| Abstract [eng] |
From the user’s perspective, the service provider is considered to be an integral part of the services provided. Therefore, the quality of his/her interaction with the user inevitably affects the user’s judgement about the services and their quality. This interaction depends not only on the characteristics of the provider’s activities but also on individual expectations of both the provider and user of social services. Consequently, expectations become a necessary prerequisite for shaping the user’s and provider’s views on the quality of service. A good balance between the user’s and provider’s expectations makes for effective interaction. On the contrary, a lack of such balance may cause problems and dissatisfaction. The main focus of this graduation paper was on the comparison of service users’ and providers’ views on the quality of service within the context of their expectations. The part of the graduation paper containing the survey revealed how, on the basis of identical criteria, both users and providers of services assessed the quality of social domestic services delivered by the Social Support Centre, a Vilnius City Council budgetary institution. A set of important quality characteristics integrating both technical and functional quality aspects provided by Ch. Grönroos was chosen as a basis for the assessment of service quality. Two groups of respondents representing the users and providers of social services were asked to assess the quality of service characteristics by means of a questionnaire devised on the basis of the following identical criteria: the service providers’ professionalism and skills, attitudes and behaviour, accessibility and flexibility, reliability and trustworthiness and recovery. The responses provided by service providers and receivers enabled the author to assess their disposition to provide and receive services of good quality. The participants of the survey included 122 users of domestic help services and 100 providers. The findings of the survey reflecting the views of the above mentioned groups of respondents confirmed the hypothesis put forward in the introductory part of the graduation paper that the expectations of users and providers regarding the assessment of technical and functional quality aspects of services did not fully coincide. The percentage of those who positively assessed both technical and functional quality aspects of services was higher among the users than among the providers of services. Consequently, a comparison of the users’ and the providers’ expectations to receive and provide services of good quality showed that it were the expectations of a greater part of the users that were met and not those of the providers. In order to find out the reasons for the differences, it would be necessary to carry out further research and reveal which particular needs and expectations of service providers, as internal customers of the related institution, have the greatest impact on their satisfaction with the quality of their activities. |
