Service Quality

SERVICE QUALITYService quality is the difference between the customer’s perception of how well a service meets or exceeds their expectations. It is the level of conformance of service to customer specifications and expectations.

Contd.

• The evidence of poor service quality in everyday life abounds. Trains are late, flights are delayed, teachers do not perform, telephone faults remain unattended, salespeople are rude, and water taps go dry and so on. However, it is unlikely that excellent service quality goes unnoticed. Research indicates that consumers use five criteria to judge service quality.

What customers evaluate

Service quality assessments are formed on judgments of:Outcome quality(meal in a restaurant) Interaction quality(how it was served and the

employees interacted with him)Physical environment quality(decor and

surroundings of the restaurant)

SERVQUAL ATTRIBUTES

RELIABILITYRESPONSIVENESSASSURANCEEMPATHYTANGIBLES

Continued

Sometimes customers will use all the dimensions to determine the service quality perceptions, at other times not. For example, for an ATM, empathy is not likely to be a relevant dimension. And in a phone encounter to schedule a repair, tangibles will not be relevant.

RELIABILITY (Delivering on Promises)

Reliability is defined as the ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately.

Providing service as promised (promises about delivery, service provision, problem resolution, and pricing)

Performing services right the first time Providing services at the promised time Maintaining error-free records(accuracy)

RESPONSIVENESS (Being Willing to Help)

Responsiveness emphasizes attentiveness and promptness in dealing with customer requests, questions, complaints, and problems.

Keeping customers informed as to when services will be performed

To excel, handling of request from customer’s point of view rather than company’s

Responsiveness diminishes when customers wait (phones are put on hold, complex voice mail system, or have trouble accessing the website)

Responsive front-line people in all contact position

ASSURANCE (Inspiring Trust and Confidence)

Assurance is defined as the ability of firm and its employees to inspire trust an confidence through knowledge and courtesy.

Making customers feel safe in their transactions particularly for services that customers perceive as high risk

Employees who are consistently courteous Employees who have the knowledge to

answer every customer questions

EMPATHY (Treating Customers as Individuals)

Empathy is defined as the caring, individualized attention that the firm provides its customers.

Customers are unique and special Employees who deal with customers in a caring

fashion Having the customer’s best interest at heart Convenient business hours Personnel at small service firms often know

customers by name and build relationships

TANGIBLES (Representing the Service Physically)

Tangibles are defined as the appearance of physical facilities, equipment, personnel, and communication materials.

Modern equipment Visually appealing facilities Employees who have a neat, professional

appearance Visually appealing materials associated with

the service

GAPS MODEL

Provider GAP 1: Not Knowing What Customers Expect

Inadequate marketing research orientation Lack of upward communication (between mgmt

and customers, employees and managers, too many layers) Insufficient relationship focus (lack of

market segmentation, focus on transactions rather than relationships)

Inadequate service recovery (lack of encouragement to listen to complaints, failure to make amends when things go wrong, no appropriate recovery mechanism)

Provider GAP 2: Not Having the Right Service Quality Designs and Standards

Poor service design (unsystematic new service development process, vague and undefined service design, poor service positioning)

Absence of customer-driven standards Inappropriate physical evidence and

servicescape (failure to develop tangibles, inadequate maintenance and updating of the servicescape)

Provider GAP 3: Not Delivering to Service Designs and Standards

Deficiencies in human resource policies (ineffective recruitment, role ambiguity and conflict, poor employee-technology job fit, inappropriate evaluation and compensation systems, lack of empowerment and teamwork)

Customers who do not fulfill roles (lack of knowledge)

Problems with service intermediaries (channel conflict over objectives, difficulty in controlling quality and consistency)

Failure to match supply and demand (inappropriate customer mix, overreliance on price to smooth demand)

Provider GAP 4: Not Matching Performance to Promises

Lack of integrated services marketing communications (tendency to view external communication as independent, poor internal marketing)

Ineffective management of customer expectations (in all forms of communication and lack of customer education)

Overpromising (in advertising, personal selling and through physical evidence cues)

Inadequate horizontal communications (between various departments of organization)

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