Services Marketing

An Insight

December 8, 2021
 Outcomes
(Zeithaml et al., 1991; Oliver 1980)

Outcomes of Performance Evaluations

 Positive Disconfirmation
(Delight)

higher-end, stable Desired

Zone of
Confirmation Adjustment
Tolerance (Neutral, Indifferent state)

lower-end, temporal Adequate

 Negative Disconfirmation
(Disappointment)
 Expectations
What do customers expect
(Dimensions)
• Reliability
• Responsiveness
• Assurance/Trust
• Empathy
• Tangibles
 Measuring Service Quality:
SERVQUAL
• Satisfaction compares perceptions to what
consumers would normally expect.
• Service quality compares perceptions to what
a consumer should expect from a firm that
delivers high-quality services.
• SERVQUAL: A 44-item scale that measures
customer expectations and perceptions
regarding five service quality dimensions.

December 8, 2021
 Measuring Service Quality:
SERVQUAL
• Five dimensions include tangibles,
reliability, responsiveness, assurance and
empathy which provide basis for service
quality.
• SERVQUAL instruments consists of two
sections: 22-items record customer
expectations of excellent firms and 22-items
measure customer perceptions.
December 8, 2021
 SERVQUAL
• Results from two sections are then compared
to arrive at “gap scores” for each of five
dimensions.
• Larger gap, further consumer perceptions are
from expectations, lower the service quality
evaluation.
• Customer expectations are measured on a 7-
point scale with anchor labels.

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 SERVQUAL
• Anchor labels include,”not at all essential”
and “absolutely essential.”
• Customer perceptions are measured on
another 7-point scale with anchor labels of
“strongly agree” and “strongly disagree.”

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 Tangibles Dimensions
• SERVQUAL assessment of firm’s ability to
manage its tangibles.

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 Tangibles Dimensions
• Tangibles Expectations:
– Excellent companies will have modern-looking
equipment.
– Physical facilities at excellent companies will be
visually appealing.
– Employees of excellent companies will be neat in
appearance.
– Materials associated with services will be visually
appealing in an excellent company.
December 8, 2021
 Tangibles Dimensions
• Tangibles Perceptions:
– XYZ has modern-looking equipment.
– XYZ’s physical facilities are visually appealing
– XYZ’s employees are neat in appearance.
– Materials associated with the service are
visually appealing at XYZ.

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 Reliability Dimension
• SERVQUAL assessment of firm’s
consistency and dependability in service
performance.

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 Reliability Expectations
• When excellent companies promise to do something
by a certain time, they will do so.
• When customers have problems, excellent
companies will show a sincere interest.
• Excellent companies will perform service right the
first time.
• Excellent companies will provide their service at any
time they promise.
• Excellent companies will have error-free records.

December 8, 2021
 Reliability Perceptions
• When XYZ promises to do something, it does
so.
• When you have problem, XYZ shows
sincerity.
• XYZ performs service right first time.
• XYZ provides its services at time it promises.
• XYZ insists on error-free records.

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 Responsiveness Dimension
• SERVQUAL assessment of firm’s
commitment to provide its services in a
timely manner.

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 Responsiveness Expectations
• Employees of excellent companies will tell
customers when services will be performed.
• Employees of excellent companies will give
prompt service to customers.
• Employees of excellent companies will always
be willing to help customers.
• Employees of excellent companies will never
be too busy to respond to customers.
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 Responsiveness Perceptions
• Employees of XYZ tell you exactly when
service will be performed.
• Employees of XYZ give you prompt service.
• Employees of XYZ are always willing to
help you
• Employees of XYZ are never too busy to
respond to your requests.

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 Assurance Dimension
• SERVQUAL assessment of a firm’s
competence, courtesy to its customers, and
security of its operations.

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 Assurance Expectations
• Behavior of employees of excellent companies
will instill confidence in customers.
• Customers of excellent companies will feel
safe in their transactions.
• Employees of excellent companies will be
consistently courteous with customers.
• Employees of excellent companies will have
knowledge to answer customers.
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 Assurance Perceptions
• Behavior of employees of XYZ instills
confidence in customers.
• You feel safe in your transactions with XYZ.
• Employees of XYZ are consistently
courteous with you.
• Employees of XYZ have knowledge to
answer your questions.

