The study examined the relationship between service quality, price, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty at Suchi Laundry. The researchers found that both service quality and price significantly increased customer satisfaction, while satisfaction significantly increased loyalty. In contrast, neither service quality nor price had a statistically significant direct effect on loyalty. Their effects became significant when customer satisfaction acted as the connecting factor.
Growing Competition in the Laundry Business
Laundry services have become increasingly relevant as people seek practical ways to save time in their daily routines. Office workers, students, and other customers with busy schedules increasingly rely on commercial laundry services for washing and ironing clothes.
The trend is also visible in Tayan Hilir. Data cited in the study from the Sanggau Regency Investment and One-Stop Integrated Service Agency in 2025 identified several laundry businesses operating in the district, including Suchi Laundry, Cow Street Shoes Cleaning, Violet Laundry, and Laundry Makmur. The growing number of businesses has increased competition in the local laundry-service market.
Suchi Laundry offers washing, ironing, folding, and specialized services for items such as curtains, blankets, and bed covers. The study reports service prices ranging from Rp8,000 for a three-day service to Rp20,000 for express service, while ironing services range from Rp4,000 to Rp14,000 per kilogram. The business operates with five washing machines, four steam irons, four conventional irons, and five drying racks.
Despite this operational capacity, preliminary observations identified several customer complaints. These included delays in completing laundry orders, results that did not meet expectations, and unclear communication about services. Customers also evaluated whether the price they paid was appropriate for the quality and benefits they received.
The business recorded rising revenue during the 2023–2025 period. Revenue increased from Rp110 million in 2023 to Rp145 million in 2024, representing 31.82 percent growth. Revenue reached Rp164 million in 2025, although the annual growth rate slowed to 13.10 percent.
How the Researchers Studied Customers
Sinta Wati and Ananda Archie used a quantitative approach to examine relationships among the four variables. They collected information through direct observation, interviews with the business owner, and questionnaires distributed to customers.
The research involved 150 respondents. Participants were at least 17 years old and had voluntarily used Suchi Laundry's services more than twice. Customer perceptions were measured using a five-point response scale, while the collected data were analyzed with SmartPLS to determine the relationships among service quality, price, satisfaction, and loyalty.
The researchers also tested whether their questionnaire measurements were sufficiently reliable and valid. The results showed that all indicators used to measure service quality, price, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty met the required criteria.
Satisfaction Emerges as the Key Link
The statistical results reveal a clear pattern.
- Service quality significantly increased customer satisfaction, with a t-statistic of 3.669 and a p-value below 0.05.
- Price significantly increased customer satisfaction, producing a stronger t-statistic of 6.330.
- Customer satisfaction significantly increased customer loyalty, with a t-statistic of 4.983.
- Service quality did not directly and significantly increase loyalty, with a p-value of 0.158.
- Price did not directly and significantly increase loyalty, with a p-value of 0.357.
The mediation analysis produced a different result. Service quality had a significant positive effect on loyalty through customer satisfaction, with a t-statistic of 3.022 and a p-value of 0.003. Price also had a significant positive effect on loyalty through satisfaction, with a t-statistic of 3.950 and a p-value below 0.001.
In practical terms, the findings suggest a sequence: better service and appropriate prices improve satisfaction, and satisfied customers are more likely to remain loyal.
The researchers also found that service quality and price together explained 57.1 percent of the variation in customer satisfaction. Meanwhile, service quality, price, and satisfaction collectively explained 54.2 percent of the variation in customer loyalty. The remaining 45.8 percent was associated with factors outside the research model.
Lessons for Laundry Businesses and Other Service Providers
For Suchi Laundry, the findings point to several practical priorities: completing orders on time, maintaining friendly employee interactions, ensuring laundry is clean and neatly finished, communicating service information clearly, and keeping prices transparent, fair, and competitive.
The lesson can extend beyond the laundry sector. Service businesses may compete on price or service quality, but retaining customers requires attention to the customer's overall experience. A customer may consider a service good or reasonably priced without necessarily becoming loyal. Satisfaction appears to be the mechanism that converts a positive service experience into repeat usage and recommendations.
The study's authors also acknowledge that more than two-fifths of the variation in customer loyalty remains unexplained. Future research could examine factors such as customer trust, brand image, promotions, business location, product quality, and customer experience.
According to Sinta Wati and Ananda Archie of Universitas Muhammadiyah Pontianak, improving service quality and establishing appropriate prices can increase customer satisfaction, which in turn can encourage customers to continue using Suchi Laundry. Their findings therefore place customer satisfaction at the center of the relationship between service performance, pricing, and loyalty.
Author Profiles
Sinta Wati is affiliated with the Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Muhammadiyah Pontianak. Her article focuses on service quality, pricing, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty in the laundry-service business.
Ananda Archie is also affiliated with the Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Muhammadiyah Pontianak. His contribution to the article concerns the analysis of service quality, price, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty.
The published article does not specify the authors' academic degrees, so no degree is added here to avoid introducing information not supported by the source.
Research Source
Article: “The Effect of Service Quality and Price on Customer Loyalty with Customer Satisfaction as a Mediating Variable at Suchi Laundry in Tayan Hilir, Sanggau Regency”
Authors: Sinta Wati and Ananda Archie
Affiliation: Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Muhammadiyah Pontianak, Pontianak, Indonesia
Journal: Asian Journal of Applied Business and Management (AJABM)
Publication: Volume 5, No. 3, 2026, pp. 847–864
DOI: 10.55927/ajabm.v5i3.55
Official journal: Asian Journal of Applied Business and Management (AJABM)
0 Komentar