Services Marketing - Service Encounter Failure & RecoveryHimansu S Mahapatra
Services Marketing
CHAPTER – 5
Service Encounters, Service Failure and Recovery
Service Recovery Strategies
Most companies have to learn the importance of excellent service recovery for disappointed customers and practice them.
This in reality is a combination of several different strategies that need to work together, as given below in the presentation
Services Marketing - Service Encounter Failure & RecoveryHimansu S Mahapatra
Services Marketing
CHAPTER – 5
Service Encounters, Service Failure and Recovery
Service Recovery Strategies
Most companies have to learn the importance of excellent service recovery for disappointed customers and practice them.
This in reality is a combination of several different strategies that need to work together, as given below in the presentation
EMPLOYEES ROLE IN SERVICE DELIVERY - Module 4Azam FA
The importance of people in the marketing of services is captured in the people element of the services marketing mix, which is described as all of the human actor who play a part in the service delivery and thus influence the buyers perceptions: namely the firm’s personnel, the customer and other customers in the service environment.
Significance of Service quality is very important for the success of a service company :
1. To win credibility & get repeat customers : If a company offers quality service consistently, It enjoys repeat business, i.e., customers visit it repeatedly. They may even refer it to their friends & relatives and provide positive word-of-mouth publicity to the quality service offered by the company.
2. To charge premium price : When a company offers superior quality service, compared to its competitors, customers who value quality will always prefer this company to other players in the market. So, the company will be in a position to charge a premium price from customers.
According to Berry & A Parasuraman, service quality is determined by customers using various criteria like credibility, security, access, communications, tangibles, responsiveness, reliability, competence, courtesy, tangibles, understanding, etc. Gronoos also suggested another list of criteria as professionalism & skills, attitude & behaviour, accessibility & flexibility, reliability & trustworthiness, reputation & credibility, and recovery. Since some of these factors are similar or overlapping, the authors have consolidated these into five distinct dimensions,
These dimensions represent how consumers organise information about service quality in their minds. These five dimensions were found relevant for banking, insurance, appliances repair, & maintenance, securities brokerage, long distance tele-service, auto repair service, & others. The dimensions are also applicable to retail & business services. This can be logically extended to internal services as well.
Service Positioning
After a service strategy has been identified, a company must decide how to position its product most effectively. The concept of positioning involves establishing a distinctive place in the minds of target customers relative to competing products.
In “The New Positioning: The Latest on the World's #1 Business Strategy”, Jack Trout distills the essence of positioning into the following four principles
1. A company must establish a position in the minds of its targeted customers.
2. The position should be singular, providing one simple and consistent message.
3. The position must set a company apart from its competitors.
4. A company cannot be all things to all people—it must focus its efforts.
Positioning and Marketing Strategy
Companies use positioning strategies to distinguish their services from competitors and to design communications that convey their desired position to customers and prospects in the chosen market segments. There are a number of different dimensions around which positioning strategies can be developed.
One of the Chapters of an MBA Course Series on Services Marketing under Marketing Management that is tought at the B-Schools in India.
This chapter is the Introduction (Part-2) which deals with How to market "Services"
A form of product that consists of activities, benefits or satisfactions offered for sale that are essentially intangible and do not result in the ownership of anything. The government sector, with its court, employment services, hospitals, loan agencies, military services, police and fire department, postal service and schools, in the service business. An essential ingredient to any service provision is the use of appropriate staff and people. Refers to the systems used to assist the organization in delivering the service. Where is the service being delivered? Physical Evidence is the element of the service mix.
EMPLOYEES ROLE IN SERVICE DELIVERY - Module 4Azam FA
The importance of people in the marketing of services is captured in the people element of the services marketing mix, which is described as all of the human actor who play a part in the service delivery and thus influence the buyers perceptions: namely the firm’s personnel, the customer and other customers in the service environment.
Significance of Service quality is very important for the success of a service company :
1. To win credibility & get repeat customers : If a company offers quality service consistently, It enjoys repeat business, i.e., customers visit it repeatedly. They may even refer it to their friends & relatives and provide positive word-of-mouth publicity to the quality service offered by the company.
