The Gaps Model of Service Quality

Customer Gap
The Difference between Customer Perceptions & Expectations Customer Expectations
Customer GAP

Perceived Service

Provider Gap 1
Not Knowing What Customers Expect
CUSTOMER

Expected Service

GAP 1
Company Perceptions of Customer Expectations

COMPANY

Provider Gap 2
Not Selecting the Right Service Designs & Standards
CUSTOMER

COMPANY

Customer-Driven Service Designs & Standards

GAP 2
Company Perceptions of Consumer Expectations

Provider Gap 3
Not Delivering to Service Standards
CUSTOMER

Service Delivery
COMPANY

GAP 3
Customer-Driven Service Designs & Standards

Provider Gap 4
Not Matching Performance to Promises
CUSTOMER

Service Delivery
COMPANY

GAP 4

External Communications to Customers

Gaps Model of Service Delivery

Customer GAP Perceived
Service Expected Service

CUSTOMER

COMPANY

Service Delivery

GAP 4

GAP 3 GAP 1
Customer-Driven Service Designs and Standards

External Communications to Customers

GAP 2
Company Perceptions of Consumer Expectations

Key Factors Leading to Customer Gap

Customer Expectations
Customer GAP
Provider Gap 1: Not knowing what customers expect Provider Gap 2: Not selecting the right service designs & standards Provider Gap 3: Not delivering to service standards Provider Gap 4: Not matching performance to promises

Customer Perceptions

Key Factors Leading to Provider Gap 1

Customer Expectations
Provider GAP 1
Inadequate Marketing Research Orientation
Insufficient marketing research Research not focused on service quality Inadequate use of market research

Lack of Upward Communication

Lack of interaction between management & customers Insufficient communication between contact employees & managers Too many layers between contact personnel & top management

Company Perceptions of Customer Expectations

Key Factors Leading to Provider Gap 1

Customer Expectations
Insufficient Relationship Focus
Lack of market segmentation Focus on transactions rather than relationships Focus on new customers rather than relationship customers

Provider GAP 1

Inadequate Service Recovery

Lack of encouragement to listen to customer complains Failure to make amends when things go wrong No appropriate recovery mechanisms in place to service failures

Company Perceptions of Customer Expectations

Key Factors Leading to Provider Gap 2

Customer-Driven Service Designs & Standards
Poor Service Design
Unsystematic new-service development process Vague, undefined service designs Failure to connect service design to service positioning

Provider GAP 2

Absence of Customer-Driven Standards

Lack of customer-defined service standards Absence of process management to focus on customer requirements Absence of formal process for setting service quality goals

Company Perceptions of Customer Expectations

Key Factors Leading to Provider Gap 2

Provider GAP 2

Customer-Driven Service Designs & Standards

Inappropriate Physical Evidence & Servicescape

Failure to develop tangibles in line with customer expectations Servicescape design that does not meet customer and employee needs Inadequate maintenance and updating of the servicescape

Company Perceptions of Customer Expectations

Key Factors Leading to Provider Gap 3

Customer driven service designs and standards
Deficiencies In Human Resource Policies
Ineffective recruitment Role ambiguity and role conflict Poor employee-technology job fit Inappropriate evaluation and compensation systems Lack of empowerment, perceived control and teamwork Customers Who Do Not Fulfill Roles Customers lack knowledge of their roles and responsibilities Customers negatively affect each other

Provider GAP 3

Service delivery

Key Factors Leading to Provider Gap 3

Provider GAP 3

Customer-Driven Service Designs & Standards

Problems with Service Intermediaries
Channel conflict over objectives and performance Difficulty controlling quality and consistency Tension between empowerment and control

Failure to Match Supply & Demand

Failure to smooth peaks and valleys of demand Inappropriate customer mix Over-reliance on price to smooth demand

Service Delivery

Key Factors Leading to Provider Gap 4

Provider GAP 4

Service Delivery

Lack of Integrated Services Marketing Communications

Tendency to view each external communication as independent Absence of interactive marketing in communications plan Absence of strong internal marketing program

Ineffective Management of Customer Expectations

Absence of customer expectation management through all forms of communication Lack of adequately education for customers

External Communications to Customers

Key Factors Leading to Provider Gap 4

Service Delivery
Provider GAP 4
Overpromising
Overpromising in advertising Overpromising in personal selling Overpromising through physical evidence cues

Inadequate Horizontal Communications

Insufficient communication between sales and operations Insufficient communication between advertising and operations Differences in policies and procedures across branches or units

External Communications to Customers

Strategies to reduce Gap1

Communicate with customers about what they expect. Conduct marketing research to learn Customers expectations. Encourage upward communication. Decrease the no. of layers of management.

Proposed Actions to reduce Gap 2

Commitment of Top management to provide service quality Rewards and promotions based on improving and enhancing quality Involvement of customers in setting quality goals Task standardizationa)Hard technology - Replacing man by machines b)S oft technology-training and standardization of processes

Strategies to reduce Gap3

Enhance Teamwork among the employees Ensure there is a good employee-job fit. Perceived employee control-Allow employees some flexibility and control in service processes. Reward the employees for providing service according to specifications. Reduce employee role conflict.

Strategies to reduce Gap 4

Increase horizontal communication between marketing department and service personnel. Avoid the propensity to over promising. Inform sales personnel of promises made by salespeople and marketing communication.