Scribd
Upload
50 views15 pages

The Gaps Model of Service Quality

The document introduces the gaps model of service quality, which identifies five key gaps that can occur between a customer's expectations and perceptions of service. The most important gap is the customer gap, which is the difference between what a customer expects and their actual perceptions. There are also four provider gaps that occur within companies: (1) not knowing customer expectations, (2) not having the right service designs, (3) not delivering services to standards, and (4) not matching communications to actual performance. Closing these gaps requires companies to understand customer expectations, set appropriate standards, deliver quality service, and manage customer communications.

Uploaded by

Suraj Arora
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
50 views15 pages

The Gaps Model of Service Quality

The document introduces the gaps model of service quality, which identifies five key gaps that can occur between a customer's expectations and perceptions of service. The most important gap is the customer gap, which is the difference between what a customer expects and their actual perceptions. There are also four provider gaps that occur within companies: (1) not knowing customer expectations, (2) not having the right service designs, (3) not delivering services to standards, and (4) not matching communications to actual performance. Closing these gaps requires companies to understand customer expectations, set appropriate standards, deliver quality service, and manage customer communications.

Uploaded by

Suraj Arora
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 15

The Gaps Model of Service Quality

Introduce a framework, called the gaps model of service quality. Demonstrate that the most critical service quality gap to close is the customer gap, the difference between customer expectations and perceptions. Show that four gaps that occur in companies, which we call provider gaps, are responsible for the customer gap. Identify the factors responsible for each of the four provider gaps.

Gaps Model of Service Quality


CUSTOMER
Customer Gap

Expected Service

WOM
personal needs Past experiences

Perceived Service
Service Delivery External Communications to Customers

COMPANY
Gap 3
Gap 1 Gap 2

Gap 4

Customer-Driven Service Designs and Standards Company Perceptions of Consumer Expectations

Gaps Model of Service Quality


Customer Gap Or Gap 5
difference between customer expectations and perceptions

Provider Gap 1 (The Knowledge Gap):


not knowing what customers expect

Provider Gap 2 (The Service Design & Standards Gap):


not having the right service designs and standards

Provider Gap 3 (The Service Performance Gap):


not delivering to service standards

Provider Gap 4 (The Communication Gap):


not matching performance to promises

The Customer Gap

Expected service
Customer Gap

Perceived service

Key Factors Leading to the Customer Gap


Customer Expectations

Customer Gap

Provider Gap 1: Not knowing what customers expect Provider Gap 2: Not selecting the right service designs and standards Provider Gap 3: Not delivering to service standards Provider Gap 4: Not matching performance to promises

Customer Perceptions

Key Factors Leading to Provider Gap 1


Customer Expectations

Gap 1

Inadequate marketing research orientation


Insufficient marketing research Research not focused on service quality Inadequate use of market research

Lack of upward communication


Lack of interaction between management and customers Insufficient communication between contact employees and managers Too many layers between contact personnel and top management

Insufficient relationship focus


Lack of market segmentation Focus on transactions rather than relationships Focus on new customers rather than relationship customers

Inadequate service recovery


Lack of encouragement to listen to customer complaints Failure to make amends when things go wrong No appropriate recovery mechanisms in place for service failures

Company Perceptions of Customer Expectations

Key Factors Leading to Provider Gap 2


Customer-Driven Service Designs and Standards

Gap 2

Poor service design Unsystematic new service development process Vague, undefined service designs Failure to connect service design to service positioning Absence of customer-driven standards Lack of customer-driven service standards Absence of formal process for setting service quality goals Inappropriate physical evidence and servicescape Failure to develop tangibles in line with customer expectations Servicescape design that does not meet customer and employee needs Inadequate maintenance and updating of the servicescape

Management Perceptions of Customer Expectations

Key Factors Leading to Provider Gap 3


Customer-Driven Service Designs and Standards

Gap 3

Deficiencies in human resource policies


Ineffective recruitment Role ambiguity and role conflict Inappropriate evaluation and compensation systems Lack of empowerment, perceived control, and teamwork

Customers who do not fulfill roles


Customers who lack knowledge of their roles and responsibilities Customers who negatively impact each other

Problems with service intermediaries


Channel conflict over objectives and performance Difficulty controlling quality and consistency Tension between empowerment and control

Failure to match supply and demand


Failure to smooth peaks and valleys of demand

Service Delivery

Key Factors Leading to Provider Gap 4


Service Delivery

Gap 4

Lack of integrated services marketing communications Tendency to view each external communication as independent Absence of strong internal marketing program Ineffective management of customer expectations Absence of customer expectation management through all forms of communication Lack of adequate education for customers Overpromising Overpromising in advertising Overpromising in personal selling Overpromising through physical evidence cues Inadequate horizontal communications Insufficient communication between sales and operations Insufficient communication between advertising and operations Differences in policies and procedures across branches or units

External Communications to Customers

The five gaps that organizations should measure, manage and minimize

Gap 1 is the distance between what customers expect and what managers think they expect Clearly survey research is a key way to narrow this gap.
Gap 2 is between management perception and the actual specification of the customer experience Managers need to make sure the organization is defining the level of service they believe is needed

Gap 3 is from the experience specification to the delivery of the experience - Managers need to audit the customer experience that their organization currently delivers in order to make sure it lives up to the spec.

Gap 4 is the gap between the delivery of the customer experience and what is communicated to customers - All too often organizations exaggerate what will be provided to customers, or discuss the best case rather than the likely case, raising customer expectations and harming customer perceptions.

Finally, Gap 5 is the gap between a customer's perception of the experience and the customer's expectation of the service - Customers' expectations have been shaped by word of mouth, their personal needs and their own past experiences. Routine surveys after delivering the customer experience are important for an organization to measure customer perceptions of service.

Each gap in the customer experience can be closed through diligent attention from management.

You might also like