SATISFACTION WITH TOWN SERVICES - DO USER EXPERIENCE AND SATISFACTIONCOUNT

Public service agencies at the local and municipal levels are slowly b ecoming aware of the importance of understanding their customers' need s. Yet few researchers have looked at customer satisfaction with local public services. This study examines customer satisfaction with 18 di fferent public services in a town in Atlantic Canada. The findings ind icate that despite their monopolistic nature, consumer satisfaction wi th local public services in Canada may be fairly high and vary with th e nature of services involved, The present findings also support a tax onomy of town services employed in the research. The theoretical and p ractical implications of the taxonomy are outlined.