVICE IS NOT ONLY
ABOUT INDIVIDUAL RESPONSES, BUT ABOUT HOW THE ORGANIZATION
DELIVERS ITS PRODUCT OR SERVICE. THE PROCESS HAS TO BE EFFICIENT IN
TERMS OF INFORMATION, USE OF RESOURCES AND EFFORT .THE PROCESS
HAS TO BE TRANSPARENT AND CONSISTENT TO ALL CUSTOMERS.
11/27/2022 5

9. SERVICE QUALITY
• ACCORDING TO PARASURAMAN ET AL. (2008) SERVICE QUALITY IS
A FUNCTION OF THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN EXPECTATIONS AND
PERFORMANCES ALONG THE QUALITY DIMENSIONS, SERVICE
QUALITY AS A FORM OF ATTITUDE RELATED, BUT NOT EQUIVALENT
TO, SATISFACTION THAT RESULTS FROM THE COMPARISON OF
EXPECTATIONS WITH PERFORMANCES.
11/27/2022 6

10. LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
• TIME FACTOR
WE DON’T GET ENOUGH TIME TO WRITE OUR SCHOOL WORK
BECAUSE WE ALWAYS WORKING WE WORK LONG HOURS.
• RESOURCES
THERE IS NO WI-FI IN OUR ROOMS
SOME ARE NOT INTRESTEND
DAYS AND NUMBER OF GUEST ARRIVAL ARE DIFFERENT
11/27/2022 7

11. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
RESEARCH STYLE SIMPLE RANDOM SAMPLING
TARGET POPULATION NDUMU RIVER LODGE GUEST
RESEARCH SAMPLE 25 GUEST WERE SELECTED
RESEARCH INSTRUMENT QUESTIONNAIRES
ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA MICROSOFT EXCEL
11/27/2022 8

12. DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
• DEMOGRAPHIC DETAILS
GENDER
11/27/2022 9

13. DEMOGRAPHICS CONTI….
11/27/2022 10

14. CLASSIFICATION OF WHY TOURIST VISIT NDUMU RIVER LODGE.
11/27/2022 11

15. CUSTOMER EXPECTATION CLASSIFICATION
DID YOU EXCEED YOUR EXPECTATIONS AT NDUMU RIVER LODGE?
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
YES NO DO NOT KNOW
CUSTOMERS
EXPECTATION
11/27/2022 12

16. CUSTOMER SERVICE CLASSIFICATION
• HOW WOULD YOU RATE THE CARE GIVEN AT NDUMU RIVER
LODGE?
0 5 10 15 20 25
POOR
GOOD
EXCELLENT
CUSTOMER
SERVICE
11/27/2022 13

17. FINDINGS
OBJECTIVES FINDINGS
• TO DETERMINE FACTORS INFLUENCING CUSTOMER
SATISFACTION
TREATING THE GUEST IN A BAD WAY AND NOT TELLING THE
GUEST THE CORRECT INFORMATION INFLUENCE CUSTOMER
SATISFACTION
• TO DEVELOP A BUSINESS SERVICE EXCELLENCE MODEL
AND STRATEGY TO IMPROVE SERVICE QUALITY
WORKING AS A TEAM CAN IMPROVE SERVICE QUALITY SO IN
THE WORK PLACE WE NEED TO WORK AS A TEAM
• TO EXPONENTIALLY IMPROVE THE NUMBER OF RETURN
CUSTOMERS TO THEO TOURS AND CULTURE
TREATING THE CUSTOMERS IN A GOOD WAY CAN INCREASE
THE NUMBER OF RETURNING CUSTOMERS AT THEO TOURS
11/27/2022 14

18. RECOMMENDATIONS
• IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT TOURISM BUSINESSES MUST BE
OPENED ON WEEKENDS BECAUSE IT’S WHERE MORE PEOPLE ARE
OFF TO WORK SO MOST OF THE PEOPLE LIKE TO SPEND TIME
WITH THEIR FAMILIES DOING ANY TOURISM ACTIVITIES.
• IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT THE MANAGER MUST EMPLOY
PERMANENT STAFF BECAUSE THEY HAVE A LOT OF EXPERENCE
THAN INTERNS
11/27/2022 15

19. CONCLUSION
• THIS STUDY INDICATES THAT CUSTOMERS OF THE NDUMU
RIVER LODGE HAVE POSITIVE PERCEPTIONS OF THE QUALITY
OF SERVICES DELIVERED BY NDUMU RIVER LODGE, AS
CUSTOMERS’ EXPECTATIONS WERE MET IN THE PERFORMANCE
OF SERVICES DELIVERED.
11/27/2022 16

20. THE END
THANK YOU
11/27/2022 17