December 8, 2021
 Empathy Dimension
• Excellent companies will give customers individual
attention.
• They will have operating hours convenient to all
their customers
• They will have employees who give customers
personal attention.
• They will have customer’s best interest at heart.
• Employees will understand specific needs of their
customers.

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 Empathy Perceptions
• XYZ gives you individual attention.
• XYZ has operating hours convenient to all its
customers.
• XYZ has employees who give you personal
attention.
• XYZ has your best interest at heart.
• Employees of XYZ understand your specific
needs.

December 8, 2021
 The SERVQUAL Questionnaire

USA General Sample [1990]

Dimension Weight Perceptions Expectations Gap
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Tangibles 0.11 5.54 5.16 +0.38
Reliability 0.32 5.16 6.44 -1.28
Responsiveness 0.22 5.20 6.36 -1.16
Assurance 0.19 5.50 6.50 -1.00
Empathy 0.16 5.16 6.28 -1.12
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Weighted averages [n=1936] 5.28 6.27 -0.99
 (Source: calculated from from Zeithaml, Parasuraman and Berry [1990] )
 The SERVQUAL Questionnaire

East Midlands, UK Outpatients

[July 1995]
Dimension Weight Perceptions Expectations Gap
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Tangibles 0.13 5.21 5.24 -0.03
Reliability 0.26 5.52 6.31 -0.79
Responsiveness 0.21 5.88 6.17 -0.29
Assurance 0.20 5.98 6.39 -0.41
Empathy 0.20 5.66 6.16 -0.50
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Weighted averages [n= 72] 5.67 6.15 -0.48
 The SERVQUAL Questionnaire

Vaasa,Finland Outpatients
[Jan-Feb 1996]
Dimension Weight Perceptions Expectations Gap
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Tangibles 0.18 5.64 6.03 -0.38
Reliability 0.21 5.51 6.04 -0.54
Responsiveness 0.20 5.73 6.12 -0.39
Assurance 0.22 5.83 6.23 -0.40
Empathy 0.19 5.74 6.08 -0.35
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Weighted averages [n= 135] 5.72 6.14 -0.41
 Criticisms of SERVQUAL
• Major criticisms of instrument involve
length of questionnaire, validity of five
service quality dimensions, and predictive
power of instrument to subsequent
consumer purchases.

December 8, 2021
 Length of Questionnaire
• Opponents of SERVQUAL instrument
argue that 44 items are highly repetitive and
unnecessarily increase questionnaire’s
length.
• Opponents further argue that expectations
section is of no real value and perceptions
section should be utilized alone to assess
service quality.
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 Validity of Five Dimensions
• Five proposed dimensions of service quality
do not hold up under statistical scrutiny.
• Opponents question validity of the different
dimensions.

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Predictive Power of SERVQUAL
• Pertains to instrument's ability to predict
consumer purchase intentions.
• Performance section alone of SERVQUAL
scale is better predictor of purchase
intentions than combined expectations minus
perceptions instrument.
• Satisfaction has more significant effect on
purchase intentions than does service quality.

December 8, 2021
 Importance of Contact Personnel
and Process
• SERVQUAL instrument highlights several
points that service providers should consider
when examining service quality.
• Customer perceptions of service are heavily
dependent on attitudes and performance of
contact personnel.
• Ways customers judge service depends as
much on service process as outcome.
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 Importance of Contact Personnel
and Process
• How service is delivered is as important as
frequency and nature of service.
• Customer satisfaction depends on
production of services as well as their
consumption.

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 Key Components Built into
Service Quality
• Listening: Customer defined quality is
conformance to customers’ specifications.
• Reliability: Little else matters to customer
when service is unreliable.
• Basic Service: Customers want basics; they
expect fundamentals, not fanciness.
• Service Design: Design flaws in service
system can reduce perceptions of quality.
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 Key Components Built into
Service Quality
• Recovery: Companies that do not respond
effectively to customer complaints compound
service failure, thereby failing twice.
• Surprise Customers: If company can’t
surprise customers then they are not excellent.
• Fair Play: Customers expect to be treated
fairly.

December 8, 2021
 Key Components Built into
Service Quality
• Teamwork:Presence of teammates is an
important dynamic in sustaining server’s
motivation.
• Employee Research: Important to service
improvement.
• Servant Leadership:Leadership must serve
servers, inspiring and enabling them to
achieve.
December 8, 2021