Perceived service quality among regular users of gyms in public sports centres in the UK

Purpose: The study explores the perceptions of users towards service quality in public sports centres in England As highly specialised fitness facilities gain popularity in the UK and multipurpose facilities with a broad range of services face new challenges in creating sustainable sports participation, the study focuses on the regular users of gyms in the sports centres. Methodology: An adapted version of the Scale of Service Quality in Recreational Sport (SSQRS) was used to measure how service quality in gyms as a distinct sporting/physical activity context was perceived by regular fitness suite users. Data was collected via an online survey from a random sample of 349 customers who had visited fitness suites regularly in one of twelve public sports centres in England. Findings: A strong linear relationship between the importance attached by respondents to different elements of service quality and the perceived performance of those elements was found to exist. Physical environment, particularly 'equipment', was perceived as the most important aspect of quality by regular gym users, while the performance of 'equipment' and 'ambience' exhibited the strongest relationship with overall perceived service quality. Practical implications: The findings from this study provide implications for facility managers who should closely monitor quality in the physical environment of fitness suites and implement remedial measures where required. Research contribution: The originality of this study is that it considers for the first time fitness suites (i.e. gyms) as a distinct sporting setting in public sports centres to investigate customers' perceptions of service quality.