The SERVQUAL Model

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What is SERVQUAL?

The SERVQUAL method from Valarie A. Zeithaml, A. Parasuraman, and Leonard L. Berry is a technique that can be used for performing a gap analysis of an organization's service quality performance against customer service quality needs.

SERVQUAL is an empirically derived method that may be used by a services organization to improve service quality. The method involves the development of an understanding of the perceived service needs of target customers. These measured perceptions of service quality for the organization in question, are then compared against an organization that is "excellent". The resulting gap analysis may then be used as a driver for service quality improvement.


SERVQUAL takes into account the perceptions of customers of the relative importance of service attributes. This allows an organization to prioritize. And to use its resources to improve the most critical service attributes.

The data are collected via surveys of a sample of customers. In these surveys, these customers respond to a series of questions based around a number of key service dimensions.

The methodology was originally based around 5 key dimensions:

1. Tangibles. Appearance of physical facilities, equipment, personnel, and communication materials.
2. Reliability. Ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately.
3. Responsiveness. Willingness to help customers and provide prompt service.
4. Assurance. Knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to convey trust and confidence.
5. Empathy. The firm provides care and individualized attention to its customers.

This has been adapted later by some to cover:

1. Tangibles. Appearance of physical facilities, equipment, personnel, and communication materials.
2. Reliability. Ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately.
3. Responsiveness. Willingness to help customers and provide prompt service.
4. Competence. Possession of required skill and knowledge to perform service.
5. Courtesy. Politeness, respect, consideration and friendliness of contact personnel.
6. Credibility. Trustworthiness, believability, honesty of the service provider.
7. Feel secure. Freedom from danger, risk, or doubt.
8. Access. Approachable and easy of contact.
9. Communication. Listens to its customers and acknowledges their comments. Keeps customers informed. In a language which they can understand.
10. Understanding the customer. Making the effort to know customers and their needs.

Origin of SERVQUAL. History

The authors conducted a qualitative study, from which they concluded that customers ranked the importance of two SERVQUAL dimensions consistently. Regardless of service industry. Reliability is the most important contributing factor to service quality and tangibles is the least important.

Usage of SERVQUAL. Applications

• SERVQUAL is widely used within service industries to understand the perceptions of target customers regarding their service needs. And to provide a measurement of the service quality of the organization.
• SERVQUAL may also be applied internally to understand employees' perceptions of service quality. With the objective of achieving service improvement.

Steps in SERVQUAL. Process

The method essentially involves conducting a sample survey of customers so that their perceived service needs are understood. And for measuring their perceptions of service quality for the organization in question.

Customers are asked to answer numerous questions within each dimension that determines:

• The relative importance of each attribute.
• A measurement of performance expectations that would relate to an "excellent" company.
• A measurement of performance for the company in question.

This provides an assessment of the gap between desired and actual performance, together with a ranking of the importance of service criteria. This allows an organization to focus its resources. To maximize service quality whilst costs are controlled.
 

Strengths of SERVQUAL. Benefits

Most users would agree that a comprehensive and thorough examination of service needs and service quality provides an invaluable approach to improving service quality. SERVQUAL provides detailed information about:

• Customer perceptions of service (a benchmark established by your own customers)
• Performance levels as perceived by customers
• Customer comments and suggestions
• Impressions from employees with respect to customers expectations and satisfaction

Limitations of SERVQUAL. Disadvantages

There have been a number of studies that doubt the validity of the 5 dimensions. And of the uniform applicability of the method for all service sectors. According to an analysis by Thomas P. Van Dyke, Victor R. Prybutok, and Leon A. Kappelman, it appears that the use of difference scores in calculating SERVQUAL contributes to problems with the reliability, discriminant validity, convergent validity, and predictive validity of the measurement. These findings suggest that caution should be exercised in the use of SERVQUAL scores and that further work is needed in the development of measures for assessing the quality of information services.

Assumptions of SERVQUAL. Conditions

• The results of market surveys are accurate. The validity of the model is based around the results of empirical studies. A number of academics have since performed further empirical studies that appear to contradict some of the original findings.
• Customer needs can be documented and captured, and they remain stable during the whole process.

Book: Zeithaml Parasuraman Berry - Delivering Quality Service: Balancing Customer Perceptions and Expectations.

