4. SECOND STAGE SURVEY The second stage of the survey employed direct questions requesting selected shippers to indicate the degree of perceived importance and satisfaction associated with each service feature presented in Table 1. Specifically, the respondents were requested to rate the importance and satisfaction of service elements on a seven-point scale. The scale ranged from 1 (the least important/satisfied) to 7 (the most important/satisfied). The target respondents at this stage of survey were shippers who had earlier responded to the first stage. Through face-to-face interviews and mail surveys with follow-up phone calls made to clarify the questionnaire, 19 and 15 responses were received from suppliers of automotive parts and