Seaport service quality and customers’ expectation: an exploratory study of seaport terminals in South East Vietnam

Abstract

Seaport terminals are important intermediaries in international trade. One issue that is critical to the performance and survival of port terminals is the quality of the services provided. However, to improve the quality of the service of these terminals, it is important to know the expectations of the customers and the perceptions about the quality of the service. Regardless, very little is known about customer expectations and perceptions of the quality of service at Vietnam seaport terminals. Therefore, this document offers a comparative analysis of the quality of service of the South East Vietnam seaport terminals using the Gap Score Technique of the Service Quality (QoS) Model (SERVQUAL). It is found that, in general, all examined selected terminals have a low quality of service. With the average gap score per QoS dimension for all selected terminals, transparency has the best QoS (lowest gap score), while responsiveness has the lowest QoS (highest gap score). The implication is that import terminals strive to improve the quality of service. More attention should be paid to improving responsiveness by providing fast services, assisting customers, and letting them know exactly when services are being performed.