SERVQUAL Model

CUSTOMER
Word-of-Mouth Personal Needs Past Experience
Communications
Expected Service
GAP 5
Perceived Service

PROVIDER
Service Delivery External
GAP 4 Communications
GAP 3
to Customers
Service quality
GAP 1 Specifications
GAP 2
Management Perceptions of
Customer Expectations
 GAP 1
Customer
Expectations

Key Factors :
Insufficient Marketing Research
Inadequate use of Marketing Research
Lack of interaction between management
and customers
Insufficient communication between
contact employees and managers
Too many layers between contact personnel
and top management
Management
Perceptions of
Customer Expectations
ice Quality Gap 1 (The Knowledge G

Difference between what customers

expect and management perceptions of
customer expectations. Not knowing
what customers expect
Strategies
Communicate with customers
Conduct market research
Encourage upward communication
Decrease layers of management
 GAP 2
Management
Perceptions of
Customer
Expectations
Key Factors :
Inadequate management commitment to
service quality
Absence of formal process for setting
service quality goals
Inadequate standardization of tasks
Perception of infeasibility - that customer
expectations cannot be met
Service Quality
Specifications
 Service Quality Gap 2 (The
Standards Gap)
Difference between management perceptions of
customer expectations and service quality specifications

Strategies
Top management commitment
Service quality goals
Standardization of tasks
 GAP 3
Service Quality
Specifications

Key Factors :
Lack of team work
Poor employee-job fit
Poor-technology-job fit
Lack of perceived control (contact
personnel)
Inappropriate evaluation/
compensation system
Role conflict among contact
employees
Role ambiguity
Serviceamong contact
Delivery
employees
 Service Quality Gap 3 (The
Delivery Gap)
Difference between service quality
specifications and delivery of
specifications. Failure to ensure that
service performance matches
Strategies
specifications
Enhance teamwork
Ensure employee-job fit
Ensure technology-job fit
Employee control
Supervisory system
Reduce role conflict
Reduce role ambiguity
 GAP 4
Service Delivery

Key Factors :
Inadequate communication between sales
people & operations
Inadequate communication between
advertising & operations
Differences in policies and procedures across
branches / departments
Puffery in advertising
External
Puffery in personal selling
Communications to
Customers
 Service Quality Gap
4
(The
Communication
Difference between service delivered and external
Gap)
communications. Not living up to the levels of service
performance that are promised or implied.

Strategies
Increase horizontal
communications
Avoid propensity to over-promise
 Service
Dimensions
There are number of items which can
be rated
i.e. modern looking equipment, prompt
service, understanding of needs, etc.
These items are broken up into 5
dimensions:
Tangibles
Reliability
Responsiveness
Assurance
Empathy
 Service
Dimensions
Tangibles: physical evidence of the service
Reliability: consistency of performance
and dependability
Responsiveness: a readiness on the part of
employees to provide a prompt service
Assurance: competence, credibility, and
access to those employees providing the
service
Empathy: understanding the customers'
needs as well as communicating with them
considerately and respectfully
 Gaps Model
Example
For Example:
If a survey was taken which showed the
averages for each dimension is as follows:
Dimension Perception Average Expectation
Average
Tangibles 5.4 2.4
Reliability 5.6 4.6
Responsiveness 3.2 3.5
Assurance 6.2 3.4
Empathy 2.8 4.2

What dimension should be emphasized?

 Gaps Model
Example
Perception Expectation = Difference
Tangibles: 5.4 - 2.4 = 3.0
Reliability: 5.6 - 4.6 = 1.0
Responsiveness: 3.2 - 3.5 = -0.3
Assurance: 6.2 - 3.4 = 2.8
Empathy: 2.8 - 4.2 = -1.4
Empathy has the lowest rating therefore
it is the dimension where training should
be emphasized the most. A focus should
also be placed on Responsiveness
because of its negative rating.