2. To charge premium price : When a company offers superior quality service, compared to its competitors, customers who value quality will always prefer this company to other players in the market. So, the company will be in a position to charge a premium price from customers.
According to Berry & A Parasuraman, service quality is determined by customers using various criteria like credibility, security, access, communications, tangibles, responsiveness, reliability, competence, courtesy, tangibles, understanding, etc. Gronoos also suggested another list of criteria as professionalism & skills, attitude & behaviour, accessibility & flexibility, reliability & trustworthiness, reputation & credibility, and recovery. Since some of these factors are similar or overlapping, the authors have consolidated these into five distinct dimensions,
These dimensions represent how consumers organise information about service quality in their minds. These five dimensions were found relevant for banking, insurance, appliances repair, & maintenance, securities brokerage, long distance tele-service, auto repair service, & others. The dimensions are also applicable to retail & business services. This can be logically extended to internal services as well.
Service Positioning
After a service strategy has been identified, a company must decide how to position its product most effectively. The concept of positioning involves establishing a distinctive place in the minds of target customers relative to competing products.
In “The New Positioning: The Latest on the World's #1 Business Strategy”, Jack Trout distills the essence of positioning into the following four principles
1. A company must establish a position in the minds of its targeted customers.
2. The position should be singular, providing one simple and consistent message.
3. The position must set a company apart from its competitors.
4. A company cannot be all things to all people—it must focus its efforts.
Positioning and Marketing Strategy
Companies use positioning strategies to distinguish their services from competitors and to design communications that convey their desired position to customers and prospects in the chosen market segments. There are a number of different dimensions around which positioning strategies can be developed.
One of the Chapters of an MBA Course Series on Services Marketing under Marketing Management that is tought at the B-Schools in India.
This chapter is the Introduction (Part-2) which deals with How to market "Services"
A form of product that consists of activities, benefits or satisfactions offered for sale that are essentially intangible and do not result in the ownership of anything. The government sector, with its court, employment services, hospitals, loan agencies, military services, police and fire department, postal service and schools, in the service business. An essential ingredient to any service provision is the use of appropriate staff and people. Refers to the systems used to assist the organization in delivering the service. Where is the service being delivered? Physical Evidence is the element of the service mix.
Understanding and Managing the Service Profit Chain | Aegis Global AcademyAegis Global Academy
Management Institute in Coimbatore, India offering management development program. Site provides information on courses, admission, student life, faicilities, and placements.
Essentials of Marketing - Digital Marketing & TechnologyTom Chapman
This is an introductory session on technology and digital marketing. It takes a historical look back at some the technical innovations that have taken place over the life of the lecturer
Atmospherics - Physical Evidence, The ServicescapeTom Chapman
To consider the various elements that make up the service environment and to explore the concept of atmospherics and elements of environmental psychology.
The importance of the servicescape
The effect of the servicescape on behaviour
The classification of servicesape variables and their relative importance in different service environments.
Influencing factors on Service Delivery
Impacts of Service Characteristics
The Role of Intermediaries
The Impact of Technology
Strength & Weaknesses of Delivery Models
Macroeconomics- Movie Location
This will be used as part of your Personal Professional Portfolio once graded.
Objective:
Prepare a presentation or a paper using research, basic comparative analysis, data organization and application of economic information. You will make an informed assessment of an economic climate outside of the United States to accomplish an entertainment industry objective.
Model Attribute Check Company Auto PropertyCeline George
In Odoo, the multi-company feature allows you to manage multiple companies within a single Odoo database instance. Each company can have its own configurations while still sharing common resources such as products, customers, and suppliers.
Operation “Blue Star” is the only event in the history of Independent India where the state went into war with its own people. Even after about 40 years it is not clear if it was culmination of states anger over people of the region, a political game of power or start of dictatorial chapter in the democratic setup.
The people of Punjab felt alienated from main stream due to denial of their just demands during a long democratic struggle since independence. As it happen all over the word, it led to militant struggle with great loss of lives of military, police and civilian personnel. Killing of Indira Gandhi and massacre of innocent Sikhs in Delhi and other India cities was also associated with this movement.
