The document discusses service quality gaps. It defines service quality gaps as the difference between customer expectations of service and their actual perceptions of received service. It identifies 5 main gaps: (1) between customer expectations and management perceptions, (2) between management perceptions and service quality specifications, (3) between specifications and service delivery, (4) between delivery and external communications, and (5) between expected and perceived service. It then analyzes service quality gaps in banking, public transport, electricity distribution, and airlines.

1. SERVICE QUALITY GAP
PRESENTED BY :
BLESSY MARIAMMA PHILIP
S2 MBA
AVISHKAR

2. SERVICE QUALITY GAP
• Service quality is a comparison of expectations with
performance.
Improved service quality may increase economic
competitiveness. This may be achieved by understanding
and improving operational processes; identifying problems
quickly and systematically; establishing valid and reliable
service performance measures and measuring customer
satisfaction and other performance outcomes.
• A customer's expectation of a particular service is
determined by factors such as recommendations, personal
needs and past experiences. The expected service and the
perceived service sometimes may not be equal, thus
leaving a gap.

3. Determinants of service quality gaps
• Competence is the possession of the required skills and knowledge to perform the
service.
• Courtesy is the consideration for the customer's property and a clean and neat
appearance of contact personnel, manifesting as politeness, respect, and
friendliness.
• Credibility is the factors such as trustworthiness, belief and honesty. It involves
having the customer's best interests at prime position.
• Security is the customer feeling free from danger, risk or doubt including physical
safety, financial security and confidentiality.
• Access is approachability and ease of contact.

4. • Communication means both informing customers in a language they are
able to understand and also listening to customers.
• Knowing the customer means making an effort to understand the
customer's individual needs, providing individualized attention,
recognizing the customer when they arrive and so on.
• Tangibles are the physical evidence of the service, for instance, the
appearance of the physical facilities, tools and equipment used to provide
the service;
• Reliability is the ability to perform the promised service in a dependable
and accurate manner.
• Responsiveness is to the readiness and willingness of employees to help
customers in providing prompt timely services.

5. FIVE ‘GAPS’ THAT CAUSE UNSUCCESSFUL DELIVERYMODEL’
DEVELOPED BY A GROUP OF AUTHORS- PARASURAMAN, ZEITHAML
AND BERRY
• GAP 1:
• Gap between consumer expectation and management perception : This gap arises when the
management does not correctly perceive what the customers want.
GAP 2 :
• Gap between management perception and service quality specification : Here the
management might correctly perceive what the customer wants, but may not set a
performance standard.
GAP 3:
• Gap between service quality specification and service delivery : This gap may arise owing to
the service personnel. The reasons being poor training, incapability or unwillingness to meet
the set service standard.
GAP 4 :
• Gap between service delivery and external communication : Consumer expectations are
highly influenced by statements made by company representatives and advertisements. The
gap arises when these assumed expectations are not fulfilled at the time of delivery of the
service.
GAP 5:
• Gap between expected service and experienced service : This gap arises when the consumer
misinterprets the service quality.

6. SERVICE QUALITY GAPS IN THE
FOLLOWING AREAS:
BANKING SERVICES
PUBLIC TRANSPORT SERVICE
ELECTRICITY DISTRIBUTION
AIRLINES

7. BANKING SERVICE

8. Banking sector
• With regards to credibility and tangibles, service delivery far
exceeds expectations.
• With regards to security and responsiveness, service delivery
exceeds expectations.
• With regards to access, service delivery is on par with expectations.
• With regards to communication and reliability, expectations far
exceeds service delivery and hence, depicts areas for drastic
improvement.
• With regards to courtesy and understanding the customer,
expectations exceeds service delivery and hence, depicts areas for
improvement.
• With regards to competence, expectations exceed service delivery
by a small margin and hence, slight improvement will be beneficial.

9. • If these areas are improved, Gaps 1 to 5 will be
addressed especially since:
• Communication and understanding the customer
affects Gap 1.
• Communication and reliability affects Gaps 2 and
4.
• Communication and courtesy affects Gap 3.
• Communication, understanding the customer,
reliability and courtesy affects Gap 5.

10. PUBLIC TRANSPORT SERVICE

11. Public transport
• TANGIBLES
• Adequate equipment & infrastructure at stations
• Physical Facilities like Lighting, seating and Toilets are OK
• APPEARANCE
• Time Tables, Display Boards etc are visually appealing.
• REALIABILITY
• accurate in Record keeping
• Does not perform Service Correctly

12. • RESPONSIVENES
• staff does not tell exactly when services will be performed
• Railway employees are not always willing to help
• Employees are too busy to respond
• ASSURANCE
• are trustworthy
• safety measures are not adequate
• EMPATHY
• are not convenient to all passengers
• Does not give personnel attention
• It is easy to plan a journey

13. • Gap 1
-not enough interaction with the top level
-employees not willing to help always
-staffs are not well informed.
• Gap 2
-inadequate service
-standards are low
-staffs are lazy

14. • Gap 3
- does not provide service correctly.
- misunderstanding
• Gap 4
- not good as expected
- misinterpretation by customers
• Gap 5
- convenient to travel for some.

15. ELECTRICITY DISTRIBUTION

16. Electricity distribution
• 1. There is a clear gap between the quality of service in these two categories,
Domestic Consumers and Public Organization consumers. The Domestic consumers
are relatively satisfied with most of the services where as the consumers in the
Public Organization are much more dissatisfied.
• 2. The major factor for the low level of satisfaction of the domestic consumers is
due to the very poor rating for the advance information and notices which shows
that the power distribution company is complacent and in future it needs to be
more alert and inform the consumers in advance so that the consumers can plan
according to the information.
• 3. Both the categories of consumers have given a relatively high rating for the
utility service workforce and the availability of electricians for maintenance and
rectification which shows that the company has enough resources and is
competent to handle the existing complaints and capacity.
• 4. In case of public organization consumers the high rating for the last two indices
show that the company is handling personal complaint and issues (Decisions and
steps taken concerning a single person) relatively well.

17. AIRLINES

18. Gap 1 –not knowing what customers
expect
• Insufficient marketing research
• Inadequate use of marketing research
• Lack of interaction between managers and
customers
• Insufficient communication between contact
employees and managers

19. • Lack of market segmentation
• Focus on transaction rather than relationship
• Focus on new customer rather than old
customer.

20. Gap2- not selecting the right service
designs and standards
• Inadequate standardization of service
behaviors and designs
• Absence of formal process for setting service
quality goals
• Lack of customer defined standards
• Inadequate service leadership

21. Gap 3- not delivering to service
standards
• Ineffective recruitment
• Poor employee technology job fit
• Inappropriate evaluation and compensation
system
• Lack of empowerment and teamwork

22. Gap 4 – not delivering proper
communication
• Over promising in advertisement and personal
selling
• Difference in policies in branches
• Insufficient customer education

23. Gap 5 – service experience
• Over caring of customers.
• Frequent disturbance by employees