Q1. What is a GAP model? Explain in Detail.

Answer- At every service encounter, the service quality of an organisation is tested.

Customers compare the actual service they receive with the expected service. They are
dissatisfied when the actual service falls below the expected service and delighted when
service expectations are exceeded. Thus, service quality can be defined as the perception
of customers that they are getting better service than expected.
The gap between what customers expect from the service and what they think they have
got is called a perception gap. Organisations use service quality models that capture and
define service quality. Service-quality models help in identifying service gaps in
organisations. They are also called gap models.
The primary reason for an organisation to implement gap analysis is to understand what
leads to customer dissatisfaction. The differences between the delivered quality level and
expected quality level can be measured by the gap model. Measuring is the first step in
improving customer satisfaction. In addition to this, an organisation might want to exceed
customer expectation for gaining competitive advantages. Gap analysis determines
whether organisations exceed or fall below customer expectations. Satisfaction motivates
customers to repeat purchase and become loyal customers.
Gap analysis is applicable to any aspect of an industry where organizations want to
improve the performance of their products or services.
A gap model offers an integrated view of the customer-organisation relationship. It is
based on substantial research amongst a number of service providers. It shows the
perception gap and outlines contributory factors. In this case, expected service is a
combination of word-of-mouth communication, personal need, and past experience,
while perceived service is a result of service delivery and external communications made
to customers. Figure delineates the gap model:
Q2. What are the difference factors that influence quality in service organizations?
Answer- The characteristics of service and the factors that determine the quality of the
service differ from one organisation to another. Therefore, an organisation attempting to
enhance its customer service should understand the factors that determine and influence
the service delivery. There are two major factors that influence the quality of any service
organisation. These factors are shown in Figure
Level of service provider’s skill: Quality in a service organisation largely depends upon
the skill level of the service provider. In some service industries like insurance or travel
and tourism, mediators or middlemen like insurance and travel agents play a major role in
taking the service to the customers. Businesses in these industries depend on
intermediaries because they have a wider reach and can, therefore, take the service to
more customers. For this reason, many organisations outsource the customer contact
function to organisations that specialise in that function. This ultimately influences the
quality standards of the services.
Level of customer interaction: In services like railways, telecommunications and mail
delivery, the interaction of the service provider with the customer is limited. On the other
hand, in service organisations like banks, hotels and airlines, service personnel regularly
come in direct contact with customers. In this case, as the service personnel deliver
service in the presence of customer, it becomes difficult for them to rectify a mistake
without it being noticed by the customer. Therefore, recruiting the right people, training
them and constantly enforcing the organisation’s values and commitment to customer
service are the basic steps that a service provider needs to enhance the customer service
quality.

Q3. Explain the steps involved in maintaining CRM in a service Organization.

Answer- In today’s dynamic business scenario, CRM has become an integral part of
organisations, because customers are now more informed and aware than
they were in the past. For the same reason, they are also more demanding
now. They expect high quality service enriched with supplementary
services.
Customers desire convenience and speed of delivery at competitive prices.
For example, customers may want to use the same credit card or mobile
phone service anywhere in the world. However, it is not easy for a service
provider to maintain the same level and quality of service when a customer
is physically away from the service provider’s zone of operation.
There are a number of challenges in maintaining successful customer
relationships. Some of these challenges are:
Lack of guidance
Integration problem
Inaccurate data
Employee problems

Lack of guidance: It is essential for an organisation to establish clear

quality standards, which helps its employees in understanding the purpose
behind implementation of CRM. When these quality standards are not well
defined, it may lead to conflict among the employees, because they might
not be clear about their roles and responsibilities. This may further lead to
poor service quality. In such a case, CRM cannot be implemented properly
in the organisation. For example, a hotel manager instructs the staff at the
reception to answer telephones promptly. However, the manager does not
specifically say that no call should be missed or that the phone should be
picked up within three rings. This may be termed as misleading and
incomplete guidance, which could lead to poor service quality.
Integration problem: When various organisational functions and business
processes do not perform in co-ordination, they adversely affect the level of
service quality. This further affects the successful management of customer
relationships. For example, the marketing department of a retail
organisation may promise certain services that the store personnel are not
aware of. Consequently, customers do not get the promised services at the
store. In this example, poor integration of the marketing and operations
department may lead to poor service quality that may, in turn, affect
customer relationships.
Inaccurate data: This is one of the primary challenges in maintaining
customer relationships. Inaccurate data reduces the chances of high service
quality. For example, many pizza delivery organisations deliver orders
directly to customers’ addresses. For this, they ask the customer for all
necessary details such as order type, contact details, and delivery location.
Any mistake in filling data could lead the customer not only to cancel the
order but also to form a poor image of the organization’s service quality.
This may further affect the successful implementation of CRM. Inaccurate
data may lead to incorrect conclusions, which may in turn affect business
decisions negatively.
Employee problems: Sometimes employees think that CRM is not
beneficial for their success. This lack of support from employees leads to
poor service quality that ultimately becomes a hurdle in successful CRM
implementation. For example, if the sales staff at a retail store does not
attend to customers properly, it could lead to customers forming a poor
impression regarding customer service quality of the store.
Q4. Explain - Reasons for Service Failure.
Answer-