Biological screening of herbal drugs: Introduction and Need for
Phyto-Pharmacological Screening, New Strategies for evaluating
Natural Products, In vitro evaluation techniques for Antioxidants, Antimicrobial and Anticancer drugs. In vivo evaluation techniques
for Anti-inflammatory, Antiulcer, Anticancer, Wound healing, Antidiabetic, Hepatoprotective, Cardio protective, Diuretics and
Antifertility, Toxicity studies as per OECD guidelines
Synthetic Fiber Construction in lab .pptxPavel ( NSTU)
Synthetic fiber production is a fascinating and complex field that blends chemistry, engineering, and environmental science. By understanding these aspects, students can gain a comprehensive view of synthetic fiber production, its impact on society and the environment, and the potential for future innovations. Synthetic fibers play a crucial role in modern society, impacting various aspects of daily life, industry, and the environment. ynthetic fibers are integral to modern life, offering a range of benefits from cost-effectiveness and versatility to innovative applications and performance characteristics. While they pose environmental challenges, ongoing research and development aim to create more sustainable and eco-friendly alternatives. Understanding the importance of synthetic fibers helps in appreciating their role in the economy, industry, and daily life, while also emphasizing the need for sustainable practices and innovation.
2024.06.01 Introducing a competency framework for languag learning materials ...Sandy Millin
http://sandymillin.wordpress.com/iateflwebinar2024
Published classroom materials form the basis of syllabuses, drive teacher professional development, and have a potentially huge influence on learners, teachers and education systems. All teachers also create their own materials, whether a few sentences on a blackboard, a highly-structured fully-realised online course, or anything in between. Despite this, the knowledge and skills needed to create effective language learning materials are rarely part of teacher training, and are mostly learnt by trial and error.
Knowledge and skills frameworks, generally called competency frameworks, for ELT teachers, trainers and managers have existed for a few years now. However, until I created one for my MA dissertation, there wasn’t one drawing together what we need to know and do to be able to effectively produce language learning materials.
This webinar will introduce you to my framework, highlighting the key competencies I identified from my research. It will also show how anybody involved in language teaching (any language, not just English!), teacher training, managing schools or developing language learning materials can benefit from using the framework.
A Strategic Approach: GenAI in EducationPeter Windle
Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies such as Generative AI, Image Generators and Large Language Models have had a dramatic impact on teaching, learning and assessment over the past 18 months. The most immediate threat AI posed was to Academic Integrity with Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) focusing their efforts on combating the use of GenAI in assessment. Guidelines were developed for staff and students, policies put in place too. Innovative educators have forged paths in the use of Generative AI for teaching, learning and assessments leading to pockets of transformation springing up across HEIs, often with little or no top-down guidance, support or direction.
This Gasta posits a strategic approach to integrating AI into HEIs to prepare staff, students and the curriculum for an evolving world and workplace. We will highlight the advantages of working with these technologies beyond the realm of teaching, learning and assessment by considering prompt engineering skills, industry impact, curriculum changes, and the need for staff upskilling. In contrast, not engaging strategically with Generative AI poses risks, including falling behind peers, missed opportunities and failing to ensure our graduates remain employable. The rapid evolution of AI technologies necessitates a proactive and strategic approach if we are to remain relevant.
Overview on Edible Vaccine: Pros & Cons with Mechanism
Services marketing service quality
1. +
Services
Marketing
Service Quality
Tom Chapman
www.marketing101.co.uk
Twitter @idlehans
1
2. +
Introduction
Defining Service Quality
Evaluating Quality
Technical & Functional Quality
Researching Service Quality
The SERVQUAL instrument
2
3. +
What do you think?
Define Quality
Why is Quality important?
How do you evaluate it?
3
4. +
Defining Quality
quality is an ambiguous term
“although we cannot define quality, we know what
quality is” (Pirsig, 1987)
“quality is fitness for use, the extent to which the
product successfully serves the purpose of the user
during usage” (Juran, 1974)
“quality is zero defects - doing it right the first time”,
Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry, 1985)
“quality is exceeding what customers expect from the
service”, Zeithaml, Parasuraman and Berry, 1990)
4
5. +
Service Quality - early writings
‘service quality results from a comparison of what
customers feel a service provider should offer (i.e. their
expectations) with the provider’s actual performance’
(Parasuraman, 1996: 145)
‘Service quality is a measure of how well the service level
delivered matches customer expectations. Delivering
quality service means conforming to customer
expectations on a consistent basis’
Lewis and Booms (1983)
5
6. +
Why is Quality Important?
