SERVICE QUALITY GAPS MODEL
-DEEPIKA BROCA (10)
-DINESH BARGOTRA (12)
-NATASHA THAKUR (27)
SERVICE QUALITY
The Customer Gap
The Provider Gaps
Putting It All Together: Closing the Gaps
CONTENTS :
THE OAKS AT OJAI•commands a 67% guest return rate.
• named as one of the 10 best destination spa’s. (travel and leisure magazine)
•Voted in the top 5 for favourite affordable spa, favourite spa for cuisine, favourite spa for travelling solo, and favourite destination spa in U.S. (spa magazine readers).
•Employee turnover is also less than half of the rest of the industry.
What makes the oaks at ojai excel among competitors??Oaks excel at creating a well managed SERVICE EXPERIENCE that :
>puts guests at ease( SHEILA CLIFF (75 year old founder) makes a point of greeting and
personally motivating each guest)
> educates them in healthy living(having daily classes on weight training, muscle conditioning)> challenging them to have fun and get fit(zumba dancing, hula hoopig, belly dancing etc.)
> expert staff(massage therapist represents a wide array of techniques, even the cleaning staff is well trained & skilled)
Special practice:-
Just before leaving, each guest is asked to complete a questionnaire to provide his or her individual feedback. Questions are specific and management meets weekly to review, taking care of making improvements out of suggestions
On returning home, each guest who completed the questionnaire receives a lettter of thanks and a promise to work on any issues mentioned.
beBecause of its loyal following, THE OAKS does not need to spend on
advertisement. Instead , it depends on word of mouth & publicity. Both of which bring many new and former guests to fill
the spa year round.
SERVICE
AMA define service as activities, benefits or satisfaction that are offered for sale, or provided in connection with the sale of goods.
QUALITY
According to AMA , Quality is the totality of features and characteristics of a product, or service that bear on it’s ability to satisfy stated or implied needs.
Performed by..People, machine, people with
machine
Service is…an
activityDeed,
PerformanceEfforts.
Directed at….people and
Business users
Rendered by…profit,
Non profit
SERVICE
service quality?
Expected service
Perceived service
Service quality
Customersatisfaction
Customerloyalty
An assessment of how well a delivered service conformsto the client's expectations.
• Effective service marketing is complex & involves many different strategies, skills & tasks.
• Veiwing services in a structured integrated way is called the GAPS MODEL OF SERVICE QUALITY.
• GAPS MODEL positions the key concepts, strategies & decisions in service marketing.
The service quality Gaps Model was proposed by :
•A Parasuraman, •Valarie Zeithaml and •LL Berry
in 1985 in the Journal Of Marketing.
SERVICE QUALITY GAPS:
2. THE PROVIDER GAP
GAP 1. - the listening gap.
GAP 2. - the service design and standards gap.
GAP 3. - the service performance gap.
GAP 4.- the communication gap.
1. THE CUSTOMER GAP
The service Gap Model
THE CUSTOMER GAP
CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS :
standards or reference points.
What a customer believe, should or will happen.
Sources of customer expectations are marketer controlled factors (pricing, advertising, sales promises)
E.g. : expecting a high level of service from an expensiverestaurant, considerably superior then what is expected from a fast food restaurant.
THE CUSTOMER GAP
CUSTOMER PERCEPTIONS :
are subjective assessments of actual service experience.
Perceptions can be managed towards organisation’s benefits.
Perception leads to attitude.
Customer gap – closing the gap
• In a perfect world, expectations and perceptions would be identical i.e. customers would perceive that they have received what they thought they would and should.
• Gap is critical to deliver service quality.
• Such a gap arises usually in a large organisation in which manager’s are not. in direct contact with customers
Provider gap
• In order to close the customer gap, the four other gaps- the provider gaps need to be closed.
GAP 1. - the listening gap.
GAP 2. - the service design and standards gap.
GAP 3. - the service performance gap.
GAP 4.- the communication gap.
Company Perceptions of
Consumer Expectations
Expected Service
CUSTOMER
COMPANY
GAP 1
Provider Gap 1 : THE LISTENING GAP
Difference between customer expectations of service & company understanding of those expectations.