Journal: Parasuraman, Berry, and Zeithaml (1988) - SERVQUAL: A multiple-item scale for measuring customer perceptions of service quality - Journal of retailing 64 (1) Spring. 12-40

Journal: Parasuraman, Berry, and Zeithaml (1991) - Refinement and reassessment of the SERVQUAL scale - Journal of retailing 67 (4) Winter. 420-450

Journal: Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1985) - A conceptual model of service quality and its implications for future research - Journal of marketing 49 (4) Fall. 41-50

Journal: Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1994) - Alternative scales for measuring service quality: A comparative assessment based on psychometric and diagnostic criteria - Journal of marketing 70 (3) Fall. 201-230

Forum Forum discussions about SERVQUAL. Weighted and Unweighted Average SERVQUAL Scores? If the unweighted average SERVQUAL score is 1.312, and the average weighted score is 30.606 what does that mean? I'm using the average discrepancy between a customer's expectations and the customer's ... 19   2 comments SERVQUAL Should Include Product Quality There is no pure service. The Gaps model is better to include product quality as well.... 15   2 comments Referencing 12manage May I please refer to this 12manage page as a source in my master research, adopting the figure and linking the source to this web-page? I am studying for a master in vocational pedagogy and want to s... 15   2 comments How to Make Money from Value Added Services In the HBR of May 2008 there is an article from Werber Reinartz and Wolfgang Ulaga about how manufacturing companies can sell value added services more profitably. Four steps to developing a profitabl... 11   Explanation of the SERVQUAL Gaps Parasuraman et al., 1985, (p.41-50) developed a conceptual model of service quality where they identified 5 gaps that could impact the consumer's evaluation of service quality in 4 different industrie... 8   Data Analysis Using SERVQUAL Model How do you analyse the data obtained from this model? What statistical tool do you use and how is it done?... 7   3 comments Customer Service is an Opportunity to Differentiate your Business I am constantly amazed at the low standards of customer service here in Queensland. There are obviously a lot of people who are working in customer service positions who do not enjoy interacting with ... 6   1 comments How to analyze a Supply Chain Using SERVQUAL Model? Can I use the SERVQUAL to analyze the interfaces in a supply chain? For example the interface between supplier-farmer or between retailer-customer. I am researching this for the organic supply chain i... 6   1 comments GAP Model versus SERVQUAL Model Is there a difference between the SERVQUAL and Gap Model? Some literature seem to suggest they are one thing, others suggest the former is a product of the last.... 5   2 comments Definitions of Service Value I am looking for ideas on what is service value and what are the dimensions of it. Thank you.... 5   5 comments 🔥 Customer Service Excellence ( CSE) In a presentation I made for a management workshop for Customer Service Excellence ( CSE), a question threw me off balance and this was it: What are real differences between principles of and standar... 4   Impact of Service Delivery on Strategy I need your guide to justify why service delivery is important for strategy: - Why should we put service delivery as a consideration of the company's long-term plan? - Wat are the necessary initiat... 4   1 comments How the SERVQUAL Model is Applicable in Health Care Organizations How is the SERVQUAL model applicable in a health care organization? Could you give an example for the gaps in this field? Thanks...... 4   1 comments Start a new topic about SERVQUAL Sign up for free

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Best Practices The best, top-rated topics about SERVQUAL. Here you will find the most valuable ideas and practical suggestions. 🥇 Calculating the variations in expectations in SERVQUAL I am working on my thesis and I am using the SERVQUAL method to calculate the variations in expectations among hotel personnel. Where can I find more information on how to calculate the results from ... 72   5 comments 🥈 Gap 5 in SERVQUAL model It is relevant to note that the difference between the expected service by the customer and the perceived service by the customer (= gap 5) in the SERVQUAL model equals the sum of the gaps 1 + 2 + 3 +... 27   2 comments 🥉 The Standard SERVQUAL Questionaire Is there a standard questionnaire for SERVQUAL?... 25   5 comments Extra SERVQUAL Dimensions Remember the 5 key dimensions merely form the base - just like the 4Ps and the extended Ps do for the Marketing Mix. Depending upon the context there can be a need to add 1 or more variables or facto... 23   3 comments Using SERVQUAL for Employee Satisfaction I am eager to know if the model is recommended to use for measuring employees satisfaction throughout an organization. Do you have some experience to share?... 20   2 comments How to deal with Change in Perceptions in SERVQUAL? Service quality perceptions and expectations may change over time. How can Servqual deal with the dynamics of changing customer expectations?... 18   3 comments Zone of Tolerance in Service Quality Expectations An important factor that needs to be considered when assessing customer perceptions and expectations on service quality is the Zone of Tolerance. The zone of tolerance cannot be understood without di... 16   Analyzing Gap 4 of SERVQUAL How can I analyze gap 4 with the aid of a SERVQUAL questionnaire?... 12   3 comments

