For services, the assessment of quality is made during the service delivery process. Each customer contact is referred to as a moment of truth, an opportunity to satisfy or dissatisfy the customer. Customer satisfaction with a service can be defined by comparing perceptions of service received with expectations of service desired. When expectations are exceeded, service is perceived to be of exceptional quality and also to be a pleasant surprise. When expectations are not met, however, service quality is deemed unacceptable. When expectations are confirmed by perceived service, quality is satisfactory. As shown in Figure 6.1 , these expectations are based on several sources, including word of mouth, personal needs, and past experience.
Dimensions of Service Quality
The dimensions of service quality as shown in Figure 6.1 were identified by marketing researchers studying several different service categories: appliance repair, retail banking, long-distance telephone service, securities brokerage, and credit card companies. They identified five principal dimensions that customers use to judge service quality reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy, and tangibles, which are listed in order of declining relative importance to customers
Dimensions of Service Quality
The dimensions of service quality as shown in Figure 6.1 were identified by marketing researchers studying several different service categories: appliance repair, retail banking, long-distance telephone service, securities brokerage, and credit card companies. They identified five principal dimensions that customers use to judge service quality reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy, and tangibles, which are listed in order of declining relative importance to customers
Reliability. The ability to perform the promised service both dependably and accurately. Reliable service performance is a customer expectation and means that the service is accomplished on time, in the same manner, and without errors every time. For example, receiving mail at approximately the same time each day is important to most people. Reliability also extends into the back office, where accuracy in billing and record keeping is expected.
Responsiveness. The willingness to help customers and to provide prompt service. Keeping customers waiting, particularly for no apparent reason, creates unnecessary negative perceptions of quality. If a service failure occurs, the ability to recover quickly and with professionalism can create very positive perceptions of quality. For example, serving complimentary drinks on a delayed flight can turn a potentially poor customer experience into one that is remembered favorably
Assurance. The knowledge and courtesy of employees as well as their ability to convey trust and confidence. The assurance dimension includes the following features: competence to perform the service, politeness and respect for the customer, effective communication with the customer, and the general attitude that the server has the customer’s best interests at heart.
Empathy. The provision of caring, individualized attention to customers. Empathy includes the following features: approachability, sensitivity, and effort to understand the customer’s needs. One example of empathy is the ability of an airline gate attendant to make a customer’s missed connection the attendant’s own problem and to find a solution.
Tangibles. The appearance of physical facilities, equipment, personnel, and communication materials. The condition of the physical surroundings (e.g., cleanliness) is tangible evidence of the care and attention to detail that are exhibited by the service provider. This assessment dimension also can extend to the conduct of other customers in the service (e.g., a noisy guest in the next room at a hotel).
Customers use these five dimensions to form their judgments of service quality, which are based on a comparison between expected and perceived service. The gap between expected and perceived service is a measure of service quality; satisfaction is either negative or positive.
Gaps in Service Quality
Measuring the gap between expected service and perceived service is a routine customer feedback process that is practiced by leading service companies. For example, Club Med, an international hotel chain operating resort villages worldwide, uses the questionnaire shown in Figure 6.2 . This questionnaire is mailed to all guests immediately after their departure from a Club Med vacation to assess the quality of their experience. Note that the first question explicitly asks the guest to evaluate the gap between his or her expectations and the actual Club Med experience
In Figure 6.3 , the gap between customer expectations and perceptions is defined as GAP 5. Customer satisfaction is dependent on minimizing gaps 1 through 4 that are associated with delivery of the service. The market research gap is the discrepancy between customer expectations and management perceptions of these expectations. GAP 1 arises from management’s lack of full understanding about how customers formulate their expectations on the basis of a number of sources: advertising, past experience with the firm and its competitors, personal needs, and communications with friends. Strategies for closing this gap include improving market research, fostering better communication between management and its contact employees, and reducing the number of levels of management.
