The Servqual Model – Definition, Dimensions, Gaps and Advantages

SERVQUAL Model
The Servqual model is an approach that is concerned with capturing and measuring the quality of
services experienced by customers. It is a service quality model that was formed and
implemented in the year 1988 by marketing gurus of America- Parasuraman, Berry, and
Zeithaml. The Servqual model is also referred to as the RATER model, which consists of five
factors related to service measured by it namely, reliability, assurance, tangibles, empathy, and
responsiveness. This model is used by businesses for conducting a gap analysis of their service
quality offered against the quality needs of their customers. 

The five dimensions of service quality measured by the SERVQUAL Instrument

The SERVQUAL Instrument measures the five dimensions of Service Quality. These five
dimensions are: tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy.

1. Tangibility – Since services are tangible, customers derive their perception of service quality by
comparing the tangible associated with these services provided. It is the appearance of the
physical facilities, equipment, personnel and communication materials. For example, the
organization maintains a clean environment, and staff follows the appropriate dress code.
2. Reliability – It is the ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately.
Reliability means that the company delivers on its promises-promises about delivery, sevice
provision, problem resolutions and pricing. Customers want to do business with companies that
keep their promises, particularly their promises about the service outcomes and core service
attributes. All companies need to be aware of customer expectation of reliability. Firms that do
not provide the core service that customers think they are buying fail their customers in the most
direct way. For example, the organization is sending mail to the customers every day on
time
3. Responsiveness – It is the willingness to help customers and provide prompt service. This
dimension emphasizes attentiveness and promptness in dealing with customer’s requests,
questions, complaints and problems. Responsiveness is communicated to customers by length
of time they have to wait for assistance, answers to questions or attention to problems.
Responsiveness also captures the notion of flexibility and ability to customize the service to
customer needs.EG: The employee keeps no customer in waiting serial and replaces the
product quickly before finishing the promised period

4. Assurance – It means to inspire trust and confidence. Assurance is defined as employees’
knowledge of courtesy and the ability of the firm and its employees to inspire trust and
confidence. This dimension is likely to be particularly important for the services that the
customers perceives as involving high rising and/or about which they feel uncertain about the
ability to evaluate. Trust and confidence may be embodied in the person who links the customer
to the company, for example, the marketing department. Thus, employees are aware of the
importance to create trust and confidence from the customers to gain competitive advantage and
for customers’ loyalty. EG: The employee is showing respect and being polite to the
customers while servicing them
5. Empathy – It means to provide caring individualized attention the firm provide its customers.
In some countries, it is essential to provide individual attention to show to the customer that the
company does best to satisfy his needs. Empathy is an additional plus that the trust and
confidence of the customers and at the same time increase the loyalty. In this competitive world,
the customer’s requirements are rising day after day and it is the companies’ duties to their
maximum to meet the demands of customers, else customers who do not receive individual
attention will search elsewhere. For example, they are an active listener when customers are
speaking and recognize regular customers by name.
The Gaps Model is shown in the following diagram.

Gap 1: The Knowledge Gap. – it is the difference between what top management believes
about customer’s expectations and the actual need and expectation of the customers.
The first gap is the difference between consumer expectations and management perceptions
of consumer expectations. Research shows that financial service organizations often treat
issues of privacy as relatively unimportant, whilst consumers consider them very important.

Gap 2 : The Policy Gap – It is the difference between management’s understanding of

customer’s expectation and the quality standards established for service delivery. The second
gap is the difference between the management perceptions of consumer expectations and
service quality specifications. Managers will set specifications for service quality based on
what they believe the consumer requires. However, this is not necessarily accurate. Hence
many service companies have put much emphasis on technical quality, when in fact the
quality issues associated with service delivery are perceived by clients as more important.
 Gap 3 : The Delivery Gap – It is the difference between specified service delivery standards
and actual service performance by the service delivery teams. The third gap is the difference
between service quality specification and the service actually delivered. This is of great
importance to service where the delivery system relies heavily on people. It is extremely hard
to ensure that quality specifications are when a service involves immediate performance and
delivery in the presence of the client. This is the case in many service industries: for example,
a medical practice is depending on all the administrative, clerical and medical staff
performing their tasks according to certain standards.

Gap 4 : The Communication Gap – It is the difference between what the company
communicates and what is actually delivered to the customers. The fourth gap is the
difference between service delivery intention and what is communicated about the service to
customers. These established expectations within the customer may not be met. Often this is
the result of inadequate communication by the service provider.

Gap 5 : The Perception Gap – It is the difference between what is actually delivered to the
customers, and their perception of the service that is actually delivered. The fifth
gap represents the difference between the actual performance and the customer perception of
the service. Subjective judgement of service quality will be affected by many factors, all of
which may change the perception of the service which has been delivered. Thus a guest in a
hotel may receive excellent service throughout his stay, apart from poor checking out
facilities. But this last experience may damage his entire perception of the service, changing
his overall estimation of the quality of the total service provided from good to poor.

Gap 6 : The Service Quality Gap – It is the Gap between what customers expect to receive
and their perception of the service that is actually delivered.
Advantages
It can be used on a regular basis to track customer perceptions of service quality of a particular
firm compared to its competitors. Once data have been analyzed they can be visually presented
so that it is easy to identify strengths and weaknesses relative to competition.

It provides the opportunity for a firm to assess its service quality performance on the basis of
each dimension individually as well as the overall dimensions;

It allow the firm to classify its customers into different segments based on their individual
SERVQUAL scores;

SERVQUAL model can be used in various service setting/sectors and provides a basic skeleton
that can be adapted to fit the specific attributes of a particular organization. It is applicable across
different empirical context and various countries and cultural backgrounds

SERVQUAL gap analysis approach seems a logical and straightforward concept and the
questionnaire is also pre-described and can be adapted as required;
Finally, SERVQUAL is a tried and tested instrument which can be used comparatively for
benchmarking purposes. It benefit from being a statistically valid instrument as a result of
extensive field testing and refinement 

5 Gaps Model of Service Quality

5 Gaps Model of Service Quality means Servqual gaps model that describes the customer
experiences and service quality provided by the organization. It articulates the gap between
customers’ expectations and the service provided to them in different stages of the service
providing process.  The service quality will be high when the customers’ perception meets the
expectation but the quality is low when the customer’s perception cannot meet the expectation.
The Servqual model is also known as the 5 gap model that represents a customer-satisfaction
framework.