Mensuração da satisfação do consumidor de postos de combustível de Santa Cruz do Sul.

Abstract

Nowadays, the customer is being more valued and disputed by gas station companies, which are part of a highly competitive and disputed market. Therefore, customer satisfaction is becoming more and more relevant to create a customer loyalty in this share of the market. Customer satisfaction is closely related to the quality of the service offered at the gas stations. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the satisfaction of customers of gas stations in the city of Santa Cruz-RS. The methodology employed in the research started with a qualitative and exploratory study, to identify the relevant attributes that impact customer satisfaction, using the Critical Incident Technique. As soon as the qualitative stage was completed, started the second quantitative and descriptive stage, with the making of a structured questionnaire based on the specific needs identified in the exploratory stage, which made it possible to measure the satisfaction of customers using a non-probability sample of 300 customers of gas stations in Santa Cruz-RS (Brazil). From the results, a profile was obtained, which consisted of a list of 11 attributes used by customers to evaluate the quality of services provided by the gas stations, plus the satisfaction rate for every variable (attribute) measured in the descriptive stage. The Global Satisfaction Rate of the gas stations in Santa Cruz do Sul was 83.7% of happy customers and 80.1% of customers who said that they would shop again at the same gas station they were the last time. Strategies to improve the services provided at the gas stations were also suggested, based on the variables of higher satisfaction. When reducing these dissatisfaction variables, identified in the study, the general satisfaction rate at the gas stations tend to increase, and that will contribute to the attraction and loyalty of customers.