GAP MODEL

Delivered (Perceived) Service ≥ Expected Service Customer

Satisfaction
Delivered (Perceived) Service < Expected Service Customer
Dissatisfaction
 
 Defining, Assessing, and Measuring Service Quality: A
Conceptual Overview

© A. Parasuraman, University of Miami; not to be reproduced or disseminated without the author’s permission 2
 Multi-Phase, Multi-Sector, Multi-Year Program of Research to
Address the Following Issues

• How do customers perceive and evaluate service

quality?
• What are managers’ perceptions about service
quality?
• Do discrepancies exist between the perceptions of
customers and those of managers?
• Can customers’ and managers’ perceptions be
combined into a general model of service quality?
• How can service organizations improve customer
service and achieve excellence?

© A. Parasuraman, University of Miami; not to be reproduced or disseminated without the author’s permission 4
 A “GAPS” MODEL OF SERVICE QUALITY

CUSTOMER SERVICE ORGANIZATION

Market Organization’s Service

Information Gap Understanding of Standards Gap
Expectations
Customers’
Service Organization’s Service
Expectations GAP 1 Standards
GAP 2
Service Service
Quality Gap GAP 5 Performance Gap
GAP 3
GAP 4 Organization’s Service
Customers’ Performance
Service
Perceptions
Organization’s Internal
Communications to Communication
Customers Gap

© A. Parasuraman, University of Miami; not to be reproduced or disseminated without the author’s permission 5
 POTENTIAL CAUSES OF
INTERNAL SERVICE GAPS
[GAPS 1 - 4]

© A. Parasuraman, University of Miami; not to be reproduced or disseminated without the author’s permission 6
 GAP 1

Customer
Expectations

Key Factors:
• Insufficient marketing research
• Inadequate use of marketing research
• Lack of interaction between
management and customers
• Insufficient communication between
contact employees and managers

Lack of
Management “Upward
Perceptions of Communication”
Customer Expectations

© A. Parasuraman, University of Miami; not to be reproduced or disseminated without the author’s permission 7
 GAP 2

Management
Perceptions of
Customer Expectations

Key Factors:
• Inadequate management commitment
to service quality
• Absence of formal process for setting
service quality goals
• Inadequate standardization of tasks
• Perception of infeasibility -- that
customer expectations cannot be met

Service
Quality
Specifications

© A. Parasuraman, University of Miami; not to be reproduced or disseminated without the author’s permission 8
 GAP 3

Service
Quality
Specifications

Key Factors:
• Lack of teamwork
• Poor employee - job fit
• Poor technology - job fit
• Lack of perceived control (contact personnel)
• Inappropriate evaluation/compensation system
• Role conflict among contact employees
• Role ambiguity among contact employees

Service
Delivery

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 GAP 4

Service
Delivery

Key Factors:
• Inadequate communication between
salespeople and operations
• Inadequate communication between
advertising and operations
• Differences in policies and procedures
across branches or departments
• Puffery in advertising & personal selling
Lack of
External “Horizontal
Communication”
Communications
to Customers

© A. Parasuraman, University of Miami; not to be reproduced or disseminated without the author’s permission 10
 SUGGESTIONS FOR CLOSING
INTERNAL SERVICE GAPS
[GAPS 1 - 4]

© A. Parasuraman, University of Miami; not to be reproduced or disseminated without the author’s permission 11
 Suggestions for Closing
the Market Information Gap

• Conduct systematic marketing research

• Make senior managers interact with customers

• Make senior managers occasionally perform

customer-contact roles

• Encourage upward communication from

customer-contact employees

© A. Parasuraman, University of Miami; not to be reproduced or disseminated without the author’s permission 12
 Suggestions for Closing
the Service Standards Gap

• Make a blueprint of the service and standardize as

many components of it as possible

• Institute a formal, ongoing process for setting

service specifications

• Eliminate “perception of infeasibility” on the part of

senior managers

• Make a true commitment to improving service quality

© A. Parasuraman, University of Miami; not to be reproduced or disseminated without the author’s permission 13
 Suggestions for Closing
the Service Performance Gap
• Invest in ongoing employee training

• Support employees with appropriate technology and

information systems

• Give customer-contact employees sufficient flexibility

• Reduce role conflict and role ambiguity among customer-

contact employees

• Recognize and reward employees who deliver superior

service

© A. Parasuraman, University of Miami; not to be reproduced or disseminated without the author’s permission 14
 Suggestions for Closing
the Internal Communication Gap

• Facilitate effective horizontal communication

across functional areas (e.g., marketing and
operations)

• Have consistent customer-related policies and

procedures across branches or departments

• Resist the temptation to promise more than the

organization can deliver

© A. Parasuraman, University of Miami; not to be reproduced or disseminated without the author’s permission 15
 Process Model for Continuous Measurement and
Improvement of Service Quality

Do your customers perceive YES Continue to monitor

your offerings as meeting customers’ expectations
or exceeding their expectations? and perceptions

NO

Do you have an accurate NO Take corrective action

understanding of
customers’ expectations?

YES

Are there specific NO

Take corrective action
standards in place to meet
customers’ expectations?

YES

Do your offerings meet or NO Take corrective action

exceed the standards?

YES

NO
Is the information Take corrective action
communicated to customers
about your offerings accurate?
YES

© A. Parasuraman, University of Miami; not to be reproduced or disseminated without the author’s permission 16