Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction In Rural Banking: A Comparative Study Of Public And Private Sector Banks In Marathwada

Abstract Service quality has become a major basis on which customers distinguish competing banks, particularly when products and prices are broadly comparable. This study examines how rural customers in Marathwada, Maharashtra, perceive the quality of services delivered by public and private sector banks and how those perceptions relate to satisfaction. Primary data were collected from 100 customers, comprising 50 customers of public sector banks and 50 of private sector banks, using a structured five-point Likert questionnaire. The instrument covered the SERVQUAL dimensions of tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy, while three items measured customer satisfaction. The analysis employed descriptive statistics, Cronbach’s alpha, Welch’s independent-samples t-test, Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression. The private-sector group obtained higher mean scores on each of the five service-quality dimensions. Mean overall service quality was 3.04 for public sector banks and 4.15 for private sector banks; corresponding satisfaction means were 3.45 and 4.29. The between-group differences were statistically significant (p < .001). Overall service quality and satisfaction also showed a strong positive correlation (r = .832, p < .001). The regression model explained 70.4% of the observed variance in satisfaction, with tangibility emerging as the only statistically significant unique predictor. The findings highlight the relevance of both the physical service environment and dependable, customer-focused service processes in rural banking.