TECHNICAL COMPLEXITY AND CONSUMER KNOWLEDGE AS MODERATORS OF SERVICE QUALITY EVALUATION IN THE AUTOMOBILE SERVICE INDUSTRY

The relationship between a customer's assessment of the service quality of an automobile service/repair facility and five factors-(1) perceived fairness of the facility and its personnel, (2) empathy, (3) responsiveness, (4) reliability, and (5) convenience-was examined. Perceived fairness was found to be an important determinant of service quality evaluation and its importance depended on the complexity of the task involved and the customer's knowledge of automobile repairs. In particular, when the task was complex and the customer did not feel knowledgeable, perceived fairness was found to be significantly more important than any of the other four factors.