The document discusses service quality and identifies five gaps that can exist between customer expectations and the actual service delivered. Gap 1 is between customer expectations and management's perception of expectations, which can occur due to lack of market research and communication between management and customers. Gap 2 is between management's perception of expectations and service quality specifications, which can be caused by lack of management commitment, perception that expectations cannot be met, and absence of clear quality goals. Gap 3 is between quality specifications and actual service delivery, and can result from role ambiguity/conflict, poor job-person fit, inappropriate supervision, and lack of teamwork. The document provides remedies to close each gap, such as improving communication, training

1. Service Quality

2. Who is a customer..? A customer is the most important person in our office. A customer is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. A customer is not an interruption of our work, he is the purpose of it. We are not doing a favor by serving him. He is doing us a favor by giving an opportunity to do so. A customer is not some one to argue. No one has won an argument with a customer. A customer is a person who brings us his wants. It is our job to handle them profitably to him and to ourselves. CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT

3. Aspects of Service Quality Service: it is what is provided by service provider organization E.g. Bank, Insurance , Hospital, Service organizations Quality : it means “what customer wants” (a) within a given time (b) at a price (c) what he/she is willing to pay

4. Why Quality ? The drivers of quality are: To Survive Customer is demanding Competition Profitability Strive for excellence

5. Five principles of Quality Focus on Customer Do it Right Communicate & Educate Measure & Record Do it together

6. What is Service Quality? This takes place when there is an encounter between customer and service provider. Customer satisfaction with service quality can be measured by comparing the perceptions of service received, with service expected. Service Expected – Service Received = Customer Satisfaction When, S.R > S.E = Service is of excellent quality S.R = S.E = Service is satisfactory S.R < S.E = Service is unsatisfactory

7. Quality is an attitude….. Attitude is what differentiates between excellence and mediocrity. Positive attitude leads to high quality and vice-versa.

8. Common attitudinal blocks to Quality We tried it before, I know it won’t work It won’t work, the way you think It may work in Japan, but not in this country It is a good idea, but we don’t have the budget for it Everybody knows it, what is new in it? If you introduce this idea, it will create some other problems Why do you want to change it ? Now we are ok Let us discuss it some other day These ideas are more complicated than what you understand.

9. Dimensions of Service Quality Word of Mouth Personal Needs Past Needs Expected Service Perceived Service Reliability Assurance Empathy Responsiveness Tangible Quality Dimension Perceived Service Quality E.S >P.S ( Surprise ) E.S = P.S ( Satisfactory ) E.S<P.S (Poor Quality)

10. Reliability This refers to the ability to perform the promised service independently and accurately. Reliability means, every time the service has to be accomplished on time and in the same manner without errors. E.g. Application of film

11. Responsiveness This refers to the willingness to help customers to provide prompt service,without keeping the customer waiting for no apparent reasons. This creates negative perceptions of quality. In the event of service failure, the ability to recover quickly with professionalism, can create a very positive perception of quality E.g Roller Discs from NEC

12. Assurance This refers to the courtesy of employees and their ability to convey trust and confidence. i.e. competence to perform the service, politeness and respect for the customer, effective communication with the customer , and general attitude E.g Efficiency v/s Effectiveness

13. Empathy This refers to caring and individualizing attention to the customer. Empathy includes approachability, sense of security and efforts to understand customer needs.

14. Tangibles This refers to Physical facilities Equipment Communication material; Condition of physical surroundings The above are the evidence of care and attention given to the workplace by service providers

15. Service Quality v/s Product Quality Service quality is more difficult for customers to evaluate than product quality Customer does not evaluate service quality solely by outcome of service Customer judge only quality, all other judgment is essentially irrelevant

16. How customers get influenced of “What to Expect”… Word of Mouth – choosing a service is greatly influenced by word of communication. If service provider can recognize this and acts, then half the battle is won Personal Needs – Personal needs varies from customer to customer Past Experience – Bad past experience will have bearing on customer expectation

17. How do customers asses your Service Quality? The case of contact and approachability Access Keeping customers informed in a language they know Communication Politeness, Respect, Friendliness Courtesy Trustworthiness, believability, honesty of service provider Credibility Understanding the customer – knowing his needs Possessing the required knowledge and skills to perform the service Competence Willingness o help customers and provide service Responsiveness Dependability & Accuracy Reliability Appearance of physical facilities, Equipment, Communication material Tangibles

