Mini project

1. A STUDY ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION TOWARDS SERVICE QUALITY OF
DOMESTIC INDANE LPG IN MADURAI CITY

2. CHAPTER NO. CONTENTS PAGE NO
1.
INTRODUCTION
1. Introduction to LPG
2. Statement of the problem
3. Objectives
4. Scope of the study
5. Research design and Methodology
6. Limitations of the study
7. Chapter Scheme

3. INTRODUCTION
 Humanity faces a unique and far-reaching challenge. Our energy needs are growing as a result of
continued population increases, economic growth, and individual fuel/energy consumption. At the
same time, emissions from fuel wood and fossil fuels, the main energy source for heating in homes
and powering our economies, are contributing to climate change and affecting the local air quality.
Liquefied Petroleum Gas is used as fuel for thousands of applications. In developing countries the
main benefits of LPG is in helping people to switch from unsustainable biomass use to a clean and
safe cooking fuel.
 LPG‟s domestic uses can never be ignored. It has played a revolutionary role when it comes to
changing the face of domestic fuels used for heating and cooking. LPG for household consumption
is nearly 89% of total LPG off-take in India.

4.  There are still many rural areas where they have no awareness on use of LPG for domestic purpose. In
developing countries the main benefits of LPG is in helping people to switch from unsustainable
biomass use to a clean and safe cooking fuel. This provides enormous health benefits helping to avoid
the 1.6 million deaths per year from respiratory problems caused by smoke and other pollutants
released by inefficient biomass burning in enclosed spaces.
 It also releases women and children from the drudgery of collecting firewood and health problems
associated with carrying heavy bundles long distances. The main domestic uses of LPG are with
respect to lighting, refrigeration, cooking and most of all heating. It is as good for powering standalone
stoves and huge cooking stoves. It has been found to be cost effective and hence is used in large
scale cooking also. The main reason behind this is easy accessibility, low cost per unit and the
environment friendly properties of LPG.

5. LPG Agencies in India
 LPG here stands for the liquefied petroleum gas which is flammable gas used for several of the
purposes all over the world as a fuel in the vehicles and in several of the chemical industry where the
flammable gas is required. In several of the uses of the gas the main use of it lies as the cooking gas.
In India, the use of LPG in the cooking is very high as compared to the other uses of it. There are
various companies in India which are in the business of manufacturing the LPG gas in India. Most of
the companies are under the government authority while some of them are private organizations
also. The several LPG manufacturing companies are as follows:

6. Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited
Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited
Indian Oil
ONGC

7. INDIAN OIL CORPORATION LIMITED
 Indian Oil Corporation (Indian Oil) is India's largest commercial enterprise headquartered
in Delhi, with a sales turnover of Rs. 4,50,756 crore (US$ 73.7 billion) and profits of Rs.
5,273 crore for the year 2014-15. It is also the leading Indian corporate in Fortune's
prestigious 'Global 500' listing of the world's largest corporate, ranked at the 119th position for
the year 2015.
 As India's flagship national oil company, with a 33,000-strong work-force currently, Indian Oil
has been meeting India’s energy demands for over half a century. With a corporate vision to
be 'The Energy of India' and to become 'A globally admired company,' Indian Oil's business
interests straddle the entire hydrocarbon value-chain – from refining, pipeline transportation and
marketing of petroleum products to exploration & production of crude oil & gas, marketing of
natural gas and petrochemicals, besides forays into alternative energy and globalization of
downstream operations.
 Having set up subsidiaries in Sri Lanka, Mauritius and the UAE, the Corporation is
simultaneously scouting for new business opportunities in the energy markets of Asia and
Africa. It has also formed about 20 joint ventures with reputed business partners from India
and abroad to pursue diverse business interests.

8. Liquefied Petroleum Gas(LPG)
 Indane is today one of the largest packed-LPG brands in the world and has been conferred the
Consumer Super brand status by the Super brands Council of India
 Having launched LPG marketing in the mid-60s, Indian Oil has been credited with bringing about a
kitchen revolution, spreading warmth and cheer in millions of households with the introduction of the
clean and efficient cooking fuel. It has led to a substantial improvement in the health of women,
especially in rural areas by replacing smoky and unhealthy Chula. Indane is today an ideal fuel for
modern kitchens, synonymous with safety, reliability and convenience.
 With the status of an exclusive business vertical within the Corporation, Indane is delivered to the
doorsteps of over 92 million households. Indian Oil's 91 Indane bottling plants in upcountry locations roll
out 1.81 million cylinders a day, making Indian Oil the second largest marketer of LPG globally, after
SHV Gas of The Netherlands. Indane is available in compact 5 kg cylinders for rural, hilly and
inaccessible areas, 14.2 kg cylinders for domestic use, and 19 kg and 47.5 kg for commercial and
industrial use.

9. List Of Distributor Agencies In Madurai
Sree Usha Gas Agency
Sree Sairam Indane Gramin Vitrak
Arunachala Gas Agency
Vigneshwar Enterprises(adhoc)
Tsp Vi Battalion Gas Service
Ramesh Gas Agencies
Karthikeya Agency
Sree Venkateshwara Car Gas
A B K Pharma Distributers
………………………….

