LAKEPORT — Some consumers plan to continue purchasing goods or services in Lakeport while a dozen merchants are “moderately” satisfied with doing business in the city, according to a pair of surveys conducted by the Lakeport Main Street Association.
“Definitely it was clear that people enjoyed shopping downtown because of the kind of quaint, unique, historical quality of the small town, like Lakeport,” executive director Carol Hays said during a phone interview Friday.
The association conducted an online customer satisfaction survey last summer and a business satisfaction survey in February.
The results of both were presented publicly at the Lakeport City Council meeting Tuesday evening at City Hall.
“The satisfaction surveys completed by the Main Street Association provide great insight on the pulse of consumers and businesses. This tool will help the city reach its goals of better support to local business as well as provide new businesses direction and greater success,” Mayor Stacey Mattina said in an email Friday.
More than 120 people took the customer satisfaction survey, with a majority ranking their satisfaction with Lakeport products and services as “neutral,” “satisfied” or “very satisfied.”
More than two-thirds of respondents said they would “definitely” buy goods or services in the city in the future, and another 28.1 percent said they would “probably” do so.
Lack of choices and hours of operation were among the criticisms some consumers had about Lakeport businesses.
“I would say that there weren”t any major surprises in terms of the responses. They were things that we had already heard people did like or did not like about downtown,” Hays said of the results.
The business satisfaction survey had a lower turnout, with fewer than two dozen people completing it.
“Definitely we would have been happier with more responses. That is not a high enough number, I think, to have conclusive results,” Hays said.
Nearly 55 percent of respondents said they were “moderately” satisfied with doing business in the city. Others indicated being either “highly” or “a little” satisfied.
Several themes developed when respondents were asked what would lead them to choose Lakeport as a home for a future business, including the city”s cleanliness, its designation as the county seat and lower rent.
“It was very clear that people were excited to start a business in Lakeport because they liked living in the area,” Hays said.
A poor economic climate as well as city regulations and fees were among the reasons respondents said they would not want to open a business in the city.
Committees within the association “are addressing improvements based on the responses from the surveys,” Hays said.
