Using an online survey, this study investigated determining factors related to customer satisfaction with counter services at ward offices (<i>Kuyakusho</i>) in Osaka City, Japan, focusing on direct experiences at these service counters. During a two-day survey period, responses from 400 women, aged 30–59 years, who had visited a ward office over a one-month period were collected. The questionnaire comprised three categories of multiple-choice questions: A) hardware (e.g., physical aspects), B) software (e.g., staff responses), and C) services (e.g., administrative services). Principal component analysis and multiple regression analysis were conducted on each question category concerning various aspects of public service provision. The regression analysis indicated that group C (service delivery quality) had the strongest influence on the dependent variables (ZY1), followed by group B and group A. Adjusted <i>R</i>² value is.60.<br>

This study empirically investigated the major factors determining customer satisfaction with counter services in local government offices in Japan, comparing them with the results of similar surveys conducted by the author in 2020. This study considers visitors’ direct experience of counter services through an on-site survey conducted at a municipal government building, referring to (1) customer satisfaction research in various countries, especially the expectancy disconfirmation model; (2) the SERVQUAL model; and (3) subsequent methods that emphasise the customer’s direct experience. SERVQUAL, as the name suggests, is a five-group scale for evaluating service quality with respect to customer satisfaction. However, in actual organizational settings, five groups of questions may be burdensome to respondents and may reduce the collection rate. The author’s research involves conducting on-site surveys on customer satisfaction or service quality of the local government office using an original three-group questionnaire scale and tailoring the question items to a scale for Japanese local administration settings. The surveys comprise three categories of questions, referring to (1) customer satisfaction research in various countries, especially the expectancy disconfirmation model; (2) the SERVQUAL model; and (3) subsequent methods that emphasise the customer’s direct experience. A total of 1,000 questionnaires were distributed over four weekdays at the City Hall. As of September 27, 2021, there were 537 respondents (response rate: 53.7%). The regression analysis indicated that the independent variables of group C (service delivery) were most influential, followed by those of groups B (human-related factors) and A (office hardware) (adjusted R2 value: .58). Service delivery, human factors, and hardware aspects are important, in that order, to ensure customer satisfaction with the City Hall’s counter services. This is consistent with the results of the author’s Internet survey of users of Osaka City Government’s ward offices. Focusing on the second principal component of the service delivery category (C), promptness and short waiting times do not necessarily affect customer satisfaction positively.

This study examines the determinants of service satisfaction among users of a ward office in Tokyo using a two-part questionnaire. The questionnaire comprised three main categories of multiple-choice questions: A) facility equipment (physical elements in the government office), B) staff responses, and C) service delivery (e.g., promptness of services, whether visitors completed their scheduled errands). In addition, three groups of questions related to the personalities of the users of each facility were investigated. During a one-day survey period, responses were collected from 400 women, aged 30–59 years, who had visited a ward office in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area over a one-month period. This age segment was studied because it is the major segment of the panel of the Internet research firm used. First, factor analysis was used to check the appropriateness of the grouping of questions, and it was confirmed that the three groups were appropriate based on eigenvalues and scree plots. Then, to examine the determinants of counter service customer satisfaction, principal component analysis and multiple regression analysis were conducted for each question category. The regression analysis using the three main question groups and three other respondents’ personality-related question groups indicated that group C (service delivery quality) had the strongest influence on the dependent variable, followed by group B and group A. The adjusted R2 value was .70. This result is consistent with the results of the author’s surveys of government offices in urban areas conducted for Higashihiroshima City Hall and of ward offices in Osaka.

This study empirically investigates the major factors that determine customer satisfaction in local government offices in Japan by using three categories of questions. They referred to customer satisfaction studies worldwide, especially to the expectancy disconfirmation model, the SERVQUAL model, and subsequent methods that emphasize customer’s direct experience. The on-site surveys were conducted at the Kurose branch office in Higashihiroshima City. A total of 240 responses were obtained over six weekdays. The regression analysis showed that staff responses and explanations were the most influential, followed by aspects related to the physical office and service delivery quality (adjusted R2 value of .51).

This study empirically investigated the major factors determining customer satisfaction with counter services in local government offices in Japan, comparing them with the results of similar surveys conducted in 2020. It considers visitors’ direct experience of counter services through an on-site survey conducted at a municipal government building, including (1) customer satisfaction research in various countries, especially the expectancy disconfirmation model; (2) the SERVQUAL model; and (3) subsequent methods emphasising customer’s direct experience. SERVQUAL is a five-group scale for evaluating service quality with respect to customer satisfaction. However, in actual organisational settings, five groups of questions may be burdensome to respondents and may reduce the collection rate. This research involves conducting on-site surveys on customer satisfaction or service quality of the local government office using an original three-group questionnaire scale and tailoring the question items to a scale for Japanese local administration settings. A total of 1,000 questionnaires were distributed over four weekdays at the City Hall. As of September 27, 2021, there were 537 respondents (response rate: 53.7%). Regression analysis indicated that the independent variables of group C (service delivery) were most influential, followed by those of groups B (human-related factors) and A (office hardware) (adjusted R2 value: .58). This is consistent with the results of a previous survey of users of Osaka City Government’s ward offices. Focusing on the second principal component of the service delivery category (C), promptness and short waiting times do not necessarily affect customer satisfaction positively. The author's scale, which is a 3-group scale, is less than SERVQUAL's 5-group scale. The validation of a simple three-group scale for public facility user satisfaction provides useful insights for local government practitioners seeking to conduct similar satisfaction surveys and offers methodological suggestions for researchers examining service satisfaction in public and private service organizations.