Customer Perception of Quality of Service and Response to the Complaint-Handling Process of a Rental Car Company

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to investigate the level of satisfaction with the complaint-handling process of a major rental car corporation. The study focused on two concepts: customer perception of service quality and customer response to the complaint-handling process. Scores on the SERVQUAL instrument measured customer perception of quality of service, while patronage and word-of-mouth items measured customer response. Comparisons were made on the basis of gender and type of complaint. A telephone survey was chosen as the means of data collection. The population for this study consisted of 2,135 customers with complaints resolved three months prior to the study. Of this number, 466  yielded usable surveys. Significant differences in quality of service by gender and type of complaint were determined by t-tests. Significant differences in patronage and word-of-mouth by gender and type of complaint were determined by Chi-square tests. Analysis revealed no significant difference in perception of quality of service by gender and in response to complaint handling by gender or type of complaint. A significant difference was found in the perception of quality of service by type of complaint. Additional Chi-square analyses revealed relationships between customer satisfaction with action taken and the variables patronage and word-of-mouth.