Superior product/service quality relative to
competitors is the single most important factor
affecting profitability (PIMS study)
Premium prices
Customer preference
Customer retention
Market expansion/market share
Other benefits:
productivity, advertising, distribution/access
6
7. +
Changing management focus
Creating better value
2000+ for customers and
the organisation
1990’s
Quality
1980’s
1970’s Productivity
7
8. +
Service Quality - shifting focus
in
the past, industry focused particularly on
defining and meeting internal quality or
technical standards
today the focus has shifted to quantifying
customers’ assessments of services and
products (external measurement) and then
translating these into specific internal
standards
delivering quality service is fundamental to
corporate success because research shows it is
closely linked to profits
8
9. +
Service Quality –
a major business concern
Quality is an elusive concept not easily articulated by
consumers
can lead to better market share, profitability, lower costs and
improve productivity
performances, not objects, which may vary with quality
evaluations not made solely on service outcome but also on
service process
9
10. +
Service Quality – profits/costs
increased profits found to be due particularly
to:
fewer customer defections
stronger customer loyalty
more cross-selling of products and services
higher margins (due to service enhancements of core
products)
improved service quality cuts costs
fewer customers to replace
less corrective work to do
fewer inquiries and complaints to handle
lower staff turnover and dissatisfaction
10
12. +
What is Quality?
Conformance quality
producing the product/service according to
specification every time, with no correction required
Quality-in-use
customer judgements about quality received and
resultant level of customer satisfaction
Technological quality
superior performance features of product/service
derived from advanced new technologies
12
13. +
Service Quality
Total quality
Image (corporate/local)
Technical Relational
quality of the Functional quality: by
outcome: WHAT quality of the WHOM is the
offered/receive process: HOW service
d delivered
13
14. +
Evaluating Quality
access (physical approachability of service location, ease of
finding way around the service environment and route clarity)
aesthetics (extent to which service package components are
agreeable or pleasing to the customer, including appearance
and ambience of the service environment, appearance and
presentation of service facilities, goods and staff)
attentiveness/helpfulness (extent to which service, especially
contact staff help the customer, interested in them and show a
willingness to serve)
availability (of service facilities, staff and goods available to the
customer)
14
15. +
Evaluating Quality
care (concern, consideration, sympathy and patience shown
to customer, including putting at ease and feeling emotionally
comfortable)
cleanliness/tidiness (of the tangible components of the
service package)
comfort (physical comfort of the service environment and
facilities)
commitment (staff’s apparent commitment to their work,
including pride and satisfaction, diligence and thoroughness)
communication (ability of service provider to communicate
in a way the customer will understand; ability of staff to listen
and understand the customer)
15
16. +
Evaluating Quality
competence (skill, expertise, professionalism with which
service is executed; correct procedures, execution of
customer instructions, product knowledge displayed by staff,
giving sound advice)
courtesy (politeness, respect, propriety shown by the
service - usually staff)
flexibility (willingness and ability to amend/alter the
service to meet customer needs)
friendliness (warmth and personal approachability of
service providers, especially contact staff)
16
17. +
Evaluating Quality
functionality (fitness for purpose)
integrity (honesty, justice, fairness, trust in treating
customers)
reliability (and consistency of performance of service
facilities, goods and staff; keeping agreements)
responsiveness (speed and timeliness of service delivery,
responding promptly to customer requests, minimal waiting/
queuing time)
security (personal safety of customers and possessions
while participating in the service process)
17
18. +
Zeithaml, Parasuraman and Berry
Ten dimensions Five dimensions
tangibles tangibles
reliability reliability*
responsiveness responsiveness*
competence
courtesy
credibility assurance
security
access
communication
empathy
understanding the
customer
18 Zeithaml, Parasuraman and Berry
19. +
Expectations
little
known about what determines
expectations and how formed
Individualistic
own norms, values, wishes, needs
changing over time
changes in aspiration
changes in need
do customers know what is expected of them?
