Page 109 - DMGT510_SERVICES_MARKETING

Services Marketing

Notes Gap 2: Management Perception – Service Quality Expectation Gap

This gap is created in the design process of the service product and lying down of specifications
for service quality during service transactions. In the design process, this gap arises during the
translation of management’s perception of customer-expectation into design specifications.
Managers would set specifications for service quality on the basis of what they believe the
customer requires — a very dangerous presumption. The implications of this gap are that even
if the firm has crystal-clear knowledge and understanding of the customer’s expectations, there
would be scope for misunderstanding this, leading to setting the wrong specifications, service
designs and standards.

Example: A bank would believe that customer friendly interaction is what the customers
prefer but the standard would be set on computerisation — which is impersonal and neutral.
There is no human contact to support the concept of ‘friendliness’.

Some reasons for Gap-2 to occur are:
Failure to connect service design to service positioning

Unsystematic new-service development process

Lack of customer-defined service standards

Absence of a formal process of setting service quality goals, etc.

Gap 3: Service Quality Specifications – Service Delivery Gap

This occurs at the service provider level when there is deviation from service standards specified
and actually delivered to the customers. This probably is the bane of all public sector institutions,
be they banks, insurance companies, hotels, travel agencies, hospitals or any such. The
management’s perception and service design standards might be accurate and perfect. But if the
interacting service provider during service delivery falls short of the standards specified, the
customer will get an impression of a poorly performing firm. This becomes especially important
for that firm that is heavily dependent on people in performing the last transaction.

Example: Public sector banks might have the best of design specifications set by Reserve
Bank of India; yet late-coming staff, corrupt employees (the Harshad Mehta scam of misuse of
Portfolio Management Funds and the internal document mess-up in State Bank of India) would
bring large gaps in quality to put it mildly.
Some of the reasons for Gap-3 to occur are:
Ineffective recruitment, role ambiguity;

Role conflict;

Lack of empowerment, control and poor teamwork;

Failure to match supply and demand (in a retail store there would be peak crowds during

the evenings and slack demand during the afternoons, but the employee strengths would
be the same), customers not co-operating or failing to live up to their roles (lack of
knowledge and responsibilities);
Channel conflicts, etc.

The service firm must ensure that systems, processes and people are in the right place. This will
make sure that service delivery is as per the design standards set.

104 LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY