Service Quality.ppt

Service Quality Chapter 8 Service Quality Measuring and improving quality is more difficult for services than for products Unsatisfactory service cannot be replaced or repaired Intangible and temporary nature Quality Systems Total Quality Management (TQM) Managing the entire organization so that it excels on all dimensions of products and services that are important to the customer Drivers are often set internally Return on Quality (ROQ) Customers set parameters and marketers select quality improvements that lead to the highest return on investment Defining Service Quality Specifications Company: Standard operating procedures Customer: Personal expectations Misalignment of company and customer specifications can lead to dissatisfaction, even if the service is delivered as designed Effective communication is key in eliminating misalignment Defining Expectations Will expectation: Average level of quality that is predicted based on all known information Should expectation: What customers feel they deserve from the transaction Ideal expectation: What would happen under the best of circumstances; useful as a barometer of excellence Minimally acceptable level: The threshold at which mere satisfaction is achieved Types of Definitions of Quality Transcendent: Innate excellence that can be recognized only through experience Product-based: Measurable quantities are used to define quality User-based: “Quality is in the eyes of the beholder” Manufacturing-based: Conformance to requirements Value-based: A balance between conformance or performance quality and an acceptable price to the customer Measuring Service Quality Reliability: Consistency of performance and dependability Responsiveness: The willingness or readiness of employees to provide service. Assurance: The knowledge, competence and courtesy of service employees and their ability to convey trust and confidence Empathy: The caring and individual attention provided to customers Tangibles: Physical evidence of the ser