Expert Tips Advanced insights about SERVQUAL. Here you will find professional advices by experts. Consultancy Tips Teaching Tips Practical Implementation Tips Operational and Theoretical Shortcomings of SERVQUAL Applying SERVQUAL Although practitioners like SERVQUAL due to its logical and straightforward concept, there are many operational and theo... What Exactly is Quality? Multiple Definitions Quality Management A product or service has to be in accordance with the wishes of the client. But organizations use different definitions ... Extended SERVQUAL model Interactions Between the Gaps The impact of the first 4 gaps also impact gap 5. The extended SERVQUAL model actually measures the impact of these int... SERVQUAL for E-business? How to Assess the Quality of E-Services Academic research has shown that SERVQUAL method is also successfully applicable to measure service quality levels in e-... Quality of Services The Gronroos Model and Criteria Mr. Gronroos also formulated some criteria to test the quality of services (not always easy to measure this...): 1. Pro... 3 Communication Phases in Providing Services Services Management Three main communication phases can be distinguished in which a service provider communicates with his customers. 1: Pr... The ACSI Model of Customer Satisfaction Measuring Customer Satisfaction The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) is an economic indicator based on modeling of customer evaluations of th... What is Service - Definition Definition of Service, Service Identification, Service Attributes, Service Qualifiers The ServQual Model is missing a well-founded and universally valid definition of the term 'service'. In January 2016, Pr...

Information Sources Various sources of information regarding SERVQUAL. Here you will find powerpoints, videos, news, etc. to use in your own lectures and workshops. Article Summaries of Zeithaml Service Quality Summaries of several articles on service quality by Valerie .Zeithaml.... Customer Analysis External Strategic Analysis Presentation by G.M.H. Broekema about customer analysis as part of external strategic analysis. Includes: Customer resea... Service Quality Models SERVQUAL, Service Quality Management, CRM, CEM, Customer Loyalty, Customer Satisfaction This presentation elaborates on service quality, especially focusing on perceptions and expectations of consumers and th... Five Steps to Increased Customer Satisfaction Customer Satisfaction Improvement, Client Satisfaction Improvement This presentation introduces a five-step customer satisfaction process that can be helpful to realize organizaiton’s aim... Summary of SERVQUAL Model Introduction to the GAPS / SERVQUAL Model After having developed the company's value proposition, it is important that the organisation delivers on the promises t... The Costs of DISsatisfied Customers Customer Satisfaction This presentation is about the costs of dissatisfied customers. The authors investigate the main sources of customer in... Customer Value Management Organizational Management, Value Creation Preesentation about Customer Value Management (CVM) by J. Blanc. It includes the following sections: 1. Definition of C... The Expectations Consumers have of Services Customer Experience Management, Customer Satisfaction, Customer Quality, Quality Management, SERVQUAL This presentation elaborates on customer expectations on services. The presentation includes the following sections: 1.... General SERVQUAL Questionnaire Service Quality General SERVQUAL questionnaire format.... Consumer Behavior in the Service Sector Decision Making, Behavioral Economics Presentation about consumer behavior in services. The presentation includes the following files: 1. Consumer Problems ... SERVQUAL Diagram Quality Management Download and edit this 12manage PowerPoint graphic for limited personal, educational and business use. Republishing in ... Introduction to Service Management Initial Understanding of the Difference Between Service Management and Systems Management In this video five several IBM experts give their views on Service Management and the difference with Systems Management... Introduction to Services Marketing Services Marketing, Service Sector Marketing, Hospitality Services This presentation is about marketing in the services sector, emphasizing the travel and tourism sectors. It includes the... SERVQUAL example Public Service Quality Adopting Jones' pragmatism, this paper by Derrick V. McKoy seeks to distinguish executive agencies in Jamaica from tradi... Funny Intro to Marketing Concepts in 2 Minutes Initial Understanding of Marketing Terms, Marketing Intro, Marketing Fun, Trainings, Workshops Funny explanation of direct marketing, advertising, telemarketing, public relations, brand recognition, customer feedbac... E-Service Quality Internet Banking The perceived quality has been described as a major determinant of the consumer satisfaction, but only a few works have ...

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