The conceptual framework:

The GAPS Model of Service

Quality
Prof. Rupali Rajesh

Introduction
The effective services Marketing involves different
strategies, skills, and tasks.
Execution of service organization is confused about
how to approach in organized manner.
Viewing services in a structured, integrated way is
called Gap model of service quality.

CUSTOMER GAP
Expected service

Customer
Gap

Perceived Services

Contd
The customer gap is the difference between customer expectations and
perceptions.
Customer expectations are standards or reference points that customer brings
into the service experience, whereas customer perceptions are subjective
assessments of actual service experiences.
Customer expectations often consist of what a customer believes should or will
happen.
E.g: Visit to an expensive restaurant, you expect a high level of service, one that is
considerably superior to the level you would expect in a fast-food restaurant.

The Provider GAPS

The gaps occur within the organization providing the service and
include:
GAP 1: The Listening Gap
GAP 2: The Service Design and Standards Gap
GAP 3: The Service Performance Gap
GAP 4: The Communication Gap

GAP 1: Not Knowing What Customers Expect

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 customers rather than relationship customers
Insufficient relationship focus
Lack of market segmentation
Focus on transactions rather than relationship customers
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 to service failures

Company perceptions of customer expectations

GAP 1: The Listening Gap

The difference between customer expectations of service and company
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.
Many reasons exist for managers not being aware of what customers expect: they
may not interact directly with customers, they may be unwilling to as about
expectations.

Contd..
Listening gap is lack of upward communication. Frontline employees often
know great deal about customers; if management is not in contact with
frontline employees and does not understand what they know.
Formal and informal methods to capture information about customers
expectations must be developed through marketing research.
Customer interview, survey research, complaint systems and customer panels
must be used to stay close to the customer.

GAP 2: Not having the Right service quality designs

and standards
Customer- driven service designs and standards
Poor Service Designs
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 standards
Absence of process management to focus 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 employee meets
Inadequate maintenance and updating of the servicescape

Management perceptions of customer expectations

Gap 2
Managers are responsible for setting standards, believe that
customer expectations are unreasonable or unrealistic.
Also believe the degree of variability inherent in service defies
standardization and therefore that setting standards will not
achieved goal.
Technology changes and improvements are particularly helpful
in closing the gap

GAP 3: Not delivering to service designs and standards

Customer- driven service designs and standards
Deficiencies in human resource policies

Ineffective recruitment
Role ambiguity and role conflict
Poor employee- technology job fit
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
Inappropriate customer mix
Overreliance on price to smooth demand

Service delivery

Gap 3
Discrepancy between development of customer driven service standard and
actual service performance by company employees.
Standards must be backed by appropriate resources (people, systems, and
technology)and must be enforced to be effective,
Employees must be measured and compensated on the basis of performance
along those standards.
Performance of the standards accurately reflect customers expectations, if
company fails to provide support for those standards.

Provider Gap 4: The Communication Gap

Service Delivery
Lack of Integrated Marketing Communications
Tendency to view each external communication as independent
Absence of interactive marketing in communications plan
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, personal selling or through physical evidence cues.
Inadequate horizontal communications
Inadequate communication between sales and operations, advertising and operations.
Differences in policies and procedures across branches or units.

External Communications to customers

Gap 4
Promises made by the company through its media advertising, sales
force, and external communications may potentially raise customer
expectations.
Broken promises can occur for many reasons: overpromising in
advertising or personal selling, inadequate coordination between
operations and marketing, and differences in policies and
procedures across the service outlets.

GAP model of service quality

Customer
Expected
Service
GAP 5
Perceived
Service

Provider

GAP 3

GAP 2

GAP 1

Service Delivery

Customer-driven service
Designs and standards
company perceptions of
consumer expectations

External
Communications
To
GAP 4
customers

Delivery of Quality Service

Service employees and HR practices that facilitates delivery of
quality services.
GAP 1: Between management perceptions and consumer
expectations. Not knowing what customers except
Gap 2:Between management perceptions and service quality
specifications. Not selecting the right service designs and
standards
Gap 3: Between service quality specifications and service
delivery. Not delivering to service standards

 Gap 4: Between service delivery and external

communication. Not matching performance to
promises.
Gap 5: Between expected service and perceived service.

Service performance gap

GAP 3- There is service performance gap in the service
quality framework. Due to employees frequently
deliver or perform the service, HR issues are a major
cause of gaps
By focusing on--- Critical role of service employees,
developing strategies will lead to effectives customer
oriented service delivery will helps to close gap 3.

Thank You