Members' Perception of Program and Facility Service Quality

Friday, April 1, 2011
Exhibit Hall Poster Area 1 (Convention Center)
Eddie T. C. Lam, Cleveland State University, Cleveland, OH

Background/Purpose Service quality has been recognized as one of the major elements that affect member retention and the long-term profitability of an organization (McDonald & Howland, 1998). High customer satisfaction results in a better reputation of the organization and more customer referrals (Anderson & Sullivan, 1993; Hallowell, 1996). This study examined YMCA service quality using the SQAS (Lam, Zhang, & Jensen, 2005), which was designed to measure service quality of health-fitness clubs in the following six dimensions: Staff, Program, Locker Room, Workout Facility, Physical Facility, and Child Care. The modified scale (SQAS-RC) included Aquatic Facility to reflect the amenities of nowadays YMCA facility.

Method The SQAS-RC was distributed by mail to the members of three YMCAs in the same county. Members were asked to return the questionnaires in two weeks. Item responses were based on a 7-point Likert scale (e.g., 1=poor, 4=average, and 7=Excellent).

Analysis/Results One-sample t-tests showed that all perception scores were significantly (p <.001) different from the median score, indicating members were satisfied with the service quality offered. ANOVA analyses revealed significant (p <.05) differences in Program and Overall Facility among members in: use frequency, age, and time visited the facility.

Conclusions In summary, members were satisfied with the programs and the overall service provided by the YMCAs. However, members who workout between 6:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. were less satisfied than those who visited the YMCA at other hours. For this reason, it was logical for the management to allocate more resources and personnel to this area.

Handouts
  • Program & Facility Service-Poster.ppt (786.5 kB)