Unavailable service: This refers to the services that are generally not available. The
non-availability in this situation is construed as a failure on the part of the service
provider. Suppose an airline company announces that a particular flight is cancelled, or a
website address shows that the web page is not available, then these may be counted as
service failures due to unavailability of service.
Slow service: If a service process is slower than the customers’ perception, then it leads
to service failure. For example, delays in serving a meal in a restaurant, lengthy queues in
a bank, post office or railway stations, or calls made to customer care centres of any
service provider being put on hold, etc.
Unsolicited employee actions: You know that services are delivered and consumed at
the same time. This emphasises the need for trained and efficient service providers or
employees. Inefficient service providers are a major cause of service failure. In many
cases, customers expect a certain level of behaviour from the service provider. If their
expectation does not match with the offered service level, it leads to service failure. The
expected level of behaviour by the service provider includes:
 Paying high level of attention
 Dealing with customers in a polite manner
 Using cultural norms such as equality, fairness, and honesty
 Identifying customer expectations
 Taking action under stressful and adverse conditions
Failure to fix a problem quickly: There is nothing more frustrating than having to wait
to have a problem fixed. A customer pays to get the desired or promised service. If they
fail in getting the same, they become impatient and perceive it as service failure. For
example, if a customer purchases a product online and it turns out to be defective, then
they would have to return it before the company will ship a replacement. This might add
weeks to the original delivery time.
Unmanaged steps of delighting customers: With the pressure of gaining competitive
advantage, service providers often try to delight customers with multiple offers.
However, if not managed properly, these bundles of offers may create confusion among
the customers. In addition, it may negatively impact the quality of mainstream services
provided by the service provider, leading to customer dissatisfaction and service failure.
Failure to communicate with customers: Communication gaps play an important role
in the failure of a service. Suppose you went to a travel agency to book a ticket. However,
you reach there to see customers already waiting for their turn. When you ask one of the
agents about the estimated time of your turn, she does not give a definite answer, which
prompts you to find another travel agency. This case shows a clear failure of service due
to communication gap. Today, organisations that do not communicate with customers
about their orders bear the risk of service failure and losing their business.
Personal problems: Sometimes, services just fail due to personal problems of the
employees. There could be various problems that may affect employee performance at
workplace and consequently, service quality. For example, stress impacts the
performance of BPO employees strongly. This sometimes leads to service failure because
they fail to listen to customer calls attentively and answer them properly.
Burnout: The term ‘burnout’, coined by Herbert Freudenberger, refers to a feeling of
physical and mental fatigue that can occur from working under difficult and demanding
conditions. It is the exhaustion of emotional strength and motivation, due to excessive
stress and frustration, related to work. It causes physical, emotional, and psychological
harm to individuals. The symptoms of burnout are chronic fatigue, impulsiveness, and
susceptibility to cold, headache, and fever. If the employees of an organisation feel
burnout, their performance would definitely be hampered, and the overall productivity of
an organisation would plummet. Therefore, the reasons and consequences of burnout
should be understood by organisations to ensure occupational health and safety of
employees. For example, many bus drivers experience burnout when they are required to
drive for long and restless journeys. This may affect their performance and generate
service failures.
Lack of empowerment: As you know that the success of any service industry depends
on its employees. A well-trained and efficient employee is an asset to an organisation.
Situations when the employee is unaware of how to deal with customers or has
inadequate knowledge, may lead to customer dissatisfaction that may further become
service failure. This generally happens due to the inability of employees to solve
problems. For example, if insurance agents lack knowledge regarding various insurance
plans offered by their organisation, they cannot deal with customers or resolve their
problems properly. In addition, employee inefficiency or lack of knowledge may also
lead to customer dissatisfaction and service failure.

Q5. Describe - Objectives of service quality in the tourism, hospitality and leisure
industry
Answer- Customer expectations from a service largely depend on their past experience,
their requirements and word-of-mouth publicity. When customer expectations are
different from the actual service provided, it may create a gap or difference that may
affect the overall quality of service. According to Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry,
there are ten determinants that may have a considerable impact on determining the
service gap or difference.

