Determinants of Service Quality in the Trucking Industry

Abstract

Trucking firms play a fundamental role in connecting supply chain elements in many U.S. market channels and firms of all kinds depend on trucks to pick up and deliver goods. Even though many products move just about all the way by ship, train, or airplane, almost everything is carried by a truck at some point during the delivery process (Statistics, 2007). Because of this dependence on trucks, it is critical that managers in trucking firms continually strive to meet and exceed customer and shipper customer service requirements and expectations (Meixell, 2008). The purpose of this research was to examine whether cargo handling by truck drivers had an effect on a company’s service quality perceptions as perceived by the recipients of commercial cargo. The SERVQUAL instrument was used to measure the gap between truck drivers’ determinants of service quality as perceived by the recipient of the goods from these truck drivers. The findings from the study suggest it becomes necessary for managers to train these truck drivers in more than merely following a route or delivering goods. They need real marketing customer service skills and this should be factored into their training program.