Are Retail Banks Satisfying Their Customers In Costa Rica?

Retail banks serving ethnically diverse customer bases are challenged to measure up to differing perceptions of service quality. While there is existing research about customer satisfaction and service quality in the banking industry around the world, there are no clear conclusions as to the most important service quality dimensions for satisfying bank customers. Moreover, there is little published work about the similarities or differences with which ethnically diverse customers view the service aspect of retail banking. This study examines the perceptions of four specific ethnic groups about how service quality dimensions contribute to their satisfaction with retail banking in Costa Rica. Costa Rica was a logical research location given the large number of expatriates living and working there as well as its own ethnically diverse citizenry. We find that as a group ten service quality dimensions have a moderate positive correlation with customer satisfaction. Each of the four ethnic groups showed significant differences in their perceptions of the importance of each dimension to their satisfaction. In fact, among the four groups, no commonalities existed in how they ranked their three most important dimensions. The findings in this study provide targeted information for bank managers and others working to improve satisfaction levels of specific groups of the ethnically diverse customer population in Costa Rica and elsewhere.