Strong Service Quality Amid Procedural Challenges: A Mixed-Methods Study of the Business Permits and Licensing Office of Pasay City, Philippines

The Business Permits and Licensing Office (BPLO) is one of the most visible frontline offices of a Philippine local government unit (LGU). Republic Act No. 11032 requires LGUs to deliver faster, simpler and more transparent business permitting, yet compliance has been uneven across cities. This study assessed perceived service quality and client-reported challenges at the BPLO of Pasay City. An explanatory sequential mixed-methods design was used. In the quantitative phase, 100 clients, selected by convenience sampling, completed a validated questionnaire (S-CVI/Ave = 0.97; Cronbach’s α = 0.915 in a pilot of 20) covering the five SERVQUAL dimensions and three challenge domains (processing time, documentary requirements, accessibility of services). Means and standard deviations described the scores; Mann–Whitney U and Kruskal–Wallis H tests compared service quality across respondent profiles (α = .05). In the qualitative phase, 15 respondents were interviewed, and the transcripts were analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis. Service quality was rated Very High on every dimension (M = 4.31–4.39), with tangibles highest (4.39) and responsiveness lowest (4.31). Clients nevertheless reported High challenges in accessibility of services (M = 3.68) and processing time (M = 3.43), and a Moderate challenge in documentary requirements (M = 3.26). Service quality did not differ significantly by age, sex, civil status, education, type of business, nature of transaction or frequency of transaction (all p > .05). Three themes explained the survey results: lengthy processing time (13 of 15 participants), need for improved service accessibility (12 of 15) and complex documentary requirements (11 of 15). Clients judged BPLO personnel and facilities very favorably, while the problems they described concerned procedures rather than people. Streamlining steps, publishing complete requirement checklists and expanding online channels are the most evidence-supported improvements.