Impact Of Perceived Service Quality On Customer Satisfaction And Brand Loyalty
[A CASE STUDY OF HONEYWELL FLOUR MILLS PLC]

Studies of consumers and customers have revealed that customers choose the marketing offer that gives them the most value. According to Kotler & Armstrong, (2009) customers form expectations of value and act of upon them; they then compare the actual value they receive in consuming the product or service to the value expected and this affects their satisfaction and repurchase behaviour. In mass market or in specialty business, the perception by a consumer of one organization offering a better quality service than another can tilt business in favour of the organization offering the better service. That is why airlines that carry business executives pay special attention to timely departures and arrivals.
2.2.5     Opponent -Process Theory of Motivation
This theory is based on the hedonistic principles. The hedonistic principles of motivation explain that consumers are motivated to seek goods and services which give them good emotional feelings or sensations and avoid those resulting in pain or displeasure. The theory explains also that motives could be positive or negative. Attractive stimuli which give pleasure in their own right result in positive motives e.g. pleasant perfumes, sweet taste, brightly-coloured products etc while irritating odours, sour or bitter taste which are repelling result in negative motives. Repelling or unattractive goods and services arouse withdrawal response (to approach). This principle explains why people apply deodorants to their armpits, sweet smelling perfumes to their bodies to mask body odour; or wear clothes with loud colours to attract others. It also explains why petrol and liquefied petroleum gas, which are highly flammable, have repulsive odours so that users can avoid careless contacts with them. Many bitter medicines are sweet coated or packed in tasteless capsules for oral ingestion. It is also why product designs are elegant, compact and strong while food is promoted with visuals and taste.
2.2.6     Incentive Theory
The incentive theory was developed on the understanding that there are external stimuli, which arouse buying behaviour in consumers. These external stimuli are called incentives. Incentives are motivating characteristics of goods and services in the environment, which can be divided into positive and negative incentives. Consumers will approach positive incentives and avoid negative incentives. In other words, positive incentives attract and motivate purchases; negative incentives distract and demotivate purchases. Examples of positive incentives are coupons for lotteries organized by manufacturers, retailers or airlines. Another example is a holiday treat at a resort, for regular business travelers. Grocery stores do also sometimes ask buyers to pick two packs of a new or slow product for the price of one. The function of incentives is to arouse the consumer and direct his/her behaviour towards or away from goods or services.
There are some characteristics or features in goods or services, which pull customers to or from them. These characteristics could be in terms of shape, size, taste, smell, odour, durability, price, package etc. These characteristics are responsible for motivating consumers to purchase brands of products or services, which posses these desired characteristics. People don't buy cars simply because they provide transportation. A brand of car may sell more than another brand because of a combination of characteristics already mentioned. Incentives theory is also called "Pull theory of motivation".
2.3     The Theory of Perception
Schewe &Smith (1990), define perception as the process by which we attach meanings to what our bodies sense, via the five senses - seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling and touching. It is the meaning that we give to our sensations that forms our beliefs, which also influence our attitudes and behaviours and are very important to our understanding of consumer marketing. Kotler (2008) defines perception as the process by which people select organize, and interpret information to form a meaningful picture of the world.