Service-Quality Gap Model

What is SERVIQUAL?

SERVIQUAL (service quality gap model) is a gap method in service quality measurement, a tool that can be used by Product Manager across all industries. The aim of this model is to identify the gaps between customer expectation and the actual services provided at different stages of service delivery.

Service quality is an assessment on how well a delivered service conforms to client’s expectations. Service business operators often asses the service quality provided to their customers in order to improve their service and quickly identify problems, and to better asses their clients satisfaction. (Gupta, 2014)

Discuss the service gaps: The different Types of gaps are as follows;

1. Gap1-The gap between customer’s expectations

• Increase direct interactions between managers and customers to improve understanding

• Improve upward communication from contact personnel to management and reduce the number of levels between the two.

• Turn information and insights into action. (Chand, 2016)

Gap2 Key factors leading to customer dissatisfaction

• Customer-driven service designs and standards poor service design unsystematic new service development process unclear and undefined service designs. Mostly caused by inadequate management commitment to service quality.

• Absence of process management to focus on customer requirements, inadequate task standardization. Absence of formal process for setting service quality goals caused mostly by lack of

(Gupta, 2014)

Strategies to close gap 2

• Establish the right service qualities

• Ensure that top management displays ongoing commitment to quality as defined from the customer’s point of view

• Get middle management to set, communicate, and reinforce customer-oriented service standards for their work units

• Train managers in the skills needed to lead employees to deliver quality service

• Become receptive to new ways of doing business that overcome barriers to delivering quality service

• Standardize repetitive work tasks to ensure consistency and reliability by substituting hard technology for human contact and improving work methods (soft technology)

• Establish clear service quality goals that are challenging, realistic, and explicitly designed to meet customer expectations Clarify to employees which tasks have the biggest impact on quality and should receive the highest priority

• Ensure that employees understand and accept goals and priorities

• Measure performance and provide regular feedback

• Reward managers and employees for attaining quality goals.

(Chand,