19
20. +
Expectations
expectations
can be formulated in terms of “what
should be done” and “what will be done”
fourdifferent performance standards
distinguished:
deserved or equitable performance
ideal or desirable performance
expected performance
minimal tolerable performance
the
difference between the desired service level
and adequate service level is the …………
20
21. +
Perceptions
“perception is defined as the process by
which an individual selects, organizes and
interprets stimuli into a meaningful and
coherent picture of the world” (Schiffman
and Kanuk, 1987)
subjective and selective
resulting
attitudes about a particular
service provider may change over time
(long-term attitudes may be more stable
than immediate attitudes)
21
23. +
Satisfiers and Dissatisfiers
greater perceived control by the customer may decrease the
sources of customer dissatisfaction
consumers check whether their expectations are in line with
actual experiences of the service and service delivery
looking for gaps between expectations and perceptions is
important in detecting what needs to be improved
satisfaction emerges when actual service meets expectations
or when it exceeds expectations (positive disconfirmation)
dissatisfaction occurs when actual service is below expected
level (negative disconfirmation)
23
24. +
Customer Perceptions of Quality
Critical incidents
events throughout service delivery impact on perceived quality
Evaluation
customers check whether their expectations are in line with actual
experiences of the service
Satisfaction
actual service meets or exceeds expectations (positive disconfirmation)
Dissatisfaction
actual service is below expected level (negative disconfirmation)
Gap analysis
looking for gaps between expectations and perceptions is important in
guiding quality improvement
24
25. +
Dimensions of Service Quality
Reliability
ability to perform the promised service dependably
and accurately – delivering what is promised
Responsiveness
willingness to help customers and provide prompt
service
adapting the service to customer needs
Assurance
employees knowledge and courtesy
ability to inspire trust and confidence
25 (Parasuraman, Zeithaml & Berry, 1988)
26. +
Dimensions of Service Quality
Empathy
caring, individualised
attention
customers are unique and special
customers are understood and valued
Tangibles
appearance of physical facilities, equipment,
personnel and communication materials
continuity
perceived quality
26
(Parasuraman, Zeithaml & Berry, 1988)
27. +
Gaps Model of Service Quality
Customer
Gap
Customer
Company
Gap 1 Gap 4
Gap 3
Gap 2
(Parasuraman, Zeithaml &
27 Berry, 1985)
28. +
Service Quality Gaps
Gap 1 – Not knowing what customers expect
Inadequate market research
Poor market segmentation
Lack of upward communication (contact employees to
managers)
Insufficient customer relationship focus
Inadequate service recovery
28
29. +
Service Quality Gaps
Gap 2 – incorrect service design & standards
Inability to translate customer expectations into clear quality
specifications
Lack of management commitment to service quality
Customer expectations thought to be unreasonable or unfeasible
Absence of a formal quality programme (guidelines, standards)
Poor service design
29
30. +
Service Quality Gaps
Gap 3 – Not delivering to service standards
Employees unwilling or unable to perform the service at the desired level
Poor internal organisation
ineffective recruitment, inadequate teamwork, employees not motivated, role conflict,
role ambiguity, poor supervision
Poor employee-technology job fit (appropriate tools to perform roles)
Failure to match supply and demand
Customers unaware of roles and responsibilities
Problems with service intermediaries
30
31. +
Service Quality Gaps
Gap 4 – Promises do not match performance
Over-promising in advertising, personal selling or physical
evidence cues
Management wants to show services offered in best possible light
Poorly-integrated marketing communications
Insufficient communication between marketing/sales & operations
Ineffective management of customer expectations
31
32. +
Service Quality - attributes
in 1988 PZB operationalised the construct (of
perceptions and expectations differences) as the
difference measured between two 7 point rating scales
-
one scale measuring customers’ expectations about service
companies in general within the service sector/category
being investigated
the other scale measuring customers’ perceptions about a
particular company whose service quality is being assessed
PZB measured the extent to which customers felt
companies should possess a specified service attribute
and the extent to which customers felt a given company
did possess the attribute
32
33. + Service Quality - expectations and
perceptions statements
attributes were put as statements, with which customers were
asked to express the degree of agreement/disagreement on
a 7 point scale
expectations statements:
e.g. the physical facilities at hotels should be visually
appealing
the behaviour of hotel employees should instil confidence
in customers
hotels should give customers individual attention
corresponding perceptions statements:
the physical facilities at ABC Hotel are visually appealing
