THE PROPER METERING AND MODELLING OF CUSTOMER SATISFACTION AS THE ASPECT OF SATISFACTION BUILDING PROCESS (Satysfakcja klientów - wybrane aspekty modelowania i pomiaru)

In marketing research we try to measure perception and attitudes of people, especially in the context of customer's satisfaction. It generates a number of questions about appropriate measurement scales, and more general problems concerning selection of estimators of the phenomenon and an appropriate relation between them. In recent years a few satisfaction measuring techniques based on cause-effect relations leading to well-justified satisfaction models, have been proposed. The models contain also hidden variables, providing this way reliable satisfaction index. Despite their theoretical attractiveness most of the models (e.g. ECSI model) contain certain limitations, one of them should be distinguished: the models do not take into account atmosphere of providing service, more strictly - cause-effect relations between behaviour of firm's personnel and satisfaction of serviced customer. Values expected by a customer are generated to a large extent by employee, who services him. Usually a customer is ready even to pay more for a service provided by a trusted person, than to save some money at the expense of its lower quality. If an employee which renders services does not draw any satisfaction of his (her) work and sees its limitations imposed by procedures or firm's strategy, which limit his (her) possibilities, then a set of values possible to be offered by him (her) will be much less numerous. Taking into account employees' satisfaction and its effect on satisfaction and loyalty of customers seems to be a factor which could be of a special importance in branches of high confidence and deep relations with customers.