SERVICE QUALITY

All the service providers want to know what customers really care about. Service quality, Price and product quality are some of the good guess.

But for service providers, customers care most about service quality. We have been through lots of research and statistically valid research. Of course, providers can always ask customers. But having the lack of money, skills and time constraints, we better took the leading research for that understanding.

5 Dimensions of Service Quality

Zeithaml, Berry and Parasuraman found that there are five dimensions which customers use when evaluating the service quality parameters. They named their survey instrument SERVQUAL.

In similar terms, if service providers get these dimensions right then customers will be highly satisfied and thus loyalty will follow. This overall will result in service excellence. According to what’s important to them.

The five SERVQUAL dimensions are:

TANGIBLES

Appearance of physical facilities, equipment, personnel, and communication materials

RELIABILITY

Ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately

RESPONSIVENESS

Willingness to help customers and provide prompt service

ASSURANCE

Knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to convey trust and confidence

EMPATHY

Caring, individualized attention the firm provides its customers

Note: Not All Dimensions Are Equal

A service provider should understand that all dimensions are important to customers, but some are preferred more than others dimensions.

Service providers need to know which parameters have more priorities than others in various service sectors so as to avoid ambiguity in servicing to customer. At the same time they cannot focus on only one dimension and neglect the other dimension completely.

In their research, SERVQUAL research showed dimensions importance was asked to customers to assign 100 points across all five dimensions.

Here’s their importance to customers.

Results were as follow:

RELIABILITY (Just do it)

As the description says “Just do it”, i.e. do what you say you are going to do. Most of the time customers want to count on their providers as reliability factor matters a lot to customer. Service providers always have yearned to find out what customers really value. As per the result it’s three times more important to be reliable than have new equipment or flashy dress of the staff.

At the same time this doesn’t mean you can have dirty looking uniforms and only focus only on reliability. Service providers have to do both. But as per the priorities assigned providers should put their first and best efforts at making the service reliable.

RESPONSIVENESS (Do It Now)

Any customer query should be handled instantly, quickly, promptly, rapidly and immediately in a best possible way.

Delaying for a day to return a call or email reply waiting doesn’t make it. If customers are chronically slow in getting back to providers, responsiveness is still more than one-fifth of their service quality assessment.

Service providers benefit by establishing service level agreement for things like returning phone calls, replying to emails and responding on-site. Whether its 5 minutes, 50min, or a day. Its

important customers must feel providers are responsive to their requests in a convincing manner. Not just emergencies, but everyday responses too.

ASSURANCE (Know What You are Doing)

Service providers are usually expected to be the professionals of the service they’re catering to customers. SERVQUAL researches have shown that it’s important to communicate that expertise to customers. If a service provider is highly skilled, but customers don’t see that then their confidence in that provider will be less. Therefore, overall assessment of that provider service quality will be lower.

RAISE CUSTOMER AWARENESS OF YOUR EXPERTISE

Service providers must communicate their expertise and competencies before they do the work which can be learnt from Benihana of Tokyo where chefs prepare the food in front of their customer. This can be done in many ways that are repeatedly seen by customers as follow:

Include certification logos on emails, letters & reports Display industry certifications on patches, badges or buttons worn by employees Put certifications into posters, newsletters and achievement

By communicating their skills, knowledge and attributes; the providers can help manage customer expectations and influence their service quality assessment in advance.

EMPATHY (Care about Customers as much as the Service)

Customers may not feel provider employees care about them during delivery of the service and thus it hurts customer assessments of provider’s service quality. Providers’ service delivery can be as important as how it was done. Provider employees should be trained how to interact with customers and their end-users by proving interpersonal trainings. Even a brief session during initial orientation helps. Anything to help them understand their impact on customers’ assessment of service quality.

TANGIBLES (Making intangibles into tangible)

Even though this is the least important dimension, appearance and ambience matters.

Service providers will still want to make certain their employees appearance, uniforms, cleanliness, areas on-site (closets, service offices, etc.) equipment look good. The danger is for providers to make everything look sharp, and then fall short on reliability or responsiveness.

FACTORS INFLUECNING RESTAURANT SERVICES

S.no Factors Description

1 Physical Environment Interior, Furniture, Colors & Crockery

2 Cleanliness Cleanliness of floor, food & crockery

3 Quick service Order taking & serving time

4Cooperation & Behavior of staff

Persuasive, Polite,Mature & friendly

5 PrivacySpace between tables & chairs, no interference of staff

6 PriceMust be according to the food stuff & service quality

7 Location of restaurantsPeaceful, noise free, wide parking area and not far away from prime locations

8 Food Taste & Quality Good unique taste and quality ingredients

9 Preferential treatmentRegular customer has to get some preferential treatment over other no regulars

10Appropriate environment for family

No informal activities of couples (customers), no bad language used by other people or staff, something special for children and attractive environment for gathering

11 Brand imageHow much the restaurant is famous or preferred by other people

12 MenuNumber of foods in the menu and also in various quantities

13 Lady/Gents waitresses Polite, humble nature

14Other people inside restaurants

Behavior of the people, number of people (customers)