Lesson 1: QUALITY SERVICE DEFINED

Hunting for Information:

WHAT IS QUALITY?

When we speak of quality we refer to the processes by which the products and services are
made or offered throughout an organization, in order to improve them before they are sold to
customers. For most of us, quality is the degree of excellence or superiority of a certain product
or service.

Quality is essentially about meeting the needs and expectations of customers. An example is
when a customer orders a burger from a famous restaurant. The customer expects that the
burger he receives would have the same characteristics as that of the one featured in TV ads.
He would be evaluating the burger by comparing its taste, appearance, aroma from that which
was promised by the company. If the product meets all his expectations, we could say that the
burger passed the quality test. If it doesn’t, then we could say that it is sub-standard. Aptly,
quality is considered as the voice of the customers.

WHAT IS SERVICE?

Service, by definition, is the ability to provide a level of care to customers which meet
or exceed their expectations. It involves providing customers’ needs and desires.

As mentioned earlier, service is an intangible commodity in which it cannot be felt,

touched or seen. Because of this unique characteristic, service is very difficult to evaluate.

WHAT IS QUALITY SERVICE?

Lewis and Booms (1983),defined quality service as the measure of how well the
service level delivered matches the customer’s expectations. Quality service is the customer’s
judgement of overall excellence of the service provided in relation to the quality that was
expected. The measure of quality service, therefore, depends on the customer.Quality service
is assessed based on customers’ perceptions. Service providers usually assess quality service
WHAT ISQUALITY SERVICE MANAGEMENT?

The delivery of quality service requires understanding the needs of our customers,
listening to feedbacks and working to continuously improve on our products and services.
Cultivating an atmosphere of dedication and motivation among the workforce is the key to
consistently deliver service excellence.
Quality service management involves all activities that determine the attainment of
quality objectives and quality policies. It also encompasses the responsibilities of each
employee in the pursuit of quality service. Activities such as quality planning, quality control,
quality assurance and quality improvement are among those that are involved in the process.
Quality service management entails consistent delivery of products and services according
to expected standards. Thus, quality service management is the principle of continuously
meeting agreed customer requirements at the lowest cost, by releasing the potential of all
employees.

WHAT ARE SOMECUSTOMER REQUIREMENTS?

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 Speed of delivery- For most customers, time is essential and should not be wasted waiting
for the delivery of a product or a service. Timeliness is an essential requirement for a
customer to rate a product or service as high quality.
 Conformance to specifications- The features of a product is a key factor in the buying
decisions of customers. When a customer finds that the purchased product conforms to
what he has specified, he would evaluate it as excellent.
 Reliability of service- Reliability is the ability to perform the promised service dependably
and accurately. Customers require that companies perform what they have promised because
it is vital in their evaluation of its trustworthiness.
 Responsiveness to queries- Customers look for companies who can immediately and
satisfactorily answer questions regarding the purchased product or service.
 Low cost- While customers would be willing to pay a fair price for quality, their instinct is to
hunt for low-priced products or services.
 Consistency of products and services-Consistency in the provision of products or services is
also a major requirement of customers.
 INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL FACTORS AFFECTING CUSTOMER SERVICE
DELIVERY

Organisations have to make decisions on what level of customer service they will provide
and there are many factors that will determine what level of customer service should be provided
and what level of customer service can realistically be provided. A company may decide that it wants
to respond to all complaints within 12 hours of receiving the complaint but there may not be
enough staff to achieve this service goal. Another service provider may have large numbers of guest
liaison staff but their customers may not require personal assistance that often. It is crucial to
determine the internal and external factors that affect the level of customer service to be provided.

INTERNAL FACTORS

Staff
 If there aren’t enough staff to
provide a certain level of
customer service, then the
customer’s expectation may not be
met and this will create a negative
experience for the client
 Are staff trained or competent to
deliver the required customer
service level?
 Staff appearance. Do they need to be
well-groomed, clean-shaven and
wearing a uniform or can they wear
jeans and have piercings and
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tattoos? demand/

Facilities/Equipment
 Do the rooms, toilets, pool, lifts, spa in a hotel or resort meet the expectations of the
customer?
 Does the equipment for a rock-climbing tour company fit all customer shapes and sizes, is it
safe and comfortable, and is there enough equipment?
 Is the air-conditioning system broken, are there enough towels in the gym, and is there
drinking water available at all times?

Safety issues
 These could be internal and external factors and may relate to staff training, access to
specific equipment, qualified staff, location specific factors such as service levels for a staff
member in an office context as opposed to on a horse-riding tour
Advertised levels of customer service
 Does the organisation claim to respond to all emails within 24 hours?
 Does the hotel advertise free internet access in all areas?

Budget
 How much funding is available for customer service initiatives?
 Is management aware of the required costs for implementing customer service levels at
advertised levels?
 How many staff can the organisation afford to employ?

Communication/Feedback
 Does the organisation have access to current information regarding their customer’s needs?
 Is there a system in place to gather, review and respond to customer feedback?
 Is there a system in pace to gather, review and respond to internal/staff customer feedback?

Organisational culture and structure

 What is the vision and mission of the organisation?
 What is the leadership and management style of the organisation?
 Image and past performance of the service provider
 Do staff enjoy working in the organisation?

Location of the service delivery

 This could be an external factor as well, but the location of the service delivery will impact
on the level of customer service that is possible. A hot-air balloon has limited options for
changing the space of the basket whereas a large hotel can renovate the interior of its
building to reflect customer needs
 Serving food in a restaurant would have different customer service needs or expectations
than providing dinner on a camping tour in the outdoors.
 EXTERNAL FACTORS
Customer Expectations
 What do customers want?
 What level of customer service delivery are competitors implementing?

Customer Profiles
 What type of customer purchases the service?

eat/ Location of the Service Delivery

 If the customer chooses the location, for example a wedding or party, the location is not
controlled by the service provider. This will impact on the level of customer service that can
be provided depending upon the facilities and equipment available, the weather in outdoor
locations, transportation and extra services like ATMs or internet access

Competitors
 What are competitors doing in terms of customer service delivery?

Society and Culture

 How do consumers, families and communities behave and what are their beliefs?

Legal Requirements
 What government regulations and requirements relate to the service?

Politics
 What is the political situation or context in the service delivery environment? If there is a
political shift occurring this may influence what level of customer service delivery is possible.