Arises when firms lack an accurate understanding of exactly what customer expectations are , due to :
1. Managers may not interact directly with customers.
2. May be unwilling to ask about expectations.
3. May be unprepared to address them.
Customer’s expectations
Company’s perceptions of customer expectations
Inadequate marketing research orientation
Lack of upward communication
Insufficient relationship focus
Inadequate service recovery
Reasons
for
provider
gap
I
• Insufficient customer research.
• Research not focused on service quality
• Inadequate use of market research
Inadequate customer research orientation
• Lack of interaction between customer and management.
• Insufficient communication between contact employees & managers
• Too many layers between contact personnel and top management.
Lack of upward communication
• Lack of market segmentation.
• Focus on transactions rather than relationships.
• Focus on new customers rather than relationship customers.
Insufficient relationship focus
• Lack of encouragement to listen to customer complaints
• Failure to make ammends when things go wrong.
• No appropriate recovery mechanisms in place for service failures.
Inadequate service recovery
Listening gap : closing the gap
Formal & informal methods to capture information about customer expectations must be developed through customer research.
Techniques :
• Customer interviews
• Survey research
• Complaint systems
• Customer panels
1. Traditional approaches
• Structured brainstorming.
• Service quality gap analysis.2. New innovative
techniques
Well defined complaint handling procedure
Emphasis on empowering employees to react on the spot.
Ways to compensate the customer for unfulfilled promise.
Building strong relationships and understanding customer needs over time.
Implementation of recovery strategies when things go wrong.
EXAMPLES:
- IKEA has pioneered in using innovative techniques used to identify customer expectations. They put customer’s
in the wish mode to begin closing the gaps. ( ikea has organised an activity where they asked group of customers
about their ideal shopping experience at IKEA.)
- STARBUCKS has well analysed customer’s expectations of a cofeedrinking environment and hence enriched the customer experience by
incorporating it in the service design.
- IBM & GE : relationship marketing has always been a practice, recognizing that clients have the potential to
spend more with them if they provide excellent service.
CUSTOMER
COMPANY
GAP 2
Customer-DrivenService Designs and
Standards
Company Perceptions of
Consumer Expectations
Provider Gap 2Gap 2: THE SERVICE DESIGN & STANDARD GAP
Translation of perceptions into service quality specifications
Management perceptions of customer expectations
Poor service design
Absence of customer-defined service standards
Inappropriate physical evidence and services cape
Reasons
for
provider
gap
2
• Unsystematic new service development process.
• Vague, undefined service designs.
• Failure to connect service design to service positioning.
Poor service design
• Lack of customer- driven service standards.
• Absence of process management to focus on customer requirements.
• Absence of formal process for setting service quality goals.
Absence of customer-driven standards
• Failure to develop tangibles in line with customer expectations.
• Servicescape design that does not meet customer & employee needs.
• Inadequate maintenance & updating of servicescape.
Inappropriate servicescape
The service design & standards gap : closing the gap
Technology changes & improvements are particularly helpful in closing this gap.
Same vision of service & associated issues : It is critical that all people involved ( managers, frontline employees) work with the same concepts of the new service, based on customer needs and expectations.
Clearly designing services without oversimplification, incompleteness, subjectivity & bias.
Using tools that are most effective in service development & design such as – service blueprinting.
CUSTOMER
COMPANY Service Delivery
GAP 3
Customer-DrivenService Designs and
Standards
Provider Gap 3Gap 3: THE SERVICE PERFORMANCE GAP
• Ineffective recruitement.
• Role ambiguity & role conflict.
• Poor employee- technology job fit.
• Lack of empowerment & teamwork
Deficiencies in human resource policies
• Failure to smooth peak & valleys of demand.
• Inappropriate customer mix.
• Overreliance on price to smooth demand
Failure to match supply & demand
• Lack of knowledge to customer about their roles & responsibilities.
• Customers negatively impact each other.
customers not fulfilling roles
• Channel conflict over performance & objectives.
• Channel conflict over costs & rewards.
• Difficulty controlling quality & consistency.
• Tension between empowerment & control.
Problems with service intermediaries
The service performance gap : closing the gap
The firm must have systems, processes, and people in place t ensure that service delivery actually matches the designs & standards in place.
Standards must be backed by appropriate resources (people, systems, technology ) and must be enforced to be effective.
By ensuring that all the resources needed to achieve the standards are in place – reduces the gap.