Competence: This refers to the possession of the essential skills and understanding
required to perform any service. Competence is one aspect that creates a large difference
between two similar services. For example, competence of employees in handling
customers at retail stores, especially in adverse situations like customer grievance, may
help the store maintain its image and retain the customer. Lack of competence may not
only affect the business negatively but also harm the organisation’s market position and
image. An organisation may develop competence in several areas, including knowledge
and skill of employees, operational support system and research abilities of the
organisation.

Courtesy: This consists of politeness, consideration and friendliness of service personnel

towards customers. In addition, it also covers the attention paid by service providers to
customers’ assets and belongings. All these aspects create a feeling of courtesy in the
minds of customers and provide an experience of high service quality.

Credibility: This includes factors like reliability, trust and honesty. In other words,
customers consider a service provider credible if it treats customers’ best interests as high
priority. A customer may associate the credibility factor with the name of the
organisation or brand, reputation of the organisation and the characteristics of the
employees. For example,
Microsoft Corporation is an American multi-national software corporation that develops,
manufactures, licenses and supports a variety of products and services related to
computing. It is also one of the world's most credible organisations.
Security: It refers to the customer’s feeling of being free from danger, risk or doubt. In
other words, it includes physical safety, financial security and confidentiality that a
service provider provides to a customer. It enhances the trust of customers. For example,
no customer would like to deal with an insurance company that cannot guarantee the
safety and security of the monetary possessions of its customers. For example, Life
Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) is the largest insurance and investment company in
India that offers life insurance services. The slogan of LIC is "Yogakshemam
Vahamyaham" which means "Your welfare is our responsibility".
Access: This refers to the service provider’s approachability and ease of contact with the
customer. Access includes suitable office operation hours and locations. There are
various situations when a customer needs to get assistance from service providers. For
example, suppose you buy a new Sony smartphone. However, you find it difficult to
operate the handset. In such a situation, you may try to find a Sony service centre that can
help in solving your problem. Now, if you do not get access to such a service centre, it
would create a poor impression in your mind about the service quality. To improve
accessibility and company brand image, most organisations provide 24 x 7 services
through their customer-care centres.
Communication: Communication as a dimension of service quality refers to informing
customers in a language they are able to understand, listening to them carefully and
providing them required solutions. For example, various business process outsourcing
(BPO) units adjust their languages to the varying needs of their customers. Service
organisations may need to communicate with customers on various points, including
explanation of the service, its cost and assurances to manage any problem that may arise.
Knowing the customer: This refers to paying heed to customer needs, knowing them by
their names and providing them undivided attention. This is a part of exceeding customer
expectations. Today, many organizations working in the hospitality industry focus more
on this aspect of service to maintain and improve service quality.
Tangible/Physical Evidence: It encompasses all the tangibles involved in the process of
service delivery. It is mainly provided at the location where service is delivered to
customers. Physical evidence allows customers to make judgments about an organisation.
There are certain expectations regarding physical evidence. For example, customers want
a clean, friendly environment in a restaurant. Or in the business class section on an
airplane, customers expect enough room to lie down.

Q6. What are the various approaches to service quality in retailing?

Answer- Approaches to service quality in retailing
In order to be able to effectively use customer service as a unique proposition, a retail
organisation needs to follow certain approaches to ensure service quality.

User-based approach: This approach suggests that quality should be defined from the
customer’s perspective. Therefore, a service offering that meets the customer’s needs is a
quality service. For example, in a restaurant, providing good quality food and clean
ambiance might not be the only criteria for determining quality from a customer’s
perspective. It is possible that a customer, apart from judging good quality food and
ambiance, checks various other aspects, such as the assistance, the responsiveness,
politeness and friendly behaviour of the staff members, to determine service quality.
Product-based approach: This approach suggests that the service offered by an
organisation only falls short of the quality standards when a certain attribute or aspect of
service is left out or is in disorder. For example, if a customer comments that the quality
of service offered by a retailer is poor, this approach assumes that either the product was
not good, the service personnel were not customer-oriented or that the ambiance was not
good. It assumes that service quality can be well-defined and established.
Operations-based approach: This approach suggests that the quality of a service
depends on the efficiency of the operations involved in service design and delivery.
Value-based approach: This approach seeks to define quality as the value offered in
return for the price paid by the customer.
Transcendent view of quality: This approach suggests that a person can assess the
quality of a service accurately, only when they are exposed to it repeatedly. This
approach suggests that consistency in maintaining quality standards is important.