Service 1: Week 4: XLRI Hostel Mess Service

Need:

Food in the hostel

Expectation:

To get decent quality, hygienic and healthy food. Also, to have some options of dishes in the meals. The expectations regarding the food are not very high since the general perception is that hostel food is not of a superior taste or quality and the hygiene and health factors are not considered during the preparation of food at the mess.

Experience:

The ongoing experience of XLRI Hostel Mess service meets the poor expectations. The quality of the food is dubious at times and the taste of the food is usually poor. Eating to survive has become the normal strategy and most students look for respite in eating joints inside and outside the campus. Restaurants in the city are a haven as a result. The hygiene with which the food is prepared is questionable and although the student committee regularly updates the food menu, the menu seems redundant, repetitive and uninviting. Also, even though the mess serves non-vegetarian food numerous times a week, the quality of the food has pushed me to opt for the vegetarian options over the non-vegetarian dishes.

Off late however, the mess service has improved on the health quotient with fruits being served during lunch daily. Also, the menu has been improved considerably after numerous attempts by the student committee.

Service Analysis:

Service Quality:

In order to determine the perceived service quality of the XLRI Hostel Mess Service, the five dimensions of service quality (SERVQUAL) have been used. These dimensions are given in the table below along with the quality perceived by me during my experience.

Dimension	Rating (Scale of 1-10) 1 – Poor; 10 - Excellent	Analysis of Service
Tangibles	6	The Hostel Mess is kept clean. The dishes are also clean and this surpasses the poor expectations from the mess service. The food however meets the poor expectations.
Reliability	6	The reliability is average as the mess seems to be improving the food quality now. Earlier the reliability was lower.
Responsiveness	5	It took the student committee numerous efforts to get the mess contractors to improve the food quality and agree to a lot of changes.
Assurance	7	Competence of the employees is average and as expected. Courtesy of the employees is high towards students and this is a pleasant surprise. Security of the mess service is average although it is not recommended to enter the mess after dinner hours.
Empathy	8	The mess employees are empathetic towards students and prepare special dishes for individual students if the students are ill.

Based on the above dimensions of quality, I would summarize the perceived service quality to be of a medium to high level with respect to the expectations. However, I feel there is still a vast scope for improvement.

Your opinion and comments are welcome.