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Chapter 12Defining and Measuring
Service Quality
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Chapter Objectives
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• Discuss the differences and the similarities between service quality and customer satisfaction.
• Identify the gaps that influence consumer perceptions of service quality and discuss factors that influence the size of each service quality gap.
• Understand the basic concepts of SERQUAL.
• Describe the components of a service quality information system.
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Opening Vignette: The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality
Award• Over the last 10
years through the joint efforts of the American Society for Quality, the University of Michigan’s Business School, and CFI Group USA LLC.
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The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) covers 10 economic sectors, 41 industries and more than 200 companies and federal or local government agencies.
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• Service Quality• long-run overall evaluation of the firm’s
performance• looks at how firms should perform• measures a higher standard of service
delivery• expectations drive service quality
perceptions• Customer Satisfaction
• short-run, transaction specific measure
What is Service Quality?
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Management perceptions of customer expectations
Standards specifying
service to bedelivered
Actualservice
delivered
Customerexpectations
Retailercommunicationsabout services
Customerperception of
service
Source: Adapted from A. Parasuraman, Valerie Zeithaml, and Leonard Berry, “A Conceptual Model of Service Quality and Its Implications for Service Quality Research,” Journal of Marketing 49 (Fall 1985), pp.41-50.
Knowledge Gap
Standards Gap
Delivery Gap
Communication Gap
Serv
ice G
ap
Figure 12.1: Conceptual Model of Service Quality
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Gap 1
Gap 4
Gap 5
Gap 3
Gap 2
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Diagnosing Failure Gaps in Service Quality
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Gap 1: The Knowledge Gap
research orientation
upward communication
levels of management
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Diagnosing Failure Gaps in Service Quality
Gap 2: The Standards Gap
perceptions of feasibilitycommitment to service quality vs. cost
reduction and short-term profitsNo culture or goal setting for services
timeliness, accuracy, responsiveness
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Diagnosing Failure Gaps in Service Quality
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Gap 3: The Delivery Gap
willingness to perform employee-job fit role conflictrole ambiguitydispersion of control
Learned helplessnessinadequate support
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Diagnosing Failure Gaps in Service Quality
Gap 4: The Communication Gap
Propensity of over promising
Amount of horizontal communication
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Measuring Service Quality: SERVQUAL
• Diagnostic tool used to determine “gap scores”
• The larger the gap, the lower the service quality evaluation
• 44 Item Scale the Compares “Should” to Perceptions
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Measuring Service Quality: SERVQUAL
The Tangibles DimensionThe Tangibles Dimension
The Reliability DimensionThe Reliability Dimension
The Responsiveness DimensionThe Responsiveness Dimension
The Assurance DimensionThe Assurance Dimension
The Empathy DimensionThe Empathy Dimension
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SERVQUAL:The Tangible Dimension
Firm’s ability to manage its tangiblesE1: Excellent companies will have modern looking
equipmentE2: The physical facilities at excellent companies will
be visually appealingE3: Employees of excellent companies will be neat-
appearingE4: Materials associated with the service (such as
pamphlets or statements) will be visually appealing in an excellent company
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SERVQUAL:The Tangible Dimension
P1: XYZ has modern-looking equipmentP2: XYZ’s physical facilities are visually
appealingP3: XYZ’s employees are neat in
appearanceP4: Materials associated with the service
are visually appealing at XYZ
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SERVQUAL:The Reliability Dimension
Reflects the consistency and dependability of the firm’s performance
E5: When excellent companies promise to do something by a certain time, they will do so.
E6: When customers have a problem, excellent companies will show a sincere interest in solving it.
E7: Excellent companies will perform the service right the first time.
E8: Excellent companies will provide their services at the time they promised to do so.
E9: Excellent companies will insist on error-free records.
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SERVQUAL:The Responsiveness Dimension
The willingness or readiness of employees to provide the service
E10: Employees of excellent companies will tell customers exactly what services will be performed.
E11: Employees of excellent companies will give prompt service to customers.
E12: Employees of excellent companies will always be willing to help customers.
E13: Employees of excellent companies will never be too busy to respond to customer requests.
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SERVQUAL:The Assurance Dimension
Reflects the competence of the firm, the courtesy extended to its customers, and the security of its operations
E14:The behavior of employees of excellent companies will instill confidence in customers.
E15: Customers of excellent companies will feel safe in their transactions.
E16: Employees of excellent companies will be consistently courteous with customers.
E17: Employees of excellent companies will have the knowledge to answer customer questions.
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SERVQUAL:The Empathy Dimension
The ability to experience another’s feelings as one’s own
E18:Excellent companies will give customers individual attention.
E19:Excellent companies will have operating hours convenient to all their customers.
E20:Excellent companies will have employees who give customers personal attention.
E21:Excellent companies will have the customer’s best interest at heart.
E22:The employees of excellent companies will understand the specific needs of their customers.
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Criticism of SERVQUAL
• Length of the Questionnaire– Expectation and perception questions seem
redundant– What’s the value of including the expectation
set?• Validity of the Five Dimensions
– Questions need to be adjusted to fit specific industry under examination
– Measurement issues• Predictive Power
– Ability to predict consumer purchase intentions
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Figure 12.2: The Diagnostic Advantage of SERVQUAL Scores
Dimension Perception ScoresSERVQUAL Scores
Tangibles 5.3 0.0
Reliability 4.8 -1.7
Responsiveness 5.1 -1.0
Assurance 5.4 -1.5
Empathy 4.8 -1.1
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Service Quality Information System
• Solicitation of customer complaints– Identify unhappy customers– Identify weaknesses in the firm’s service
delivery system
• After-sale surveys– More active approach than above– Survey taken while the encounter is
fresh on the customer’s mind
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Service Quality Information System
• Customer focus group interviews• Group interaction provides ideas• Other forms of research are needed to
confirm the group’s ideas
• Mystery shopping• Measures individual employee behavior• Aids in coaching, training, and
evaluating
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Service Quality Information System
• Employee surveys– Employee satisfaction is directly related to
customer satisfaction– Employee surveys should examine morale,
attitudes, and perceived obstacles
• Total market service quality surveys– Assesses the firm’s and its competitors’
satisfaction ratings
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Service Quality Information System
Key Components• Listening
– quality is defined by the customer– expectations are a rising bar
• Reliability– little else matters when the service is
unreliable
• Basic service– deliver the basics first, the frills can come
later
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Service Quality Information System
• Service design– design flaws hinder the basic service
• Recovery– firms that do not respond to customer
complaints escalate the service failure
• Surprising customers• Fair play
– be careful of the “squeaky wheel”
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Service Quality Information System
• Teamwork– service team building should not be left
to chance
• Employee research– employee needs are as important as
customer needs
• Servant Leadership– leadership must serve the servers,
inspiring and enabling
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mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America.
Copyright © 2011 Cengage Learning.
©2011 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.