chapter 5 (1)

Question 1

The customer gap

Answer 1

Is the difference between customer expectations and perceptions

Customer expectations are standards or reference points that consumers bring to the service experience, whereas customer perceptions are subjective assessments of actual service experiences

Question 2

Provider gaps

Answer 2

Gaps that occur withing the organization providing the service

Question 3

Provider gaps

Answer 3

1. Not knowing what customers expect
2. Not selecting the rights service designs and standards
3. Not delivering to service designs and standards
4. Not matching performance to promises

Question 4

Gap 1: not knowing what customers expect

Answer 4

The difference between customer expectations of service and companys understanding of those expectations. a primary cause in many firms for not meeting customers expectations is that the firm lacks accurate understanding of exactly what those expectations are

Question 5

Gap one stems from

Answer 5

Inadequate marekting research orientation
(insifficient marketing research)
(research not focused on service quality)

Inadequate use of marketing research
(lack of upward communiation)
(lack of interaction between management and custoers)
(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 customers9

Question 6

Provider gap 2: not selecting the right service quality design and standards

Answer 6

Accurate perceptions of customer expectations are necessry but not sufficient for delivering superior quality service. Another prerequisite is the presence of service designs and performance standarsd that reflect those accurate perceptions

Question 7

Key factors leading to provider gap 2

Answer 7

Poor service design
(unsystematic new service development process, vague, undefined service design, failure to connect service design to service positioning)

Absence of customer driven standards
(lack of customer driven service standards, absence of process management focusing on customer requirements, 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 employees needs, inadequate maintenance and updating of the servicescape)

Question 8

Gap 3 Not delivering to service designs and standards

Answer 8

Once service designs and standards are put in place, it would seem that the firm is wel on its way to delivering high quality services. This assumption is true, but is still not enough to deliver excellent service. The firm must have systems, processes and people in place to ensure that service delivery actually matches the designs and standards in place

Question 9

Key factors leading to provider gap 3

Answer 9

Deficiencies in human resource policies
(inefficient recruitment, role ambiguity, poor employee technology job fit etc.)
Customers who do not fulfil roles
(lack of knowledge of role and respons. , customers who negatively impact each other)

Problems with service intermediaries
(channel conflict over objectives and performance, difficulty controlling quality, tension between empowerment and control)
Failure to match supply and demand

Inadequte service recovery

Question 10

gap 4

Answer 10

not matching performance to promise

Question 11

Key factors leading to gap 4

Answer 11

Lack of integrated marketing communications
(tendency to view each external communication as independent, absence of interactive marketing in communication plan, lack of strong internal marketing program)

Ineffective management of customer expectations
(absence of custoemr expectation management through all forms of communication)

Over-promising (in ads, personal selling or physical evidence cues)

Inadequate horizontal communications