Measuring customer satisfaction in fitness centres in Greece: an exploratory study

Abstract

Meeting the demands of customer satisfaction is among the most difficult tasks facing sport managers today. Measuring customer satisfaction is not a straightforward issue, as research has shown that satisfaction is a multi-dimensional concept. The aim of the present study was to develop and standardize a scale measuring customer satisfaction, based on a sample of Greek population. The present study was based on previous work by Beard and Ragheb, who measured satisfaction in leisure activities. Two hundred and ten members of three private fitness clubs participated in the research and completed the instrument. The results supported the multidimensionality of the concept of customer satisfaction, and revealed the existence of five factors: facilities/services, individual/psychological, relaxation, social, and health/fitness. The total scale and the sub-scales were shown to have satisfactory psychometric properties.