Chapter 7

Consumers’ Evaluation
of Service

Chapter 7 slides for

Marketing
for Pharmacists,
2nd Edition
Effect of Expectations
and Performance on
Satisfaction

TIP
Perceptions are most
important.
 Factors
Affecting Individual’s
Customer Personal
Satisfaction Characteristics

Situational Price
Factors Customer
Satisfaction

Product
Quality Service
Quality
Comparing Service Performance
with Expectations
Dissatisfaction
Does Not Meet (Negative
Expectations Disconfirmation)
Patient Comparison
of Performance with Meets Mild Satisfaction
Expectations Expectations (Simple Confirmation)

Exceeds Delight
Expectations (Positive confirmation)
 Consequences of service

Bad service = dissatisfaction = lost

customers

OK service = not dissatisfied/mild

satisfaction = customers until something
better comes along

Great service = delight = loyalty

 Zone of Tolerance

Service Most Desired

by Customer

Level of
Service Zone of Tolerance
Given by Merely
Pharmacy Adequate
Service Deemed
Minimally Acceptable
Expectations, performance,
& satisfaction

 Patient satisfaction is caused by expectations &

perceptions of service performance.

 Lower expectations are easier to meet.

 Simply meeting expectations provides little

competitive advantage.
Service Elements
Assessed by
Consumers

TIP
Evaluations are
multidimensional.
 Consumer’s Ability to
Assess Services

Qualities

Search Nonsearch
can be identified and cannot be evaluated
evaluated prior to choice prior to choice
and/or consumption

Experience Credence
can be evaluated only during can never be meaningfully
or after consumption evaluated even after experience
 Implications
 Consumers have trouble evaluating many
aspects of pharmacist services.
 Many have credence qualities.

 Therefore, they rely on those things they can

easily assess.
 e.g., fast, friendly, appearance, time spent, price

 Pharmacists can help patients assess

credence qualities of care.
Another way of examining service
quality: Patients assess both….

Functional Technical Overall

Quality (FQ) Quality (TQ) Evaluation of
- how care was - the end result
delivered of the care
Service
 Findings about service quality
 Patients focus on those things they can
assess (search & experience qualities).

 They use the process (FQ) of service as a

surrogate of the outcome (TQ).

 Reliability & responsiveness are most

important to patients, although any dimension
can affect patronage.
 Relationship Between
Loyalty and Satisfaction

TIP
Satisfied patients are
not always loyal.
Perceptions and outcomes
of service

Service
Quality
•Loyalty,
Perceptions •Word-of-Mouth
Value
of Service •Frequency and
Volume of Purchases
Satisfaction
 Satisfaction strategies
Avoid causing subversives
1)Avoid serious interpersonal or technical
errors
2)Keep promises, be responsive, show
respect
3)Demonstrate you care
4)Preserve & create apostles
5)Give patients exceptional service
experiences
6)Make them feel that they got something
of real value
Assessing patient perceptions
 Observation  Critical incident
 Employee feedback surveys
 Patient complaints  Focus groups
 Patient interviews  Mystery (secret)
 Patient surveys shoppers
 Sales figures  Service audits

The most important thing in communication is to

hear what isn't being said.
- Peter F. Drucker