Service quality in leisure program delivery : a case of the Salomon Puffer endurance trail run

Abstract

In a demanding and diverse corporate market any organization wanting to make a profit should adhere to certain business principles in order to stay economically competitive. The product of the leisure service organization consisting of tangible and intangible factors makes it difficult to market and sell their product as compared to organizations in the manufacturing industry. The quality of the product or service, made up of tangible and intangible factors therefore becomes the benchmark for the leisure service organization to ensure prolonged economic participation in an ever changing business environment. A service of high quality will therefore ensure higher profit and more opportunities for the leisure organization. This study assessed the service quality of the SALOMON PUFFER (hereafter called the PUFFER) Endurance Trail Run in Table Mountain Nature Reserve in Cape Town as a leisure event. Service quality of the PUFFER was assessed through 33 participants from South Africa of both male and female and ranging in the ages of 2l and,70 completing the SERVQUAL questionnaire specially adapted to an endurance event like the PUFFER. Questions addressed issues on five SERVQUAL dimensions namely: Responsiveness, Reliability, Tangibles, Assurance and Empathy as well as the awareness and usage ratings of certain tangible and intangible aspects not necessarily part of the five dimensions mentioned. Questions were answered on a five point Likert style scales ranging from "strongly agree" to "strongly disagree". Data was analyzed using the STATISTICA package of data analysis. The organizers were rated as excellent on all five dimensions with ratings of over 60%o on average with only physical facilities as tangible factor receiving a lower score of 33%o in terms of excellence. The conclusion of the study is that both tangible and intangible factors plays a role in the overall impression participants have on the leisure event. It indicates therefore that the participants in the PUFFER perceived the service delivered at the event to be of acceptable quality.