Now that we have reviewed the dimensions of quality which serve as elements to satisfy customers, we need to define customer requirements to understand which dimensions customers consider important. Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry (1985) developed a five-gap model which helps to define quality according to various aspects and illustrates the gaps between customer perception and expectation. Their approach is illustrated in Figure 0.1.
Gap 1: Customer expectation – management perception
In this case, management does not fully understand how customers determine their expectations on the basis of input sources such as advertising, past experience, competitors, personal needs and word of mouth information from friends, colleagues and family. For example, workers in mainland China expect to have low price train tickets returning home during Chinese New Year. However, high speed trains priced about seven times higher than the original trains were introduced and the workers could not afford the new price.
Gap 2: Quality specifications gap
Management does not always include in the service specifications all the quality attributes it perceives customers wants. This is sometimes due to a lack of sufficient resources or unreasonableness of customer expectations. It also may be characteristic of firms that are not wholly committed to the prospect of service quality. For example, the current design of electric cars cannot run at high speeds and can only be recharged at limited locations.
Gap 3: Service quality specifications – service delivery gap
Even when appropriate quality guidelines exist, quality services may not be delivered to the customer. The reality, however, is that employees' performance cannot be standardized to ensure consistent quality service. For example, a bank may not have adequate tellers in peak hours and customers have to wait longer for service than the dedicated standards.
Gap 4: Service delivery – external communication gap
Media advertising and other communications by a firm can affect customer expectations. If expectations are too high, the service as delivered may receive a poor quality rating. In other words, it is unwise to promise something 'absolutely, positively' unless you can do it every time. It is better to under-promise and over-deliver. For example, the arrival and departure times of trains of the railway operator cannot match the timetable announced.
Gap 5: Expected service – perceived service gap
The key to ensuring good service quality is meeting or exceeding customer expectations. For example, one customer rated service quality particularly high when a technician not only fixed her broken appliance, but also explained what had gone wrong and how she could fix it herself if a similar problem occurred in the future. Conversely, a bar customer rated service quality particularly low when he could not smoke inside the bar and it was raining heavily outside. The fact that the bar was prevented by law from allowing him to smoke had never been explained to the customer. He perceived the bar to be 'unwilling' rather than 'unable' to allow him to smoke inside the bar.
The above model described by Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry not only applies to the service industry but also the manufacturing industry. Now that you have a broader understanding of the definition of quality, the next section will cover the costs of quality.
Let's finish 1.5.11 Activity 1.3 and check out the 1.5.11.1 Activity 1.3 feedback.
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