The Impact of Service Quality Digitalization on Customer Satisfaction in the Nigerian Oil Industry: A Comparative Study of Traditional and Digital Oil Channels

This paper critically analyses how the digitalisation of service quality has affected customer satisfaction in the Nigerian oil industry by providing a comparative study between the traditional and the digital oil service channels. Using a descriptive survey design, the research based its sample on 486 oil marketers who had vast experience when it comes to service delivery, both in conventional and digital provision. The analysis was conducted in terms of such important service quality parameters as speed, reliability, responsiveness, transparency, convenience, and general customer satisfaction. The results that have been derived by conducting the statistical analyses demonstrate that the digital oil service channels contribute massively to improving the efficiency and responsive nature of delivering the services and customer interaction as compared to the traditional method. Customers who used online platforms showed a higher level of satisfaction with their experiences and attributed the accelerated delivery of services, increased reliability, and convenience as key turning points. Irrespective of these benefits, the research also revealed the main impediments in the form of data security, the deficiencies of digital infrastructure, and the resistance of customers to the transition between traditional and digital channels. Such issues indicate the extreme necessity of oil companies to invest in highly efficient cybersecurity tools, enhance digital platform stability, and develop a strategic plan of customer sensitisation to boost the digital uptake. Moreover, this research revealed that although the popularity of digital oil services is increasing, a significant percentage of customers are more eager to use hybrid models of services, in which traditional and digital oil channels are combined. This implies that a total transition to online channels is not quite possible unless various customer preferences and levels of digital literacy have been accommodated. The study finds that digitalisation can be transformational in enhancing service quality and customer satisfaction within the oil industry in Nigeria. Nevertheless, to obtain these advantages, it is necessary to have a moderate, customer-oriented strategy that emphasises security, stability, user experiences, and a slow, staged change to the digital environment. The paper provides good guidelines to oil firms to ensure maximum customer satisfaction and to be able to cope with the digital revolution in the oil sector.