the behaviour of ABC Hotel employees instils confidence
in customers
ABC Hotel gives customers individual attention
33
34. +
SERVQUAL construction
PZB thus developed a comprehensive set of statements
to represent facets of the 10 service quality dimensions
this yielded 97 statements (approx. 10 per dimension)
a two part instrument developed - part 1 consisted of 97
expectations statements, part 2 - 97 perceptions
statements
roughly half the statements were worded negatively
instrument piloted on a sample of 200 customers
resulting in a reduced 34 item instrument with 7 rather
than 10 dimensions (PZB 1988)
34
35. +
SERVQUAL five dimensions
reliability and validity of the reduced instrument was assessed
further - data collected of 4 US service companies, samples of
200 customers of each - this produced consistent results
further elimination of items created a 22 item instrument,
grouping the 22 items into just 5 general dimensions
3 of the original 10 dimensions remained intact in the final 5
dimensions (tangibles, reliability and responsiveness) plus the
remaining 7 original dimensions clustered into 2 broader
dimensions:
(1) assurance (knowledge and courtesy of employees and
their ability to inspire trust and confidence) basically a
combination of the original dimensions of competence,
courtesy, credibility and security
35
36. + Service Quality - SERVQUAL
refinements
(2) empathy (caring, individualised attention the firm
provides its customers) represents access, communication
and understanding the customers
“SERVQUAL is most valuable when it is used periodically to
track service quality trends, and when it is used in
conjunction with other forms of service quality
measurement” (PZB, 1988:31)
In 1991 PBZ further refined SERVQUAL:
three types of services and 5 companies
data collected through mail surveys of independent samples
of customers of each company, giving combined sample size
of 1,936
the distribution of expectations ratings obtained was highly
skewed toward the upper end of the 7 point scale
36
37. +
SERVQUAL refinements
the statements were revised to capture what customers will
expect from companies delivering excellent service e.g.
original expectations statement was “hotels should give
customers individual attention” was revised to read “excellent
hotels will give customers individual attention”
the negatively worded statements in the original SERVQUAL
instrument were problematic - they were awkward, could have
confused respondents and may have lowered the reliabilities for
dimensions containing them - so they were changed to a
positive format
finally, 2 original items (one under tangibles and assurance)
were replaced with 2 new items, to capture more fully the
dimensions
37
38. +
SERVQUAL usage
despite refinements, reliability always emerges as the
most critical dimension and tangibles the least critical
SERVQUAL can be used:
to determine the average gap score (between
customers’ perceptions and expectations) for each
service attribute
to assess a company’s SQ along each of the 5
SERVQUAL dimensions
to compute a company’s overall weighted SERVQUAL
score which takes account of the SQ gap on each
dimension and the relative importance of the dimension
38
39. +
SERVQUAL usage
usedto track customers’ expectations and
perceptions on individual service attributes
and SERVQUAL dimensions over time
to
compare a company’s SERVQUAL scores
against those of competitors
toidentify and examine customer segments
that significantly differ in their assessments of
a company’s service performance
to
assess internal service quality - i.e. quality of
service provided by one dept/division to
others within the company
39
40. +
SERVQUAL concerns
questions raised about SERVQUAL’s expectations
components (Babakus & Mangold, 1992, Cronin &
Taylor, 1992)
the interpretation and operationalisation of
expectations (Teas, 1993)
the reliability and validity of SERVQUAL’s difference
score formulation (Babakus & Mangold, 1992, Brown,
Churchill & Peter, 1993)
SERVQUAL’s dimensionality (Carmen, 1990, Finn
( Lamb, 1991)
but counter-arguments by PBZ 1991, 1993, and 1994,
and Parasuraman, 1996
40
41. +
SERVQUAL concerns
is it necessary to measure expectations? - studies show
scores on the perceptions-only component of SERVQUAL
explain significantly more variance in customers’ overall
evaluations of a co’s SQ (measured on a single item
overall perceptions rating scale) than are perception-
expectation difference scores. PZB argue that measuring
expectations has diagnostic value (i.e. pinpoints SQ
shortfalls)
how should the expectations construct be
operationalised? multiple ways the term “expectations”
can be interpreted - SQ researchers have generally
viewed expectations as normative standards (customer
beliefs about what a service provider should offer) but
customer satisfaction/dissatisfaction researchers have
typically considered expectations to be predictive
standards (what customers feel a service provider will
offer)
41
42. +
SERVQUAL operationalisation
but both “should” and “will” expectations have been used in
measuring SQ although ZBP in 1993 went on to develop a
conceptual model of expectations
can we operationalise SQ as a difference score?
