Service price components and their relationship with customer satisfaction

The price of a service is normally thought to be an indicator of its quality, for example, the higher the price, the better the service is believed to be. We shall demonstrate that this association is limited, since price is not restricted only to money. Specifically, it is shown to be multidimensional, with two categories (objective and perceived), which contain elements of a different nature. The work was performed in the context of university services, in which the strong influence of the objective aspect and the slight impact of the perceived are demonstrated. In this environment, we also analyse what dimensions are decisive in satisfying the customer, highlighting the objective aspect (adequacy of the fees to the service received) and the value the customer attributes to the service. What makes this study unique is that it offers a model of the service price components and indicates what impact each dimension has on university services.