This work presents the results of a survey conducted within the hotel sector in the city of Natal, Brazil. The city has 23,000 beds and receives two million visitors annually. The study examines the customers level of satisfaction. 1440 guests were interviewed in six hotels, classified into categories: tourist, superior and deluxe. The service was measured throughout 34 attributes. Data collection occurred in two stages, before check in and after guests check out procedures. The results showed significant differences between expectations when responses were grouped by category and hotel. Finally, the gaps between expectations and service performance in each attribute were analised. Matrix of external positioning indicated in which attribute the hotels are competitively differentiated.

Este trabajo presenta los resultados de una investigación realizada en el sector hotelero de la ciudad de Natal, Brasil. La ciudad ofrece 23.000 camas, recibiendo anualmente dos millones de visitantes. El estudio analiza el nivel de satisfacción de los huéspedes. Fueron entrevistados 1440 huéspedes en seis hoteles, encuadrados en las categorías turista, superior y lujo. El servicio fue medido a través de 34 atributos. La recolección de datos ocurrió en dos etapas, antes del registro y después de la salida de los huéspedes. Los resultados presentan diferencias significativas entre las expectativas del servicio, y las respuestas fueron agrupadas por categoría y por hotel. Al final, fueron evaluadas las diferencias entre las expectativas y la realidad del servicio en cada ítem. Las matrices de posicionamiento externo indican en cuáles atributos los hoteles se diferenciaban de forma significativa.

Este artigo apresenta os resultados de uma análise comparativa das percepções de clientes e gestores sobre o nível de serviço prestado por empresas distribuidoras. Os resultados provêm de dois estudos tipo survey realizados com clientes e distribuidores que atuam no pequeno varejo alimentar, em uma área urbana de 750 mil habitantes. O trabalho compara as percepções dos clientes e gestores relacionadas ao grau de importância de um conjunto de atributos do marketing e da logística. O estudo também contempla questões voltadas para a apreensão das percepções dos gestores sobre estratégia e qualidade dos serviços prestados por suas empresas. Os dados apreendidos dos clientes e gestores foram hierarquizados, comparados e analisados, empresa a empresa, segundo os atributos do serviço oferecido. Foram aplicados testes de correlação de ranks de Spearman para avaliar as lacunas de percepção entre o que pensam gestores e clientes.

This paper presents the results of a comparative analysis of managers' and customers' perceptions on the service level provided by distribution companies. The results came from two surveys applied to small grocery retailers and vendors active in an urban area with 750,000 inhabitants. The study compares the perceptions of customers and managers related to the degree of importance of attributes in marketing and logistics service. The study analyses questions about managers' perceptions of strategy and service quality provided by their companies. The data obtained from customers and managers were hierarchized, compared and analyzed, business to business, according to the attributes of the offered services. Spearman's rank correlation coefficients were applied to evaluate the gaps among managers' and customers' perceptions.