Effective Ways To Bridge Service Quality Gaps

Zeithaml, and Berry (1985) constructed the famous Service Quality Gap Model to determine
and analyze gaps between expected and actual levels of service performance:
 Gap 1 is the lack of understanding between customer expectation and management

perception, i.e. the management does not know what the customers need and expect
from their service.
 Gap 2 is the lack of development between management perception and service quality
specification. Here managers are aware of customer expectations but are not
committed enough to utilize the knowledge of customer needs and expectations as the
basis for defining and specifying service quality standards. This may occur due to
ignorance, lack of vision, limited resources.
 Gap 3 indicates the gap between service quality specifications and service delivery
where the management understands the customers’ desired level of service and
specifies an appropriate set of standards. However, service delivery may be of poor
quality owing to poor employee performance due to insufficient training.
 Gap 4 refers to the gap between service delivery and external communication which
occurs due to pre-purchase promotional materials communicating unrealistic service
levels which cannot be delivered in reality. Again it can stem from being poorly
briefed about the service by the sales staff resulting in over promise and under
delivery.
 Gap 5 is the gap between expected service and perceived service.
Effective Ways to Bridge Service Quality Gaps
Gap 1 can be closed by:
 understanding customer expectations through research, complaint analysis, customer

panels
 increasing direct interactions between managers and customers to improve
understanding
 improving upward and downward internal communication
For closing Gap 2 it is imperative to establish the right service quality standards by:
 communicating and reinforcing customer-oriented service standards

 providing requisite training to the managers to enable them to lead employees to
deliver quality service
 rewarding managers and employees for attaining goals
 measuring performance and providing regular feedback
 establishing clear, realistic service quality goals
 ensuring that employees understand and accept goals and priorities
 becoming receptive to new ways of doing business that overcome barriers to
delivering quality service.
Gap 3 is addressed by ensuring that service performance meets standards through:
 clarifying employee roles

 ensuring that all employees understand the importance of their jobs
 providing employees with technical training
 developing innovative recruitment and retention methods to absorb the best talents
and build loyalty
 training employees about interpersonal skills for dealing with difficult customers
 teaching employees about customer expectations, perceptions and problems
 eliminating role conflict among employees by involving them in the process of setting
standards
 measuring employee performance and link compensation and recognition to delivery
of quality service
 develop reward systems for employees
 empowering employees with decision-making along with accountability
 encouraging teamwork
 treating customers as partial employees by clarifying their roles in service delivery,
training and motivating them to perform well in their roles as co-producers.
Gap 4 is bridged by
Read on
 Marketing Creates Pull and Selling Seeks to Push

 Operations Management Reconciles Opposing Pulls
 Use Balanced Scorecard for Strategic Management
 seeking inputs from operations personnel when new advertising programs are being
created
 developing advertising that features real employees performing their jobs
 allowing service providers to preview advertisements before customers are exposed to
them
 ensuring that consistent service standards are delivered across multiple locations
 identifying and explaining uncontrollable reasons for short falls in service
performance
 offering customers different levels of service at different prices and explaining the
distinctions
 ensuring that the communication materials reflect those service characteristics that are
most important to customers in their encounters with the organization
 getting sales staff to involve operations staff in direct interaction with customers
 managing customer expectations by informing them the possible and impossible
options and the reasons.
Gap 5 can be effectively closed by minimal promise and maximum performance.
The Gap Model is an influential tool to identify the discrepancies between organization and
customer perception of service quality. Once the gaps are filled, the service quality improves
and a perfect synchronization can be attained between perception, expectation and
satisfaction levels of the respective parties.
References:
Lamb,Charles., Hair, Joseph., Mc Daniel,Carl. Marketing. Canada: Thomson Learning, 2004.
Zeithaml, A,Valerie., Bitner, Mary. Services Marketing. New York: McGraw Hill, 1996.
Parasuraman, A., Berry, L, Leonard. Marketing Services: Competing Through Quality. Free
Press, 1991.
Read more at Suite101: Gap Analysis- Parameters to Measure Service Quality

http://businessmanagement.suite101.com/article.cfm/gap-analysis--parameters-to-measure-
service-quality#ixzz0ylWkx57t

Effective Ways To Bridge Service Quality Gaps

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Effective Ways To Bridge Service Quality Gaps

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Effective Ways To Bridge Service Quality Gaps

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Zeithaml, and Berry (1985) constructed the famous Service Quality Gap Model to determine

 Gap 1 is the lack of understanding between customer expectation and management

Effective Ways to Bridge Service Quality Gaps

Gap 1 can be closed by:

 understanding customer expectations through research, complaint analysis, customer

 communicating and reinforcing customer-oriented service standards

Gap 3 is addressed by ensuring that service performance meets standards through:

 clarifying employee roles

 Marketing Creates Pull and Selling Seeks to Push

Gap 5 can be effectively closed by minimal promise and maximum performance.

Read more at Suite101: Gap Analysis- Parameters to Measure Service Quality

You might also like