Measuring service quality using servqual: An application of servqual in logistics sector

Today, the service sector is transforming with the rapid development of technology, globalization, communication and information resources, and therefore it's role is becoming more and more critical. Logistics sector has a bigger share day by day in meeting the needs of individuals and organizations. With the growth of the sector, the number of players increases and the conditions of competition becomes more challenging. It has become the focus of companies to differentiate under increasing competitive conditions, improve service quality and ensure customer, for this reason firms need to measure and evaluate the quality of their service levels. The characteristic of the concept of service is that, it is intangible, heterogeneous, inseparable, perishable. These characteristics create difficulties in measuring customer expectations and perceptions and thus the quality of the service. In this study, it is aimed to measure the quality of the service, the expectations of the customers who receive logistics services in Istanbul, and their perceptions about these services. The other purpose of the research is to analyze the effects of demographic features of the service provided, such as gender, age, education, service type and income status of the customers, on the customers' expectations and perceptions. In the study, the SERVQUAL scale, which is developed by A. Parasuraman, V.A. Zeithaml and L.L. Berry was used. In practice, 190 participants were surveyed. As a result of the analysis, the dimensions are listed as reliability, responsiveness, assurance, tangibles and emphathy values according to SERVQUAL scores. Based on the calculated SERVQUAL scores, the perceived quality is higher than the expected quality, indicating that the quality of service is high for our sample in Istanbul.