ASSESSMENT OF CUSTOMER SERVICE QUALITY OF THE GAS STATION NETWORK IN LITHUANIA

Abstract

The gas station business enterprises are constantly trying to find ways to influence customers through a variety of services and improve the level of these services, which will ultimately lead to customer satisfaction. Assessing the quality of customer service becomes a prerequisite for this gas station business. This research paper is a theoretical and practical review of SERVQUAL and the Retail Service Quality Scale (RSQS) as a tool for measuring service quality in the gas station sector. The aim of the research is to determine and evaluate the quality of customer service in a network of Lithuanian gas stations. The theoretical part of the article analyses the quality of customer service, its evaluation models and factors, as well as means of assurance in the field of retail trade – in the network of petrol stations. The methodological part presents and describes the access, procedure, instruments and methods of data processing and presentation of the conducted research. The research was conducted using a quantitative research instrument – a questionnaire. The questionnaire was developed using SERVQUAL and RSQS methods. The empirical part of the article presents the analysis of the research data on the quality of customer service in the gas station network. The article closes with conclusions and recommendations for improving the quality of customer service in the gas station network. Key findings: all five dimensions of customer service were significant and positively rated by customers. However, in each dimension there are minor problems with the quality of the service: the equipment and cleanliness of the toilets; the modernity of the technologies used to pay for the services; the personal attention paid to the customer by the staff and the information provided on current promotions and discounts available during the service; the greater feeling of security and timely provision of services; the listening to the customer's comments; the confidence in the policy on the protection of personal data.

Keywords

• service quality
• quality improvement
• gas station network