Internal customer satisfaction improvement with QFD technique

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to employ quality function deployment (QFD) method for translating internal customer needs and expectations into appropriate service specifications to perform existing process assessments in relation to quality characteristics for increasing internal customer satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach – The integration of SERVQUAL into QFD has been used to set the success factors to improve quality in the textile industry. One of the largest textile companies in Turkey provided the sample. A SERVQUAL-type of questionnaire was used and a total of 32,938 questionnaires were distributed both manually and online, 24,551 usable were received, comprising a response rate of 77.31 percent. Findings – Findings of the QFD application suggest internal customer focus as having the highest weight score of almost 12 percent improvement. In addition, improvements in technical requirements of politeness and process communication have a 9 percent impact each on internal customer satisfaction criteria. Research limitations/implications – QFD technique is able to provide companies with a better understanding of internal customer expectations and translate these into appropriate service specifications and perform existing process assessment. Originality/value – This paper is a first attempt that applies this integrative approach to a different type of industry, thus offering practical and applied information for professionals engaged in academia and as practitioners.