The service design gap results from management’s inability to formulate target levels of service quality to meet perceptions of customer expectations and translate these into workable specifications. GAP 2 may result from a lack of management commitment to service quality or a perception of the unfeasibility of meeting customers’ expectations; however, setting goals and standardizing service delivery tasks can close this gap. The conformance gap occurs because actual delivery of the service does not meet the specifications set by management. GAP 3 can arise for a number of reasons, including lack of teamwork, poor employee selection, inadequate training, and inappropriate job design. Customer expectations of the service are formed by media advertising and other communications from the firm. GAP 4 is the discrepancy between service delivery and external communications in the form of exaggerated promises and lack of information provided to contact personnel.
Responsiveness. The willingness to help customers and to provide prompt service. Keeping customers waiting, particularly for no apparent reason, creates unnecessary negative perceptions of quality. If a service failure occurs, the ability to recover quickly and with professionalism can create very positive perceptions of quality. For example, serving complimentary drinks on a delayed flight can turn a potentially poor customer experience into one that is remembered favorably
Assurance. The knowledge and courtesy of employees as well as their ability to convey trust and confidence. The assurance dimension includes the following features: competence to perform the service, politeness and respect for the customer, effective communication with the customer, and the general attitude that the server has the customer’s best interests at heart.
Empathy. The provision of caring, individualized attention to customers. Empathy includes the following features: approachability, sensitivity, and effort to understand the customer’s needs. One example of empathy is the ability of an airline gate attendant to make a customer’s missed connection the attendant’s own problem and to find a solution.
Tangibles. The appearance of physical facilities, equipment, personnel, and communication materials. The condition of the physical surroundings (e.g., cleanliness) is tangible evidence of the care and attention to detail that are exhibited by the service provider. This assessment dimension also can extend to the conduct of other customers in the service (e.g., a noisy guest in the next room at a hotel).
Customers use these five dimensions to form their judgments of service quality, which are based on a comparison between expected and perceived service. The gap between expected and perceived service is a measure of service quality; satisfaction is either negative or positive.
Gaps in Service Quality
Measuring the gap between expected service and perceived service is a routine customer feedback process that is practiced by leading service companies. For example, Club Med, an international hotel chain operating resort villages worldwide, uses the questionnaire shown in Figure 6.2 . This questionnaire is mailed to all guests immediately after their departure from a Club Med vacation to assess the quality of their experience. Note that the first question explicitly asks the guest to evaluate the gap between his or her expectations and the actual Club Med experience
In Figure 6.3 , the gap between customer expectations and perceptions is defined as GAP 5. Customer satisfaction is dependent on minimizing gaps 1 through 4 that are associated with delivery of the service. The market research gap is the discrepancy between customer expectations and management perceptions of these expectations. GAP 1 arises from management’s lack of full understanding about how customers formulate their expectations on the basis of a number of sources: advertising, past experience with the firm and its competitors, personal needs, and communications with friends. Strategies for closing this gap include improving market research, fostering better communication between management and its contact employees, and reducing the number of levels of management.
The service design gap results from management’s inability to formulate target levels of service quality to meet perceptions of customer expectations and translate these into workable specifications. GAP 2 may result from a lack of management commitment to service quality or a perception of the unfeasibility of meeting customers’ expectations; however, setting goals and standardizing service delivery tasks can close this gap. The conformance gap occurs because actual delivery of the service does not meet the specifications set by management. GAP 3 can arise for a number of reasons, including lack of teamwork, poor employee selection, inadequate training, and inappropriate job design. Customer expectations of the service are formed by media advertising and other communications from the firm. GAP 4 is the discrepancy between service delivery and external communications in the form of exaggerated promises and lack of information provided to contact personnel.
The numbering of the gaps from 1 to 5 represents the sequence of steps (i.e., market research, design, conformance, communication, and customer satisfaction) that should be followed in new service process design. The remainder of this chapter will address ways of closing these gaps in service quality. We begin by considering approaches to measuring service quality.
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