10. Objectives
 To identify the factors which influence the selection of Indane LPG‘s in Madurai City
 To study the detailed profile of IOCL and Indane LPG
 To analyze the service quality perceptions of the customers in Indane LPG
 To examine the expectations and the level of satisfaction of the customers towards the
service rendered by Indane LPG
 To study the customers opinion with regard to after sales service of their gas delivery
 To analyze the problems faced by the customer and service provided by Indane LPG

11. Statement Of The Problem:
 In the competitive era, the Indane gas company reforms have deregulated the market to a great
extent. It has become necessary to design and execute the best customer oriented practices and
to internalize them for providing enhanced satisfaction to the customer through the employees.
Customers service is not merely the compliance with the government’s policies or the mechanical
adherence to the time frame of services. It is a philosophy and an attitude of professional
commitment, which believes in the ultimate satisfaction or each customer ‘wants’.
 Service marketers have really understood that competition can be well managed by differentiating
through quality. Significance of service lies in customer service management. The mere objective
of the study is to find out whether the customers are satisfied with the services provided by
Indane LPG in Madurai city. It will help in understanding the preferred customer changing attitude
towards the customer services provided to them by Indane LPG.

12. Limitations Of The Study
 The study is limited to particular distributor agencies of Indane LPG.
 Since the time is limited, a sample of 100 people will not represent the whole population of
a country.
 The scope of the study is limited to Madurai city. Finding of the present study are based
on some statistical tools. These statistical tools have their own limitations

13. SCOPE OF THE STUDY:
 LPG‟s domestic uses can never be ignored. It has played a revolutionary role when it
comes to changing the face of domestic fuels used for heating and cooking. LPG for
household consumption is nearly 89% of total LPG off-take in India. Previous research
studies have focused on customer’s perception and expectation of service quality dimensions
in different sector and few research studies has focused on customer's satisfaction level
towards domestic LPG. Hence the current study explores service quality of Indane domestic
LPG from customer point of view in Madurai city. This study enables the company to find
out the impact of service in developing new customers and also to make proper marketing
strategy for their weaker areas.

14. Methods of collection of data:
1.Primary Data:-
 Primary data was collected from Indane consumers through
personal interviewing techniques. The interview was conducted at
the LPG distribution point. A structured questionnaire was designed
to conduct the interview. The sample size has been decided and
divided accordingly to four distributors. The distributors are Suresh
Gas Agencies, A B K Pharma Distributers, Sony Gas Stove
Service, Arunachala Gas Agency. These four distributors are located
in prominent part of the city.
A. Questionnaire:
 The researcher will collect the data from the customers by
administering the questionnaire.
 The questionnaire will contain 25 questions which are close ended
questions to analyze the satisfaction level of the customers in
Indane Gas Company in Madurai City.

15. Cont…
2. Secondary Data:
Secondary Data was collected to get a better understanding of the following:
I. The research problem.
II. Indian Oil and Indane distributors code of conduct.
III. Various rules and regulation regarding purchase and sale of LPG.
IV. Rights of the distributors and consumers.
V. Grant of new connection and transfer of connection.
VI. Various non fuel products sold by the Indane Distributors.
VII. Services offered by the Indane Distributors.
VIII. Other relevant information.
IX. The data was collected from Indane’s consumers and distributor’s code of conduct manual, IOCL’s
magazines, journals, news papers and websites like:
 www.iocl.com
 www.ioclbizz.com
 www.petroleum.nic.in
 www.google.com

16. Cont…
Analysis of data
Relevant statistical tools are applied for the analysis for the research data such as,
 Percentage calculation
 Chi square test - a statistical method assessing the goodness of fit between a set of
observed values and those expected theoretically.
 Likert scale- a scale used to represent people's attitudes to a topic.
 Ranking based on weighted average scores
 One way anova- one-way analysis of variance (abbreviated one-way ANOVA) is a technique
used to compare means of three or more samples (using the F distribution). This technique
can be used only for numerical data.

17. Sampling design:
Target population
 The target population in this research refers to the domestic LPG customers of Indane Gas
Company in Madurai City due to the convenience in collecting the data. The respondents
can be any gender, any income level, any occupation and any education level.
Sampling method
 Quota sampling technique- Domestic Indane LPG consumers of particular distributors were
taken into considerations. Research was conducted on clear assumptions that the respondents
would give frank and fair answer in a pragmatic way without any bias.
Sample size
 For the purpose of this study, the sample size comprises of 100 respondents.
I. Suresh Gas Agencies-25 respondents
II. A B K Pharma Distributers-25 respondents
III. Sony Gas Stove Service- 25 respondents
IV. Arunachala Gas Agency-25 respondents

18. Cont..,
Period of study
 The primary data collected for the present research report will cover a period of six months from
December 2015- May 2016.
Area of study
 The area of study is limited to Madurai city.

19. Chapter Scheme
Chapter I :Introduction & research design of the study
It includes Introduction, Statement of the Problem, Concepts &
Definition, Review of Literature, Objectives ,Scope, Sampling Method, Data collection, Tools,
Limitations of the study.
Chapter II :Profile of Indane LPG
A detailed profile of IOCL and Indane LPG and various functions
performed by them are highlighted. It also includes the products and services that are
offered to the customers.
Chapter III :Analysis and Interpretation of Data
It includes analysis of demographic and socio economic characteristics
like age, gender, location, education, occupation, income, marital status and family size of
respondent.
Chapter IV : Summary of Findings, Suggestions & Conclusion
This chapter reveals the finding of study as to the Indane Distributor
services availed, problems met while using these facilities & solutions to overcome the
problems faced by the respondents.

20. Conclusion
 As the India is over population country, the demand for energy/fuel
consumption is increases rapidly. It leads to increasing the need for
LPG.Thus Indane gas should make proper marketing strategy to
sustain in the competitive market and also to satisfy the customers.

21. THANK YOU
BY,
T.BOOMA
II M.COM