A Study on the Current Situation and Difficulties of Outsourcing the Operation of the Swimming Pools in Primary and Secondary Schools in Taipei

[[abstract]]Many primary and secondary schools in Taipei City chose to outsource the operation of their swimming pools. This study aimed to investigate the service quality, customer satisfaction, the relation between these two factors, and also the problems to the schools and outsourcing operators during the opening seasons. This study focused on 17 primary and secondary schools which outsourced the operation of their swimming pools, and conducted a survey of their customers on the service quality of the swimming pools and the customer satisfaction with “Questionnaire on the Current Situation and Difficulties of Outsourcing the Operation of the Swimming Pools in Primary and Secondary Schools in Taipei.” A total of 564 valid questionnaires were collected and analyzed with descriptive statistics analysis, t-test, one-way ANOVA, and Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient. Besides, 2 school administrators and 4 outsourcing operators were interviewed about the problems they faced during the opening seasons with “The Guidelines of Interview on the Current Situation and Difficulties of Outsourcing the Operation of the Swimming Pools in Primary and Secondary Schools in Taipei.” The findings were as follows: 1) the average service quality was medium (M= 3.60), while significant differences existed among different genders, ages, and living places; 2) the average customer satisfaction was medium (M= 3.58), while significant differences existed among different genders, living places, and occupations of the customers; 3) the service quality and customer satisfaction were positively correlated, while the facets of “Concern” in service quality and “Convenience of the swimming pool” in customer satisfaction were the most correlated; 4) Most outsourcing operation of the school swimming pools was under deficit, but schools felt satisfied with the service quality of the outsourcing operation; 5) during the opening seasons, the schools suffered from problems of “government-organized summer swimming camps diminishing profits of the manager” and “poor communication with the operators,” while the outsourcing operators suffered from problems of “regulations concerning government-organized summer swimming camps,” “poor communication with the schools,” “schools not being familiar with outsourcing the operation,” and “allocation of responsibility for equipment maintenance.”