Service Quality 18 10 10

8/8/2019 Service Quality 18 10 10

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Service Quality


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Perspectives on Service Quality

Transcendental:

Product-Based:

User-Based:

ManufacturingBased:

Value-Based:

Quality = excellence. Recognized only through

experience

Quality is precise and measurable

Quality lies in the eyes of the beholder

Quality is conformance to the firms developedspecifications

Quality is a trade-off between price and value


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Dimensions of Service Quality

Tangibles

Reliability

Responsiveness

Assurance competence,

courtesy

credibility

security

Empathy

access

communication

understanding of customer


4/15

Capturing the Customers Perspective

of Service Quality

SERVQUAL A research

instrument developed to

measure customer satisfaction

ith different aspects of

service quality by ValarieZeithaml


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Seven Service Quality Gaps

Customer experiencerelative to expectations

Advertising and

sales promises

Customer interpretation

of communications

1. Kno ledge Gap

2. Standards Gap

3. Delivery Gap

5. Perceptions Gap

7. Service Gap

Customer needs

and expectations

Management definitionofthese needs

Translation into

design/delivery specs

Execution ofdesign/delivery specs

Customer perceptions

of product execution

6. Interpretation Gap

4. I.C.Gap

MANAGEMENT

CUSTOMER


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Prescriptions for Closing Service

Quality Gaps Kno ledge: Learn hat customers expect--conduct

research, dialogue, feedback

Standards: Specify SQ standards that reflect expectations

Delivery: Ensure service performance matches specs--consider roles of employees, equipment, customers

Internal communications: Ensure performance levelsmatch marketing promises

P

erceptions: Educate customers to see reality of servicedelivery

Interpretation: Pretest communications to make suremessage is clear and unambiguous.


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Hard and Soft Measures of Service

Quality Hard measures refer to standards and measures

that can be counted, timed or measured throughaudits typically operational processes or outcomes

e.g. ho many trains arrived late?

Soft measures refer to standards and measures thatcannot easily be observed and must be collected bytalking to customers, employees or others

e.g. SERVQUAL, surveys, and customer advisory panels. Control charts are useful for displaying

performance over time against specific qualitystandards.


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Hard Measures of Service Quality

Control charts to

monitor a singlevariable

Service quality indexes

Root cause analysis

(fishbone charts)

Pareto analysis


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Tools to Address Service Quality

Problems

Fishbone diagrams: A cause-and-effect diagram to

identify potential causes of problems.

Pareto charts: Separating the trivial from the

important. Often, a majority of problems is caused

by a minority of causes i.e. the 80/20 rule.

Blueprinting: A visualization of service delivery. It

allo s one to identify fail points in both the

frontstage and backstage.


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Cause and Effect Chart for

Airline Departure Delays (Fig. 14.3)

Aircraft late to

gate

Late food

service

Late fuel

Late cabin

cleanersPoor announcement of

departures

Weight and balance sheet

late

Delayed

Departures

Delayed check-in

procedure

Acceptance of latepassengers

Facilities,

EquipmentFront-StagePersonnel

Procedures

Materials,Supplies

Customers

Gate agents cannot

process fast enough

Late/unavailable

airline cre

Arrive late

Oversized bags

Weather

Air traffic

Frontstage

Personnel

Procedure

Materials,

Supplies

Backstage

Personnel

Information

Customers

OtherCauses

Mechanical

Failures

Late pushback

Late baggage


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Analysis ofCauses of

Flight Departure Delays (Fig. 14.4)

Late passengers

Waiting for pushback

Waiting for fueling

Late eight and balance sheet

Late cabin cleaning / supplies

Other

Ne ark

All stations, excluding

Chicago-Mid ay Hub

Washington Natl.

23.1%23.1%

23.1%15.3%

15.4%

53.3%

15%

11.3%

8.7%11.7%

33.3%

33.3%19%

9.5%

4.9

%


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Return on Quality (ROQ)

ROQ approach is based on four assumptions:

Quality is an investment

Quality efforts must be financially accountable Its possible to spend too much on quality

Not all quality expenditures are equally valid

Implication: Quality improvement efforts may benefit

from being related to productivity improvement

programs


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Overcoming Customers Reluctance to

Accept Changes in Environment and

Behavior Develop customer trust

Understand customers habits and expectations

Pretest ne procedures and equipment

Publicize the benefits

Teach customers to use innovations and

promote trial

Monitor performance, continue to seek

improvements


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Six Sigma Methodology to Improve

and RedesignC

ustomer ServiceProcesses

Process Improvement Process Design/Redesign

Define

Measure

Analyze

Improve

Control


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Process Improvement Process Design/Redesign

Define Identify the problemDefine requirementsSet goals

Identify specific or broadproblems

Define goal/change visionClarify scope & customer

requirements

Measure Validate problem/processRefine problem/goalMeasure key steps/inputs

Measure performance torequirements

Gather process efficiency

dataAnalyze Develop causal hypothesis

Identify root causesValidate hypothesis

Identify best practicesAssess process designRefine requirements

Improve Develop ideas to measure root causesTest solutions

Measure results

Design ne processImplement ne process,

structures and systemsControl Establish measures to maintain

performanceCorrect problems if needed

Establish measures &revie s to maintainperformance

Correct problems if needed

Documents

Service Quality 18 10 10