operationalising any construct as a difference between 2
other constructs is questioned on psychometric grounds;
critics suggest that direct measures (i.e. non-difference
scores) of the expectations-perceptions gap may be
psychometrically superior - but this issue is not resolved
does SERVQUAL have 5 distinct dimensions that cross
different contexts? replication studies have not been able to
reproduce a clean 5 dimensional factor structure as the
original PZB 1988 study - differences may be due to data
collection and analysis procedures
42
43. +
further SERVQUAL criticisms
(see Buttle 1996)
SERVQUAL is based on a disconfirmation paradigm rather
than an attitudinal paradigm
little evidence that customers assess SQ in terms of P-E gaps
process orientation rather than service encounter outcomes
SERVQUAL’s five dimensions are universals with high
intercorrelation between 5 RATER dimensions (reliability,
assurance, tangibles, empathy and responsiveness)
don’t consumers use standards other than expectations to
evaluate SQ? and yet it fails to measure absolute SQ
expectations
4 or 5 items cannot capture the variability within each SQ
dimension
43
44. +
Further considerations
customer assessments of SQ may vary from “moment of truth” to
“moment of truth”
using a 7 point Likert scale is flawed
reversing polarity of items in the scale causes respondent error
Cronin & Taylor (1992, 1994) say SERVQUAL is flawed, with
perceived quality is best thought of as an attitude
PZB describe satisfaction as more situation or encounter specific
and quality as more holistic, being developed over a longer time
period
argued that PZB are inductive, and take no account of the literature
in economics, psychology and statistics
arguments about the marginal revenue of SQ improvements always
exceeding the marginal cost
44
45. +
Dynamics
interdependencies among the dimensions of quality are
difficult to describe
also is the customer value of improvements a linear or non-
linear function?
SERVQUAL fails to capture the dynamics of changing
expectations (customers learn from experiences) indeed,
Gronroos (1993) says we need to know more about how
expectations are formed and change over time
from the customer’s viewpoint, failure to meet expectations
often is more significant than success in meeting or
exceeding expectations
while process of service delivery focused, it’s argued that
outcome quality is already contained within reliability,
competence and security
45
46. +
Service Quality - other models
Richard & Allaway (1993) tested an augmented SERVQUAL
model which incorporates both process and outcome
components - they concluded that process and outcome is a
better predictor of consumer choice than process or
outcome alone
the number of SQ dimensions may be dependent on the
particular service being offered (Babakus & Boller, 1992)
Teas (1993b) believes respondents may be using one of six
interpretations of expectations:
service attribute importance (customers may respond by
rating the expectations statements according to the
importance of each attribute)
46
47. +
Performance specification
forecasted performance (customers may respond
by using the scale to predict the performance they
would expect)
ideal performance (the optimal performance, what
performance “can be”)
deserved performance (the performance level
customers feel performance should be)
equitable performance (the level of performance
customers feel they ought to receive given a
perceived set of costs)
minimum tolerable performance (what
performance “must be”)
47
48. +
Standards
Lacobucci et al (1994) would drop the word “expectations”
and prefer the word “standards”; they believe several
standards may operate simultaneously, among them “ideals”,
industry standards etc.
