Statistical methods for evaluating satisfaction with public services

Contrary to private enterprises, public enterprises can be unaware of the impact of their performance when providing services to the public. This is often the case when a small array of choices is in citizens’ hands or coercion is the only possibility and a public service must be received and accepted as it is. In these situations where citizens cannot switch to other providers, customer churn cannot occur, or the use of the service cannot be reduced, the assessment of users’ satisfaction for public services becomes a very important topic. At the same time, this is also a tricky task, since satisfaction may vary among citizens according to their personal needs and expectations. Using proper statistical methods to assess and explain the level of satisfaction for services provided by public enterprises can be useful to face these issues. In this paper we analyse some of these statistical methods and suggest how to use them to improve citizens’ satisfaction.