18. Service Quality Model Word of Mouth Personal Needs Past Experience Expected Service Perceived Service Delivering the Service Service Quality Specification Management Perception of Customer Expectation External Communication to Customers Gap 3 Gap 4 Gap 1 Gap 5 Gap 2

19. GAP – 1 Causes Gap between Customer Expectations and Management Perception of Customer Expectation Inadequate market research Lack of interaction between management and customers Inadequate upward communication Too many levels

20. Market Research No MR is done MR is done but not made use of Concentrating on Day to Day Operations In MR Data regarding customer expectations not collected Data regarding customer perceptions not collected Complaint made by customer neglected Even if findings are available-not made use of because of the following reasons Too busy Research are very complex Research is too technical Lack of confidence in research

21. Inadequate Upward Communication Personal Customer Contact v/s Top Management Inadequate upward communication Upward communication blocked

22. Too many levels Acts as an impediment to upward communication At various levels information gets distorted

23. Remedies to close GAP – 1 Collect data regarding expectations and perception of the customers. Improve upward communication – have a periodical meeting between management and customer contact staff; informal or formal Direct interaction by the top management with customer wherever possible Reduce levels – helps in faster decision making

24. GAP – 2 Causes Gap between Management Perception of Customer Expectation and Service Quality Specification Inadequate management commitment to service quality Perception of infeasibility Absence of goal setting

25. Lack of Commitment Operation orientation Lack of support from middle management due to lack of motivation and incentive Middle management attitude”what is in it for me”

26. Perception of Infeasibility It involves finance Our personnel may not be capable of delivering customer expectations - shortage of skills required (9 blocks) Lack of technology available

27. Absence of Goal Setting Goals are not set Set goals are not clear SMART Goal setting

28. Remedies to close GAP – 2 Mind set: Remove the mind block – open mindedness; ‘Can Do’ attitude Willingness to – investing money to buy technology;spend time with employees to satisfy customer requirements Middle Management to be involved all the more in Quality programmes Train the employees “ Lack of time concept” should be converted to “enough time” by following the principles of time management

29. Contd… Absence of goal setting Most goals on quality should be based on : Customer requirement Specific Acceptable to employees Realistic Designed to meet customer specifications Should not become a pious intention Have a proper feedback system

30. GAP – 3 Causes Gap between Service Quality Specification and Service Delivery Role ambiguity Role conflict Job fit Inappropriate supervisory control system Lack of perceived control Lack of team work

31. Role Ambiguity Lack of information from the top Lack of training to perform the job Uncertainty about superiors expectations Method of evaluation by superiors

32. Role Conflict Conflict between role expectations and perceptions Personal attention requirement from customer vis-a-vis time limit from employee side Management constraints and customer expectations Varied customer demands

33. Job Fit Making job psychograph v/s individual psychograph Hiring of people qualified for the job Do management spend enough time and resources on hiring the best people who are in direct contact with customer? Skills required for the job v/s existing employee skills

34. Inappropriate Supervisory Control System Do the employees know “what aspect of their job will be stressed more in performance evaluation?” Are employees evaluated on “how will they interact with customers?” Do employees who make special efforts to serve the customer receive increased financial reward of recognition? Do employees get a word of appreciation for their contribution?

35. Lack of Perceived Control Are employees given the freedom to make the individual decision to satisfy the customer needs? Are employees required to get approval from another department before delivering the service to the customer? Are they encouraged to learn new ways of servicing the customer better?

36. Lack of Team Work Do managers and employees contribute a team effort in servicing the customer? Do employees of other departments provide good service to customer contact employees? Are there any competition amongst employees to impress some one at the cost of team work? Do they help each other than pulling each other to reach a goal?

37. Remedies to close GAP – 3 Improve communication Train the employee in time management Train the employee in prioritizing the task Top management must spend enough time in hiring and selection of employees Hire and use appropriate technology Pushing down decision to lower levels Avoid too many people in decision making Encourage team work – concept of internal customer Job rotation and job training

38. GAP – 4 Causes Gap between Service Delivery and External Communication to Customer Inadequate horizontal communication Differences in policies and procedures across branches or departments Over promising

39. Inadequate Horizontal Communication Coordination between Marketing & HR Corporate Advertising & Operations Advertisement & Public Relations In general this refers to the internal communication between departments

40. Over Promising Time Dimensions Quantity Dimensions When promise do not match delivery, the service quality suffers