The Gaps Model of Service Quality

• The Customer Gap

• The Provider Gaps:
• Gap 1 – The Listening Gap
• not knowing what customers expect
• Gap 2 – The Service Design and Standards Gap
• not having the right service designs and standards
• Gap 3 – The Service Performance Gap
• not delivering to service standards
• Gap 4 – The Communication Gap
• not matching performance to promises
• Putting It All Together: Closing the Gaps
The Customer Gap
Key Factors Leading
to the Customer Gap

Customer Customer
Gap Expectations

 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
Provider Gap 1

CUSTOMER

Customer
expectations

Perceived
Service

COMPANY

Gap 1:
The Listening Gap Company
perceptions of
customer
expectations
Key Factors Leading to Provider Gap 1
Provider Gap 2
CUSTOMER

COMPANY Customer-driven
service designs and
standards
Gap 2: The Service Design
and Standards Gap
Company
perceptions of
customer
expectations
Key Factors Leading to Provider Gap 2
Provider Gap 3

CUSTOMER

COMPANY Service delivery

Gap 3: The Service
Performance Gap
Customer-driven
service designs and
standards
Key Factors Leading to Provider Gap 3
Provider Gap 4
CUSTOMER

Gap 4: The Communication Gap

External
COMPANY Service delivery communications to
customers
Key Factors Leading to Provider Gap 4

2-11
Gaps Model of Service Quality
Strategies to tackle the Gaps
Sharpen market research procedures
Implement an effective customer feedback system
Increase interactions between managers and customers.
Facilitate and encourage communication between front-line employees and
management.
 Get the customer service processes right: Use customer-centric process for
designing customer service processes. 
Standardize repetitive work tasks to ensure consistency and reliability
Set measurable customer-oriented service standards for all work units
Ensure that employees understand and accept goals, standards, and
priorities.
 Ensure that customer service teams are motivated
Improve recruitment with a focus on employee-job fit
Train employees on the technical and soft skills needed to perform their
assigned tasks effectively
Ensure that employees understand how their jobs contribute to customer
satisfaction; teach them about customer expectations and perceptions
Strategies to tackle the Gaps

Install the most appropriate technology and equipment for enhanced

performance.
Ensure that employees working on internal support jobs provide good service
Balance demand against productive capacity.
Educate customers so that they can perform their roles and responsibilities in
service delivery effectively
Educate managers responsible for sales and marketing communications
Seek inputs from front-line employees and operations personnel when new
communications programs are developed. Let service providers preview
Get sales staff to involve operations staff in face-to-face meetings with
customers
Ensure that communications content sets realistic customer expectations.
•Strategies to tackle the Gaps
• Develop physical evidence cues that are consistent with the level of service
provided.
• For complex services, keep customers informed during service delivery on
what is being done, and give debriefings after the delivery so that
customers can appreciate the quality of service they received.
• Provide physical evidence (e.g., for repairs, show customers the damaged
components that were removed).
• Pretest all advertising, brochures, telephone scripts, and web site content
prior to external release, to determine the target audience interprets them
as the firm intends
• Ensure that advertising content accurately reflects those service
characteristics that are most important to customers.
• Offer customers different levels of service at different prices, explaining the
distinctions. identify and explain in real time the reasons for shortcomings in
service performance, highlighting those that cannot be controlled by the
firm.
• Document precisely what tasks and performance guarantees are included in
an agreement or contract.