Service quality module

Service Quality in Tourism The complexity and globalization of todays competitive business environments have made quality as one of the most important sources of competitive advantage for the Tourism business enterprise/destination. Many leading quality organizations have started to exploit opportunities to face this situation and recognized the importance to have systematic processes to manage quality to gain and maintain this competitive position. Each business management is aware of the fierce competition in every sector and customer expectations have never been greater. It is no longer sufficient just to maintain a business; it is necessary to move forward if a business wants to achieve a sustainable future. So quality is of upmost importance in any sector and everywhere.

Here is an overview of service quality in the tourism industry Service quality is needed for creating customer satisfaction and service quality is connected to customer perceptions and customer expectations.

Oliver (1997) argues that service quality can be described as the result from customer comparisons between their expectations about the service they will use and their perceptions about the service company.

That means that if the perceptions would be higher than the expectations the service will be considered excellent, if the expectations equal the perceptions the service is considered good and if the expectations are not met the service will be considered bad. Oliver (1997) argues that customer satisfaction can be described as a judgement that a product or service feature, or the product or service itself, provides pleasurable consumption. Satisfaction can also be described as a fulfilment response of service and an attitude change as a result of the consumption. Gibson (2005) put forward that satisfied customers are likely to become loyal customers and that means that they are also likely to spread positive word of mouth. Understanding which factors that influence customer satisfaction makes it easier to design and deliver service offers that corresponds to the market demands. Quality and satisfaction are indicators for corporate competitiveness and explores the benefit of marketing academics and practitioners. The relationship and nature of these customer evaluations remains unclear though satisfaction and service quality comes from two big research paradigms; expectations and perceptions which are considered as key instruments. Zeithaml et al, (1993) mention that in empirical studies quality and satisfaction is introduced as synonyms within the service business.Definitions of Quality Quality of services means conformity with the clients demands. The companies try to increase the quality of services, serving both as a purpose of management services and a strategy to develop the enterprise. Quality of services has two components [Jivan, 1998, 90]:The quality of the serving process;The level of quality for serving, i.e. the real service provided. As for a companys level of service quality, it depends on the way in which the officials approach the quality issue. Thus Stanciu, (2003) states:The concept of quality should be approached systematically;The clients demands should be understood and then fulfilled;The quality principles should be imposed at all structural and organization levels of the unit;The qualitative level of services should be achieved efficiently;The diversity of services on the market should be a permanent aim; A relevant aspect of any competition is to take into account all the aspects concerning quality, not only quality of services.

Defining Quality As for the connections between perceived quality and real quality, the estimations may vary from the client to the service provider directly. The client very seldom is aware that he/she is well served and makes it publicly even more seldom, while the discontent will be certainly wide spread. In addition, the main characteristic of the quality of services is their relativity [Jivan, 1988, 92], i.e. the impossibility to measure and evaluate them. Among the aspects of the quality of serving one should mention: personnels behaviour and attitude; duration of serving; availability of information; advertisement; location of serving units and their accessibility; environment, etc. The total quality of a service is seen as a 3-component function:Body image companys image and its global attractiveness;Technical quality - the essential attributes of services corresponding to the needs to be fulfilled; Functional quality - the way to provide services. The perception of the quality of a service is influenced by the attributes of its qualityThe Concept of Service quality

According to Parasuraman et al. (1991), companies can get their competitive advantage by using the technology for the purpose of enhancing service quality and gathering market demand. For decades, many researchers have developed a service perspective (Zeithaml, 2009, Ramsaran and Fowdar, 2007). Chang (2008) describes that the concept of service quality should be generally approached from the customers point of view because they may have different values, different ground of assessment, and different circumstances. Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry (1990) mention that service quality is an extrinsically perceived attribution based on the customers experience about the service that the customer perceived through the service encounter. According to the work of Kumra (2008), service quality is not only involved in the final product and service, but also involved in the production and delivery process, thus employee involvement in process redesign and commitment is important to produce final tourism products or services. Another research study on service quality is presented by Grnroos (2007) who focuses on a model that is a comparison between customer expectations of the service and their experience of the service they have received before. This model is named total perceived service quality. As he emphasizes on what customer is really looking for and what they evaluate, the service quality is based on two dimensions. The first dimension is the technical quality and this dimension refers to the outcome, what is delivered or what the customer gets from the service. The next dimension is the functional quality which refers to the manner in which the service is delivered or how it is delivered. Both dimensions affect the corporate image and the perception of quality in various ways. According to total perceived service quality model, perceived quality of a service is not only affected by the experiences of the quality dimensions that the consumer used for evaluating whether quality is perceived as good, neutral, or bad. It is all also affected by the perceived quality of given service as well as the outcome of the evaluation process.

Definitions

Zeithaml and Bitner (2003:85) states that:

Service quality is a focused evaluation that reflects the customer's perception of specific dimensions of service: reliability, responsiveness, assurance, Empathy, tangibles. Satisfaction, on other hand, is more inclusive: it is influenced by perceptions of service quality, product quality, and price as well as situational factors and personal factors.

