Service quality in early child care center. Does parents satisfied?

This study investigates the effect of customer satisfaction on service quality in child care center especially in Pusat Perkembangan Kanak-kanak Tunku Puteri Intan Safinaz (PPKKTPIS) located in University Utara Malaysia, Sintok, Kedah and Pewaris Generasi UniMAP located in Kangar, Perlis in order to identify whether parents who are send their kids to both child care center are satisfied with services provided or not. The objectives of this study is to identify the relationship between service quality (reliability quality, assurance quality, tangible quality, empathy quality and responsiveness quality) and user satisfaction of services offered in both child care center as appear in the framework of study. This study was conducted using a quantitative approach where the questionnaire question survey method had been used and were distributed among entire parents which are send their child to both child care center. It was applied by adopting the SERVQUAL instruments by Parasuraman et al., (1990) which are reliability quality, assurance quality, tangible quality, empathy quality and responsiveness quality while customer satisfaction adopting from Best, 1977: 174). Next, the data were analyzed using SPSS software. From the findings of study, it was concluded that empathy quality applied by Pusat Perkembangan Kanak kanak Tunku Puteri Intan Safinaz and Pewaris Generasi UniMAP can be considered as effective and satisfactory by parents from difference perspectives other than other four dimensions. In addition, parents are more attracted to the fees that are much cheaper compared to fees to the other child care center and a distance to workplaces is much closer and convenience. These factors are the reasons for parents to sending their kids to both child care center rather than service quality in SERVQUAL instrument