Service Quality in the New Zealand Market for Construction Hardware

Service quality and client relationships as a means of differentiation in intensely competitive markets is well recognized. This paper investigates customer perceptions of wholesaler performance in a sector of the New Zealand construction hardware market with particular emphasis on the Reliability dimension. The study uses both qualitative and quantitative research, culminating in a survey of 192 key customers of a leading wholesaler. Two demographic variables are examined which might be used as the basis for determining customer service priorities and appropriate managerial action. Results confirm customers’ desires for intense and enduring relationships thereby placing the research in the academic domain of relationship marketing.

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