Service quality affects customer satisfaction by providing performance (real benefits). For example, if consumers believe they have entered the McDonald's restaurant, they will get food, service, high quality everywhere the same, no matter the location of the restaurant, put forward by Millend M Lele(1995:126).

"The creation of customer satisfaction can provide several benefits, including the relationship between companies and consumers are harmonious, providing a good basis for the purchase and re-creation of customer loyalty, and form a recommendation by word of mouth that can benefit the company" (Fandi Tjiptono, 1997: 24)

Attributes of Service Quality and Characteristics

Tangibility- The existence of the physical support of service, personnel communication. Reliability- The capacity of correct fulfilment of the service from the very first contact with the client. Rapidity - The carrying out of a service within the time limits desired and accepted by the client. Competence - The serving personnel have the information and capabilities necessary for the carrying out of the service. Politeness- The politeness, kindness and respect of the contact personnel towards the client. Credibility - The credibility and honesty of the service-providing company. Security and safety- The absence of danger, hazard, risk and doubt when providing the service. Accessibility - The easiness with which the service can be used at the desired moment. Communication- The client is informed correctly, in a language which is easy and accessible to the client, and the employees have the ability to listen and understand the clients. Knowledge on client Understanding clients needs and behaviour?

Why Service Quality in Tourism Quality is vital for a successful tourism industry. Destinations have an exciting mix of different products that can be offered to the tourist, and it enjoys a stable market share. Nonetheless, a rapid growth in alternative destinations worldwide means that tourism industry today faces the need to be ever more quality conscious to continue to attract tourists in a global marketplace. Quality is rapidly becoming the decisive competitive instrument in tourism. Why focus on quality? A quality product is crucial for a viable business, for an attractive destination and for the sustainability of the tourism industry across Europe. Ensuring the constant improvement of quality, whether it is of a tourist destination as a whole or of the individual attractions and services within it, should be a continuous process. It means setting objectives, developing a strategy, making improvements and checking results. Consumers are increasingly choosing those offers in which they can be certain that the services, outdoor experiences and also the welcome from the local population are of a high quality and worth the price paid. At the same time, tourist destinations and the providers of tourist services are increasingly confronted with changes in guest expectations and requirements, and increasing competition at home and abroad.

A lack of attention to quality issues now could have serious consequences later in terms of loss of image, falling income and the initiation of potentially expensive damage limitation exercises.

In most destinations the final product that the tourists experience, and therefore the memories that they take home with them, is a complex fusion of their exposure to many different phenomena in the destination, for example the local tourism industry, the destinations resident population and the environment in the destination.

This relationship is interlinked because not only do these aspects influence the tourist experience, but the tourists in turn influence these aspects.

Market research shows that the tourist is maturing, and demanding higher levels of quality when on holiday.

In other words, they are seeking good value for their money. Furthermore, European destinations are now competing in a global market place, and the quality of the tourist experience is arguably just as important for competitive edge as price

Ten reasons for a quality approach!

Quality gives the edge over competitors.

Quality performance makes destinations and services easier to market, both to operators and tourists.

A quality product results in customer loyalty.

Better quality means more profit.

Quality management leads to a stable tourism industry and protects jobs.

Quality improvements in a destination provide a better quality of life for local residents.

Quality management improves access to finance.

Effective monitoring of progress avoids repeating costly mistakes.

Careful data collection provides the tool for making the right management decisions.

Monitoring progress in quality improvement provides the understanding.

Why Service Quality in Tourism Going beyond the classical approach in the general study on quality and referring especially to the field of the tourist services, one need to take into account the indicators connected to the tourist service quality: the quality of life; the competitive values of the tourist activities; the qualitative dimension of the time for recreation, fun and sports, or recreational activities The quality of life is directly connected with the way in which the nine basic human needs are satisfied: subsistence, protection, affection, understanding, participation, amusement, creativity, identity, and freedom. For example, with services for tourism transportation, their quality depends mainly on the technical state of the means of transportation as well as on the combustibles used, norms of pollution, or safety. A series of activities such as guides, entertainers, or monitors, promotion or advertisement are more difficult to evaluate or compare from the qualitative point of In the functional market economy, because of the progressively aggressive competition, the providers of tourist products and services are more and more forced to consider the needs, requests and expectancies of clients and consumers as - better informed and trained - they prefer more and more often to purchase products and services of maximum quality at the lowest prices. Consequently, the managers and employees from the hospitality industry should aim to provide only services of high quality at minimum prices.Moments of truthIn customer service, instance of contact or interaction between a customer and a firm (through a product, sales force, or visit) that gives the customer an opportunity to form (or change) an impression about the firm. You have either the ability to satisfy them or to dissatisfy them.

Service recovery is simply to satisfy a customer who was previously dissatisfied and making them a loyal customer.

Dimensions of service quality

Reliability: Perform promised service dependably and accurately. Example: receive mail at same time each day.

Responsiveness: Willingness to help customers promptly. Example: avoid keeping customers waiting for no apparent reason.

Assurance: Ability to convey trust and confidence. Example: being polite and showing respect for customer. Empathy: Ability to be approachable. Example: being a good listener.

Tangibles: Physical facilities and facilitating goods. Example: cleanliness

Perceived service quality