THE INFLUENCE OF SERVICE QUALITY ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IN ACUPUNCTURE THERAPY BUSINESS

Abstract

Acupuncture Therapy engages in healthcare service with a specialty in acupuncture treatment. The business has grown over time through word-of-mouth customer promotion. Many customers recommended traditional acupuncture as a healthcare alternative to their friends and relatives. Customer satisfaction is considered as the most important factor to keep and maintain a business, especially service-based business. Customer satisfaction is highly dependent on service quality. Additionally, it is also important to understand customer's desires and expectations. This research uses the five dimensions of service quality in SERVQUAL, namely Tangibles, Reliability, Responsiveness, Assurance, and Empathy with the aim to determine and analyze the influence of service quality and its dimensions. The purpose of this research is to determine and analyze the significance of the five dimensions of SERVQUAL on the customer satisfaction of acupuncture therapy business. Research results empirically proved that the SERVQUAL dimensions of Reliability, Responsiveness, Assurance, and Empathy have significant impacts on customer satisfaction. Meanwhile, the Tangibles dimension had a less significant effect on customer satisfaction. This research is beneficial for the development of healthcare service business anywhere, both for acupuncture therapy in general and healthcare service in particular.