OPSM 405 Service Management

Class 5:Introduction to Service QualityChapter 8

Koç University

Zeynep Aksinzaksin@ku.edu.tr

Defining Service Quality Specifications

– Company: Standard operating procedures

– Customer: Personal expectations

Misalignment of company and customer specifications can lead to dissatisfaction, even if the service is delivered as designed

Customer assesment of service quality:

The SERVQUAL modelDimensions of service quality

• tangibles• reliability• responsiveness• competence• courtesy• credibility• security• access• communication• understanding the customer

Perceivedservice quality

expected service

perceived service

word of mouth personal needs past experienceexternal communication

The customer gap

Expected service

Perceived service

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Stages in consumer decision making

Need recognition: customer has a need to fulfill or problem to solve

Information search: customer seeks out information to satisfy need

Evaluation of alternatives: selects a subset of alternatives and evaluates them

Purchase: chooses brand and buys Purchase outcome: customer evaluates choice

made and decides whether it meets expectations

Information search for services

Typically personal sources are used: – mostly due to experience type qualities

of services– Also because many services are local– Not much advertising

Postpurchase information seeking is more common

More perceived risk in purchasing services

Evaluation of alternatives for services

A much smaller evoked set typically– Competing services not displayed

together as in supermarkets for example

– Firms offering the exact same service in same locality is less common

– Difficulty of obtaining sufficient purchasing information

An important contender is self-service

Service purchase and consumption

Mood and emotion matters– Mood and emotions may influence

customer behavior– Mood and emotion bias the way

customers judge service encounters– Moods and emotion may affect the

way information is absorbed and retrieved

Postpurchase evaluation for services

Dissatisfaction may be attributed to ones self more; service customers complain less

Innovations diffuse less– Intangible so features can’t be displayed– They are typically unique to buyer so hard to

generalize– Can’t test on a limited basis-can’t be sampled– New service may require behavior change

which is hard to do Service consumers tend to be more brand loyal

Customer assesment of service quality

Dimensions of service quality

• tangibles• reliability• responsiveness• competence• courtesy• credibility• security• access• communication• understanding the customer

Perceivedservice quality

expected service

perceived service

word of mouth personal needs past experienceexternal communication

Customer expectation levels

High

Low

Ideal expectations: everyone says this restaurant is the bestin town and I want to go there for my anniversary

Normative should expectations: it is expensive but it should be good

Experience based norms: Most times this restaurant is quite good

Acceptable expectations: I expect the restaurant to be adequate

Minimum tolerable expectations: I expect terrible service since theprice is very low

Zone of tolerance

Desired service

Adequate service

Zone oftolerance

Two important facts

Different customers have different zones of tolerance

Zones of tolerance differ by importance attributed to service dimension

Important questions to contemplate

Should providers underpromise? Should companies try to delight? Do customer expectation escalate?

Customer perceptions

Interaction quality+physical environment quality+outcome quality => service quality

Service quality+product quality+price => customer satisfaction

Perceived service quality is a component of customer satisfaction

The five dimensions of service quality

tangibles: how do I look?

reliability: am I keeping promises?

responsiveness: am I prompt and willing?

assurance: am I capable, polite, and credible?

empathy: do I care? Do I individualize?

Examples of five service quality dimensions

Reliability Responsiveness

Assurance Empathy Tangibles

Medical care

Appointments on schedule; accurate diagnoses

Accessible, no waiting, willingness to listen

Knowledge, skills, credentials, reputation

Acknowledges patient as a person, remembers previous problems

Waiting room, exam room, equipment, written materials

Airline Flights on time as announced in schedule

Prompt and speedy system fro ticketing, in-flight bagagge handling

Trusted name, good safety record, competent employees

Understands and anticipates customer needs

Aircraft, ticketing counters, baggage area, uniforms

Recall: service encounters as foundations of service quality

Series of episodes Simple or complex Affects consumer body, mind, emotions Focus on consumer, service provider,

physical evidence in designing

Sources of pleasure displeasure in service encounters

Recovery: how employees respond to service failure

Adaptability: employee response to customer needs and requests

Spontaneity: unprompted and unsolicited employee actions

Coping: employee response to problem customers

General service behaviors: Dos and Don’ts

Recovery: acknowledge problem, explain cause, apologize, compensate/upgrade, lay out options, take responsibility

Ignore customer, blame customer, leave customer to fend for herself, downgrade, act as if nothing is wrong

General service behaviors: Dos and Don’ts

Adaptability: recognize the seriosness of the need, acknowledge, anticipate, attempt to accommodate, adjust the system, explain rules and policies, take responsibility

Ignore, promise but fail to follow through, show unwillingness to try, embarrass the customer, laugh at the customer, avoid responsibility

General service behaviors: Dos and Don’ts

Spontaneity: take time, be attentive, anticiapte needs, listen, provide information, show empathy

Exhibit impatience, ignore, yell, laugh, or swear, steal from customers, discriminate

General service behaviors: Dos and Don’ts

Coping: listen, try to accommodate, explain, let go of the customer

Take customer dissatisfaction personally, let customer dissatisfaction affect others