An analysis of the perceived quality of customer service by users of Nairobi City Council Services

Abstract

Councils form the smallest service centre at the community level, and their primary responsibility is the provision of essential life support services. It is therefore imperative that the services provided meet the expectations of the consumers. It is against this backdrop that this study came up to determine perceived quality of customer service by Nairobi residents who use the Nairobi City Council services; and to find out whether the Nairobi City Council service quality meet the residents' expectations.

Data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire which was designed and given out to selected respondents from all the representative neighborhoods of Nairobi metropolitan area served by the Nairobi City Council (NCC). Respondents were conveniently picked to ensure that all the service areas offered by the City Council of Nairobi were covered. The findings were then analyzed using SPSS to find out the outcome.

The study established that majority of Nairobi residents felt the quality of customer service was good although some aspects needed improvement. NCC's city education services, provision of reliable hospital facilities in needful areas, satisfactory garbage collection service are among areas that respondents felt they met their expectations. Majority of respondents were disappointed by the way NCC handled the issue of streets hawkers removal and relocation exercise.

The researcher recommends that further researches be more focused and deeper in details about one or more aspects of the service areas offered by the NCC within the wider city jurisdiction. Further research could be for the entire consumer segment of the city council services but only within a specific area like the central business district.