Last-Mile Delivery Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction in Slovak Courier Companies

This paper focuses on the evaluation of perceived service quality in courier companies operating in Slovakia based on customer satisfaction. The main objective is to identify the key service quality attributes influencing customer perceptions and to assess the extent to which the services provided by selected courier companies correspond to customer expectations. The empirical research is based on a questionnaire survey conducted among 408 respondents. The collected data were analysed using descriptive statistics, comparative analysis, and Pearson’s chi-square test of independence. The results indicate that courier services are widely used, primarily in connection with e-commerce purchases, while parcel lockers and collection points emerged as the preferred delivery methods among respondents. The findings further reveal that the most important factors perceived by respondents regarding service quality include delivery speed, shipment reliability, parcel tracking, and courier behaviour. Slovak Parcel Service achieved the highest level of customer satisfaction, followed by Packeta and GLS. Conversely, negative perceptions were mainly associated with delivery prices, complaint handling, and the quality of customer service. Statistical testing confirmed a statistically significant relationship between customer age and preferred delivery method, whereas no statistically significant relationship was found between customer age and the frequency of courier service usage. The contribution of the paper lies in identifying the key dimensions of courier service quality and proposing recommendations aimed at improving service performance, customer satisfaction, and competitiveness in the Slovak courier market.