Understanding Customer Satisfaction with the Port of Virginia: An Investigation of Different Port User Groups
Description/Abstract/Artist Statement
Since the industry that the Port of Virginia (POV) operates in is highly competitive, it is critical for POV to constantly enhance service quality and obtain high customer satisfaction. The objective of this project is to investigate different POV user groups (including beneficial cargo owners (BCOs), freight forwarders, brokers, ship lines, and truck lines) regarding to their perceptions of the services provided the POV and to explore the factors that influence their satisfaction with the POV. The data were gathered by both quantitative and qualitative methods. For the qualitative data, 22 in-depth interviews were conducted with both the port employees and customers. In regards to the quantitative data, a survey was launched that resulted in 288 responses from the POV’s customers. The qualitative interviews identified some major service problems of POV and show that although all POV user groups demand effective and productive operations and quick turnaround time, their basic needs of POV’s services are slightly different. The qualitative survey results demonstrate that the customer satisfaction ratings provided by different POV user groups vary greatly. As for the importance of the port service attributes, all types of POV users rated reliability and turnaround time as the most important service attribute, followed by tangibles and responsiveness. However, these self-report results are different from the regression results, which show that empathy and turn time contributed the most to customer satisfaction, followed by reliability, tangibles, responsiveness, and assurance. The findings of this study will help the POV identify its strength and weakness and craft strategies to improve POV’s services and customer satisfaction, thus enhancing its competitiveness in the market.
Faculty Advisor/Mentor
Chuanyi Tang
Presentation Type
Poster
Disciplines
Marketing
Session Title
Poster Session
Location
Learning Commons @ Perry Library, Northwest Atrium
Start Date
2-3-2018 8:00 AM
End Date
2-3-2018 12:30 PM
Understanding Customer Satisfaction with the Port of Virginia: An Investigation of Different Port User Groups
Learning Commons @ Perry Library, Northwest Atrium
Since the industry that the Port of Virginia (POV) operates in is highly competitive, it is critical for POV to constantly enhance service quality and obtain high customer satisfaction. The objective of this project is to investigate different POV user groups (including beneficial cargo owners (BCOs), freight forwarders, brokers, ship lines, and truck lines) regarding to their perceptions of the services provided the POV and to explore the factors that influence their satisfaction with the POV. The data were gathered by both quantitative and qualitative methods. For the qualitative data, 22 in-depth interviews were conducted with both the port employees and customers. In regards to the quantitative data, a survey was launched that resulted in 288 responses from the POV’s customers. The qualitative interviews identified some major service problems of POV and show that although all POV user groups demand effective and productive operations and quick turnaround time, their basic needs of POV’s services are slightly different. The qualitative survey results demonstrate that the customer satisfaction ratings provided by different POV user groups vary greatly. As for the importance of the port service attributes, all types of POV users rated reliability and turnaround time as the most important service attribute, followed by tangibles and responsiveness. However, these self-report results are different from the regression results, which show that empathy and turn time contributed the most to customer satisfaction, followed by reliability, tangibles, responsiveness, and assurance. The findings of this study will help the POV identify its strength and weakness and craft strategies to improve POV’s services and customer satisfaction, thus enhancing its competitiveness in the market.