Service Quality Flashcards
is an elusive and abstract concept that is difficult to define and measure.
SERVICE QUALITY
is a short-term, transaction-specific measure
Customer Satisfaction
an attitude formed by a longterm, overall evaluation of a performance
Service Quality is
The two concepts of customer satisfaction and service quality are ______
Intertwined
People will learn to recognize quality only through the experience gained from being exposed to it again and again
Transcendent View
Supply-based. Looks at quality from the operations perspective. Focuses on meeting internally developed standards.
Manufacturing based Approach
Sees that quality lies in the eyes of the beholder. Recognizes that different customers have different needs and wants
User-based Definitions
Defines quality in terms of value and price. Quality comes to be defined as “affordable excellence”
Value-based Definitions
Different Common Perspectives of Service Quality
Transcendent View
Manufacturing based Approach
User-based Definitions
Value-based Definitions
Dimensions of Service Quality
Tangibles
Reliability
Responsiveness
Assurance
Empathy
Good communications, customer understanding easy access
Dimensions of Service Quality
Tangibles
Reliability
Responsiveness
Assurance
Empath
Dimensions of Service Quality
Tangibles
Reliability
Responsiveness
Assurance
Empathy
Good communications, customer understanding easy access
Appearance of physical elements
Tangibles
Dependable and accurate performance
Reliability
Promptness and helpfulness
Responsiveness
Credibility, competence, courtesy and security
Assurance
Good communications, customer understanding and easy access
Empathy
have done a lot of research on service quality. They identified ten dimensions used by consumers to evaluate service quality.
Valarie Zeithaml
Leonard Berry
A. Parasuraman
they found a high degree of correlation between several of these variables and so combined them into five broad dimensions
Valarie Zeithaml
Leonard Berry
A. Parasuraman
Implementing and evaluating service quality is a ______
Difficult task
Perceptions of quality tend to rely on a ___________ about a particular service
repeated comparison of the customer’s expectation
the ______ evaluates the process of the service as well as the outcome.
Customer
Service Quality Gaps
KNOWLEDGE GAP
STANDARDS GAP
DELIVERY GAP
COMMUNICATIONS GAP
SERVICE GAP
The difference what consumers do expect of a service and what management perceives that consumers expect
Knowledge gap
The difference between what management perceives that consumers expect and the quality specifications set for service delivery
Standards gap
The difference between the quality specifications set for service delivery and the actual quality of service delivered. (Example, do employees perform the service as they were trained?)
Delivery gap
The difference between the actual quality of service delivered and the quality of service described in a firm’s external communication
Communication Gap
Gap between expected service and experienced service: This gap arises when the consumer misinterprets the service quality
Service gap
Some restaurant customers may prefer the quality and taste of food over an attractive arrangement of the tables or a good view from the window
Knowledge
A hotel may feel that its customers prefer comfortable rooms, when, in fact, the majority of them spend very little time in their rooms and are more interested in on-site amenities such as pool or spa
Knowledge gap
Factors Influencing Knowledge Gap
Firm’s Research Orientation
Amount of Upward Communication
Levels of Management
information gathered from research become basis of customer expectations. The gap should decrease if correct data are gathered.
Firm’s Research Orientation
refers to the flow of information from front line personnel to upper levels of the organization. Front liners need to give feedback to management.
Amount of Upward Communication
As the organization hierarchy become more complex and more levels are added, higher levels tend to become more distant from customers.
Levels of Management
Exchange of ideas between an architect and a home buyer
Standards gap
Misunderstanding between graphic artist and concept manager
Standards gap
Factors Influencing Standards Gap
• Management does not believe it can or should meet customer requirements for service
• Management’s commitment to the delivery of service quality – corporate leadership may set other priorities that interfere with setting standards that lead to good service
• There is no culture for service quality and management genuinely understand the issues involved
• Management feels hampered by insufficient methods of measuring quality or by converting those measurements into standards
• Some owners or managers feel that quality measurement is not worth the effort
If the home builder does not follow the standards set by the architect’s blueprints, a __________ is created
Delivery Gap
If a restaurant’s waitstaff does not execute the standards developed in their training manual, a service delivery gap is formed
Delivery gap
Factors Influencing Delivery Gap
• Employee’s willingness to perform the service
• Employee Job Fit
• Role Conflict
• Role Ambiguity
• Dispersion of control
It is difficult to keep employees work at their full potential all the time
Employee’s willingness to perform the service
Employee is not qualified for the job
Employee Job Fit
employees become frustrated, gradually lose commitment
Role Conflict
Happens when employees do not understand the roles of their jobs or what their jobs are intended to accomplish
Role Ambiguity
employees cannot be flexible in service delivery
Dispersion of control
A customer who orders wine, only to be told it is out of stock
Communication Gap
A customer orders online and promised a delivery of 3 days, however two weeks have passed and still there is no delivery due to some issues
Communication gap
Factors Influencing Communication Gap
Propensity of Firm to Over Promise
Flow of Horizontal Communication within the firm
occurs in highly competitive business environments as firms try to outdo one another in the name of recruiting new customers
Propensity of Firm to Over Promise
A lack of horizontal communication places an unsuspecting service provider in an awkward position when a customer requests for the service promised and the provider has no idea what the customer is talking about –oftenly, communications are developed from head office but are failed to be decentralized to regional offices or local operations in the field
Flow of Horizontal Communication within the firm
a function of the knowledge, standards, delivery, and communication gaps, and responds accordingly in the combined direction of the four gaps
Service Marketing
Offers a means of achieving success among competing firms that offer similar products.
Service Quality
¬The potential benefits associated with service quality include:
Increase in Market Share
Repeat purchases, and
Improved Profitability
Valarie Zeithaml, Leonard Berry, and A. Parasuraman’ s developed a research instrument called _______ to measure customer’s satisfaction
SERVQUAL
