Do hospitals in the UAE measure up to consumers' expectations?

World over, these questions are always nagging service providers such as finance, banking, telecommunications, automotive, etc. to name a few.

As the consumer grows in power with ready access to information and multiple choices of goods and services to choose from, these questions are now hitting other services which earlier either did not face competition (or so they believed) or did not feel the need to measure their performance. Hospitals are probably one such service in the UAE.

According to a recent study conducted by TNS Middle East & Africa among the top five hospitals in the UAE, customer satisfaction and retention is fairly high - indicating that hospitals are delivering on key consumer expectations. Of course, some hospitals have fared better than others.

TNS used its TRI*M research tool to measure customer satisfaction and retention among hospitals in the UAE. Typically, the key questions TRI*M answers are:
• What is the level of customer satisfaction and retention for my and competitions' service?
• What is the consumer typology? Am I benefiting from word of mouth?
• What are the key parameters that influence customers' satisfaction or dissatisfaction levels?
• Am I doing well on these parameters? How is my competition doing on these parameters?

As per this research study, the overall satisfaction index (TRI*M Index) in the UAE is 94 (the range of possible scores is -65 to 135). The best of the five hospitals has an index of 106 - and the lowest is 78.

TRI*M's customer satisfaction and retention index (TRI*M Index) is more sensitive and realistic as it does not depend on one single evaluation parameter such as 'overall performance' or 'overall satisfaction'. Rather, its calculation is based on customers' feedback on four parameters - performance, willingness to recommend to others, repurchase intention and customers' perception of the service having a certain level of competitive advantage.

As another diagnostic, TRI*M typology segregates customer base into four groups:
• Apostles - Satisfied and loyal, these are the customers essential to your long term success
• Mercenaries - Satisfied but not loyal, these are the customers who are always seeking better value for their resources
• Hostages - Not satisfied but loyal, due to exit barriers such non-availability of better service, price, contract, etc.
• Terrorists - Not satisfied and not loyal, these customers actively disrupt the status of your brand via negative word of mouth.



The consumer typology of the hospital with score of 78 is given on the left. Though the majority of customers seem to be satisfied, it clearly shows that about third of its customers are seeking better value for their resources (Mercenaries). About a fifth are not satisfied - however, the majority of them are loyal due to other factors (Hostages).

TRI*M's empirical data also shows that every Apostle speaks to three people while every Terrorist speaks to 10. Not fair, is it? But that's how the market operates. Given this and just small proportion of Terrorists in the customer base, this hospital still enjoys a net positive word of mouth.

TNS' TRI*M research tool can answer key questions of most service providers. The applications range from large banks and automotive makers to retail outlets, restaurants and coffee shops. It can also be used to measure Employee Commitment and Satisfaction in your organisation. TRI*M not only measures the level of satisfaction or dissatisfaction but also elaborates on factors responsible for it.