Focus on :
internal practices – recruitement, training,feedback, motivation, job design, organizationalstructure etc.
operational strategies - as cross training employeesor varying the size of employee pool to synchronizedemand & supply.
marketing strategies - price changes, advertising,promotion.
firm must develop ways to either control theintermediaries or motivate them to achieve company
goals
The service performance gap : closing the gap
firm must develop ways to either control the intermediaries or motivate them to achieve company goals
Provider Gap 4
CUSTOMER
COMPANYExternal
Communications to CustomersGAP 4
Service Delivery
Gap 4: THE COMMUNICATION GAP
Illustrates the difference between actual & promised service.
Promises made by a service company through its media advertising, sales force, and other communications may raise customer expectations, the standards against which customers assess service quality.
1. Lack of integrated service mktg. communications : lack of co-ordination between contact people & customers. Result of poor quality service perceptions.
2. Ineffective mang. Of customer expectations: when employees who promote the services do not fully understand the expected service.
3. Overpromising : may lead to broken promises.
4. Inappropriate pricing : whether price is fair or in line with competition.
COMMUNICATION GAP : key factors responsible
External communications to consumers
Service delivery
Lack of integration of marketing
communications
Inadequate management of customer
expectations
Overpromising
Inadequate horizontal communications
Reasons
for
provider
gap
4
• Tendency to view each external communication as independent.
• Not including interactive mktg. in communications plan
• Absence of strong internal marketing program
Lack of integrated service mktg.
communications
• Not managing customer expectations through all forms of communication.
• Not adequately educating customers.
Ineffective mang. Of customer expectations
• In advertising.
• In personal selling.
• Through physical evidence cues.overpromising
• High prices raise customer expectations.
• Prices that are not tied to customer perceptions 0f value.Inappropriate pricing
companies must manage all communications to customers , so that inflated promises doesnot lead ton higher expectations.
Appropriate pricing.
Capitalising on oppurtunities to educate customers to use services appropriately.
Need to co-ordinate interactive marketing with external marketing.
Effectively coordinating actual servicedelivery with external communications.
Pricing strategies such as discounting, couponing needs to be different in service situations where customer has no initial sense of prices.
Communication Gap : closing the gap
CLOSING THE GAPS
• Gap 1: Learn what customers expect
• Gap 2: Establish the right service quality standards
• Gap 3: Ensure that service performance meets standards
• Gap 4: Ensure that delivery matches promises
• Use research, complaint analysis, customer panels .
• Increase direct interactions between managers and customers .
• Improve upward communications.
• Act on information and insights.
listen to customers
• Top management commitment to providing service quality
• Set, communicate, and reinforce customer-oriented service standards
• Establish challenging and realistic service quality goals
• Train managers to be service quality leaders
• Be receptive to new ways to deliver service quality
• Standardise repetitive tasks
• Prioritise tasks
• Gain employee acceptance of goals and priorities
• Measure performance of service standards and provide regular feedback
• Reward managers and employees for achievement of quality goals
Service Quality Awards
• Attract the best employees
• Select the right employees
• Develop and support employees
– train employees
– provide appropriate technology & equipment
– encourage and build teamwork
– empower employees
– internal marketing
Can I take your order?
• Retain good employees
– measure and reward service quality achievements
– develop equitable and simple reward systems
You are a
Star Service
Provider
• Seek input from operations personnel on what can be done
• ‘Reality’ advertising
– real employees, real customers, real situations
• Seek input from employees on advertising
• Gain communications between sales, operations and customers
• Internal marketing programs
• Ensure consistent standards in multi-site operations
• In advertising, focus on service characteristics that are important to customers
• Manage customer’s expectations
– What are realistic expectations?
– Explain industry realities
• Tiered service options
– Offer different levels of
service - user pays
Why do we always have to wait?
Brief Summary : Gaps in Service Quality
Gap Problem Cause(s)
1. Consumer expectation – mgmt. perception
The service features offered don’t meet customer needs
Lack of marketing research; inadequate upward communication; too many levels between contact personnel and management
2. Management perception – service quality specification
The service specifications defined do not meet management’s perceptions of customer expectations
Resource constraints; management indifference; poor service design
3. Service quality specification – service delivery
Specifications for service meet customer needs but service delivery is not consistent with those specifications
Employee performance is not standardized; customer perceptions are not uniform
4. Service delivery –external communication
The service does not meet customer expectations, which have been influenced by external communication
Marketing message is not consistent with actual service offering; promising more than can be delivered
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