Retail Service Quality Scale (RSQS) as an Example of Quality Service Scale Used in Traditional Trade

Abstract

We make purchases almost every day. We buy some products very often (e.g. food), others less often (e.g. furniture, car). Shops, selling products to customers, are not their producers, but rather provide them with services (commercial service). It is important that the customer, after making the purchase, is satisfied not only with the product, but also with the purchasing process itself. In order to determine what are the reasons for customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction, it is necessary to assess the quality of services, i.e. the process of making purchases by customers. In the available literature, there are many methods that are used to assess the service quality. However, their use is associated with the need to identify attributes that could well describe the service provision process, but also be a source of knowledge about customer satisfaction. The Retail Service Quality Scale (RSQS) developed by Dabholkar and his colleagues is applicable to assess the quality of services provided by shops, so it can be a ready-made tool that does not require the researchers to define attributes, as would be the case when using traditional methods. The aim of the paper was to assess the quality of operation of a traditional shop using the RSQS methodology. This study was carried out using a paper questionnaire that contained the attributes proposed in the RSQS. The survey was conducted among customers of a selected shop. The analyzed results made it possible to determine the quality level of commercial services provided by the research shop and to indicate its strengths and weaknesses. Additionally, the possibility of using the ready-made RSQS scale to assess the quality of commercial services provided in Polish economic realities was confirmed.