Evaluating Service Quality and Banking Performance: A Comparative Study of Service Quality Across Commercial Banks in Dessie District, Ethiopia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.71624/sdzawm36Keywords:
Assurance, Commercial Banks, Customer Expectations, Empathy, ReliabilityAbstract
This empirical study investigates and compares service quality among Dashen, United, and Wegagen Banks in the Dessie District of Ethiopia using the service quality framework. It evaluates customer expectations against actual perceptions to identify critical service performance gaps across the three commercial banks. A quantitative comparative descriptive research design was employed. Primary data were collected from 120 customers (40 per bank) using a structured Likert-scale questionnaire. The instrument evaluated service quality across five dimensions: tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. Descriptive statistics, including means and standard deviations, were utilized for data analysis. Service quality gap analysis revealed that Dashen Bank exceeded customer expectations across all dimensions, yielding the highest overall satisfaction. Wegagen Bank ranked second, though actual service fell below customer expectations in all dimensions except responsiveness. United Bank performed the lowest in reliability and assurance. However, United Bank led in core banking service helpfulness. Dashen Bank provides the most satisfactory service quality among the evaluated institutions. United Bank must urgently address deficiencies in reliability and assurance to retain customer trust. Commercial banks should continuously gather customer feedback to guide immediate quality improvements.
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