Gronroos (1993) refers to the bad service paradox - a
customer may have low expectations based on previous
experience with the service provider - if these expectations
are met, there is no gap and SQ is deemed satisfactory
so, do customers always evaluate SQ in terms of expectations
and perceptions or are there other forms of SQ evaluation?
what form do customer expectations take, how best (if at all)
they can be measured) and are expectations common across
a class of service providers?
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49. +
Attitudes
do attitude-based measures of SQ perform better than the
disconfirmation model and which attitudinal measure is most
useful?
can we integrate outcome evaluations into SQ measurement and
how can this be done?
is the predictive validity of perception measures of SQ better
than P-E measures?
what are the relationships between SQ, customer satisfaction,
behavioural intention, purchase behaviour, market share, word-
of-mouth and customer retention?
what is the role of context in determining E and P evaluations?
what context markers do consumers employ?
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50. +
Evaluation
are analytical context markers (such as tangibility and consumer
involvement)useful in advancing SQ theory?
do evaluative criteria in intangible-dominant services (e.g.
consulting) differ from those in tangible-dominant services (e.g.
hotels)?
how does customer involvement influence the evaluation of SQ?
how do customers integrate transaction-specific or moment of truth
(MOT) specific evaluations of SQ? To what extent are some MOTs
more influential in final evaluation than others?
what are the relationships between the five RATER factors? How
stable are these relationships across contexts?
what is the most appropriate scale format for collecting valid and
reliable SQ data? and to what extent can customers correctly
classify items into their a priori dimensions?
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51. +
SERVQUAL additions
ZBP (1993) conceptual model of expectations - customers
have 2 different service levels that serve as comparison
standards in assessing SQ:
Desired Service (a level of service representing a blend of
what customers believe “can be” and “should be”
provided
Adequate Service (the minimum level of service customers
are willing to accept)
separating these 2 levels is a Zone of Tolerance that
represents the range of service performance a customer
would consider satisfactory
because SERVQUAL expectations component measures
normative expectations, the construct represented by it
reflects the desired service construct
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52. +
SERVQUAL additions
theSERVQUAL structure did not capture the
adequate service construct so PZB (1994b)
augmented and refined SERVQUAL to:
capture not only the discrepancy between
perceived service and desired service - called a
measure of service superiority but also
the discrepancy between perceived service and
adequate service, labelled a measure of service
adequacy
PZBtherefore, rated desired, adequate and
perceived service, and went on to label “adequate
service” as minimum service
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53. +
Diagnostic value
tests have shown that measuring perceptions alone should
suffice if the sole purpose of SQ measurement on individual
attributes is to try to maximise the explained variance in overall
service ratings but
from a practical viewpoint, it is important to pinpoint SQ
shortfalls and take appropriate corrective actions (therefore,
there is diagnostic value in measuring perceptions against
expectations)
clearly operationalising customer expectations as a zone or
range of service levels is feasible empirically and diagnostically
using the zone of tolerance as a comparison standard in
evaluating service performance can help companies in
understanding how well they are at least meeting customer’s
minimum requirements and how much improvement is needed
before they achieve service superiority
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54. +
Measuring Service Quality
SERVQUAL:
One scale measuring customer expectations about
service companies in general within the relevant
service sector
One scale measuring customer perceptions about a
particular company
Based on five dimensions of service quality
Compare expectation scores with perceived quality
achieved
Used for internal performance management,
benchmarking versus competitors, customer
segmentation, tracking expectations/perceptions
over time
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55. +
Measuring Service Quality
SERVQUAL criticisms:
Doubts over conceptual foundation & methodology
Only measures technical (outcome) & functional (process)
service quality
Results not re-producible over time (lacks stability)
Risks in assessing customer satisfaction relative to prior
expectations (if expectations low, even “poor” service might
seem good)
Only valid for services with high search or experience
characteristics – problems with credence characteristics
better to use questions about performance (= perception)
only (Cronin and Taylor, 1992 and 1994 - SERVPERF) - higher
predictive validity
Measuring expectations has only diagnostic value
(pinpointing service quality shortfalls)
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