Quality assessment of the services of the "West Express" travel agency in Kaunas

The aim of the paper: To to survey service quality of travel agency „West express“ in Kaunas offices in the point of view of costumer. The tasks of the paper: 1. To analysis the concept of service quality. 2. To analyze service quality criteria from the point of view of customers. 3. To compare service quality assessment models. 4. After analysis of service quality assessment models, using one of them, to investigate „West express“ Kaunas offices service quality from the point of view of customers. Methods: 1. Analisis of scientific literature. 2. Questionnaire. 3. Mathematical statistics. Conclusion: 1. After analyzing the concept of quality of service we can say that the main aspects of the concept of service quality are satisfaction of wishes, taking into account the customer's expectations, the customer is the main service quality assurer, and good quality keeps consumer loyalty. 2. After analyzing customer service quality assessment criteria, the main evaluation criteria were highlighted: professionalism and skills, accessibility and behavior, reliability, compensation, reputation and creditworthiness. The criteria analyzed help identify strengths and weaknesses of the company. 3. By comparing two QUESC and SERVQUAL service quality models, we can say that the SERVQUAL model is a more comprehensive model for assessing customer service quality, as not only the quality of service is appreciated, but is also expected. 4. After conducting the study and obtaining the results, it can be concluded that the „West Express“ travel agency justifies or exceeds customer expectations, i.e. providing quality services. The criterion to be addressed is to further improve the quality of service provided by the organization - empathy. According to the obtained results, it turned out that the expected quality of service was evaluated by a higher average than the one experienced. This means that customers were disappointed with the following elements of the criteria: the customer is given an exclusive spot, staff is quick to respond to emails, staff is always available on the phone, staff understands customer needs