Service QualityService Quality

Gap Model (Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry)

Company Perceptions of Consumer Expectations

Expected Service

CUSTOMER

COMPANY

Gap 1:The Listening Gap

Provider Gap 1

Perceived Service

Causes of Provider Gap 1

Inadequate Market Research

Lack of upward communication

Inadequate focus on customer complaints

Transaction Orientation rather than Relationship

Orientation

Closing Provider Gap 1

Bottom-up rather than Top-down management

Viewing customer complaints as a feedback

mechanism

Transitioning from sales orientation to

relationship orientation

Sharpening market research

CUSTOMER

COMPANY

Gap 2: The Design and Standards Gap

Customer-Driven Service Designs and Standards

Company Perceptions of Consumer Expectations

Provider Gap 2

Causes of Provider Gap 2Service design not in line with company’s

perception of consumer expectation

Unsystematic service development process

Absence of process to focus on customer

requirements

Servicescape does not meet the customer

requirement

Inappropriate service standards

Closing Provider Gap 2

Systematic customer centric process for

designing service

Dynamic rather than static process (i.e.

periodically updating based on customer

feedback)

CUSTOMER

COMPANY Service Delivery

Gap 3: The Performance Gap

Customer-Driven Service Designs and Standards

Provider Gap 3

Causes of Provider Gap 3Ineffective recruitment

recruitment for aptitude or attitude?

Ineffective evaluation and compensation

system

Customers failure to fulfil their roles

Closing Provider Gap 3

Recruit for attitude, train for skill

Make employees understand how their jobs contribute to

customer satisfaction

Variable pay component linked to overall customer

satisfaction

Empower bottom-of-the-pyramid

Ensure that the customers clearly understand what is

expected of them and that expectation should be

realistic and achievable

CUSTOMER

COMPANYExternal Communications to Customers

Gap 4: The Communication Gap

Provider Gap 4

Service Delivery

Causes of Provider Gap 4Overpromising

Inadequate internal horizontal communication

Inappropriate pricing