Does consumer experience influence attitudes toward the service?

Abstract

This research has analysed if consumer evaluations of a sports service, manifested by satisfaction and perceived quality, differ to the extent that consumer experience varies. For that purpose, we have achieved three cross-sectional studies on different samples of users of a sports centre. The results show that newer and more experienced customers adjust their expectations in the same way. In addition, perceived quality and satisfaction differs because customers admit that they can be very satisfied with a service, although the service does not reach the highest level of excellence. Moreover, both attitudes are very positive. Satisfaction and quality do not depend on experience, because newer customers do not create illusory expectations about the service. Finally, implications and limitations are discussed.
Key Words:  Consumer experience; perceived quality; satisfaction; sports services.