The Gaps Model of Service Quality

• Introduce a framework, called the gaps model of service quality.

• Demonstrate that the most critical service quality gap to close is the customer gap, the difference between customer expectations and perceptions.

• Show that four gaps that occur in companies, which we call provider gaps, are responsible for the customer gap.

• Identify the factors responsible for each of the four provider gaps.

Gaps Model of Service Quality

• Customer Gap:– difference between customer expectations and perceptions

• Provider Gap 1 (The Knowledge Gap):– not knowing what customers expect

• Provider Gap 2 (The Service Design & Standards Gap):– not having the right service designs and standards

• Provider Gap 3 (The Service Performance Gap):– not delivering to service standards

• Provider Gap 4 (The Communication Gap):– not matching performance to promises

The Customer Gap

Expectedservice

Perceivedservice

Customer Gap

Key Factors Leadingto the Customer Gap

Provider Gap 1: Not knowing what customers expect

Provider Gap 2: Not selecting the right service designs and standards

Provider Gap 3: Not delivering to service standards

Provider Gap 4: Not matching performance to promises

Customer Expectations

Customer Perceptions

CustomerGap

Customer Expectations

Company Perceptions of Customer Expectations

Inadequate marketing research orientation Insufficient marketing research Research not focused on service quality Inadequate use of market research

Lack of upward communication Lack of interaction between management and customers Insufficient communication between contact employees and managers Too many layers between contact personnel and top management

Insufficient relationship focus Lack of market segmentation Focus on transactions rather than relationships Focus on new customers rather than relationship customers

Inadequate service recovery Lack of encouragement to listen to customer complaints Failure to make amends when things go wrong No appropriate recovery mechanisms in place for service failures

Key Factors Leading to Provider Gap 1Key Factors Leading to Provider Gap 1

Gap1

Customer-Driven Service Designs and Standards

Management Perceptions of Customer Expectations

Poor service design Unsystematic new service development process Vague, undefined service designs

Failure to connect service design to service positioning Absence of customer-driven standards

Lack of customer-driven service standards Absence of formal process for setting service quality goals

Inappropriate physical evidence and servicescape Failure to develop tangibles in line with customer expectations Servicescape design that does not meet customer and

employee needs Inadequate maintenance and updating of the servicescape

Key Factors Leading to Provider Gap 2Key Factors Leading to Provider Gap 2

Gap2

Service Delivery

Customer-Driven Service Designs and Standards

Deficiencies in human resource policies Ineffective recruitment Role ambiguity and role conflict Inappropriate evaluation and compensation systems Lack of empowerment, perceived control, and teamwork

Customers who do not fulfill roles Customers who lack knowledge of their roles and responsibilities Customers who negatively impact each other

Problems with service intermediaries Channel conflict over objectives and performance Difficulty controlling quality and consistency Tension between empowerment and control

Failure to match supply and demand Failure to smooth peaks and valleys of demand

Key Factors Leading to Provider Gap 3Key Factors Leading to Provider Gap 3

Gap3

Service Delivery

Lack of integrated services marketing communications Tendency to view each external communication as independent Absence of strong internal marketing program

Ineffective management of customer expectations Absence of customer expectation management through all forms of

communication Lack of adequate education for customers

Overpromising Overpromising in advertising Overpromising in personal selling Overpromising through physical evidence cues

Inadequate horizontal communications Insufficient communication between sales and operations Insufficient communication between advertising and operations Differences in policies and procedures across branches or units

External Communications to Customers

Key Factors Leading to Provider Gap 4Key Factors Leading to Provider Gap 4

Gap4

PerceivedService

Expected Service

CUSTOMER

COMPANY

CustomerGap

Gap 1

Gap 2

Gap 3

External Communications to

CustomersGap 4ServiceDelivery

Customer-Driven Service Designs and Standards

Company Perceptions of Consumer Expectations

Gaps Model of Service QualityGaps Model of Service Quality

10

Service Quality: The Parasuraman, Berry and Zeithaml Models

Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry, professors at various

American business schools- built a conceptual model of

service quality, developed a questionnaire called SERVQUAL

which measures service quality, and conceptualised a model

for shortfall in service quality called the Gaps Model. We will

discuss their work, as it forms an important part of the

literature on services marketing.

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Contd…Service Quality

These three authors contend that the customer is the best judge of service quality. They identified five criteria that customers use to evaluate service quality. These were-

TangiblesReliabilityResponsivenessAssurance

Empathy

Definitions of the SERVQUAL Dimensions

• Tangibles: Appearance of physical facilities, equipment, personnel, and communication materials.

• Reliability: Ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately.

• Responsiveness: Willingness to help customers and provide prompt service.

• Assurance: Knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to inspire trust and confidence.

• Empathy: Caring, individualized attention the firm provides its customers.

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Determinants of Perceived Service Quality

Dimensions of Service Quality1. Access2. Communication3. Competence4. Courtesy5. Credibility6. Reliability7. Responsiveness8. Security9. Tangibles10. Understanding/Knowing the

Customer

ExpectedService

PerceivedService

ServiceQuality

Gap

PerceivedServiceQuality

Word ofMouth

PersonalNeeds

PastExperience

External Communication

to Customers

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Correspondence between SERVQUAL Dimensions and Original Ten Dimensions for Evaluating Service Quality

Original Ten Dimensions for

Evaluating ServiceQuality

TANGIBLESRELIABILITYRESPONSIVENESSCOMPETENCE

COURTESY

CREDIBILITY

SECURITY

ACCESS

COMMUNICATION

UNDERSTANDING/ KNOWING THECUSTOMER

TANGIBLES RELIABILITY RESPONSIVENESS ASSURANCE EMPATHY

SERVQUAL Dimensions

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The Five Key Service Dimensions

• ASSURANCE - a combination of the following–Competence - having the requisite skills and

knowledge–Courtesy - politeness, respect, consideration and

friendliness of contact staff–Credibility - trustworthiness, believability and

honesty of staff–Security - freedom from danger, risk or doubt

The Five Key Service Dimensions

• EMPATHY - a combination of the following:–Access (physical and social) - approachability and

ease of contact–Communication - keeping customers informed in

a language they understand and really listening to them

–Understanding the customer - making the effort to get to know customers and their specific needs

Framework for isolating differences in evaluation of quality

• Search Properties : attributes which a consumer determine prior to purchasing a product. – Ex colour, style, price, fit, feel, hardness, and smell

• Experience Properties : attributes which can only be discerned after purchase or during consumption – Ex taste, wearability, and dependability.

• Credence properties : Characteristics which the customer may find impossible to evaluate even after purchase and consumption.

• These aspects of service quality can be categorized into the 10 service quality determinants and can be arrayed along a continuum ranging from easy to evaluate to difficult to evaluate

Figure 5.1

Customer Perceptions of Quality and Customer Satisfaction

Factors Influencing Customer Satisfaction• Product/service quality• Specific product or service features• Attributions for service success or failure• Perceptions of equity or fairness• Other consumers, family members, and

coworkers• Price• Personal factors

– the customer’s mood or emotional state–situational factors

Service Quality• The customer’s judgment of overall

excellence of the service provided in relation to the quality that was expected.

• Service quality assessments are formed on judgments of:–outcome quality– interaction quality–physical environment quality