Measuring service quality delivery at Impendle Local Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal.

Abstract

The study explored service quality provided to citizens at the Impendle Local Municipality. The study is stimulated by the continuous violent protest and sometimes taxi conflicts at the Impendle Local Municipality, resulting in poor service delivery. The service quality model was used to inform the study. A case study research design, quantitative research methodology and cluster sampling was used to select 240 community members. Reliability and validity was upheld to ensure that the findings are credible. Data was analysed using SPSS version 25. The findings show a significant gap between citizens’ expectations and experiences: reliability (-3.2); assurance (-2.88); tangibility (-2.02), empathy (-2.88) and responsiveness (-3.17). Based on the findings presented in this study, in order to understand and deal with the gap between citizens’ expectations and experiences of service quality, the Impendle Local Municipality management should pay special attention to the dimension of reliability, assurance, tangibles, empathy and responsiveness as they influence service quality. The findings in this study may help the Impendle Local Municipality to understand and enhance the effectiveness of service quality efforts.