A Study on Customer Service Gap in the Retail Industry in UAE (An Assessment on the Effectiveness of Filling Service Gap by the Retailers in the United Arab Emirates)

Abstract

Middle East is a strategic location that connects the West with Asia. In the Middle East, UAE is one of the fastest developing rich countries, which has become prominent after 1971 as an oil rich economy. Even though, oil revenue is the backbone of the country, it has achieved enviable position globally as a country having much advanced infrastructure now. Construction and service industry has been growing at rapid momentum in the country and retailing occupies a potential source of business now. As the country is an attractive destination of immigrant labour force from different parts of the world, various retail formats have developed targeting Arabs, Asians, Africans, Europeans, and Americans. Even though retail chains are growing with intensive distribution mechanism, it is often found that there exists customer service gap in between the expected service and perceived service. The study is an effort to research about the gaps that exists in customer service currently in the retail segments.