SERVQUAL

product or not. You can tell by using it. If it does what it’s supposed to do, most people would agree, that’s a good indication of quality. But what about services? Like a waiter bringing lunch to your table? Or a truck delivering goods to a store? How do you measure quality when you don’t have an actual product to inspect? It’s not so easy. Well you’re in luck. Because leading researchers looked into this and came up with five things customers consider when evaluating service quality. Do each of these well and your customers will feel they’ve received excellent service. The model is called Servqual. It was developed three decades ago and is now the cornerstone of measuring the quality of service. The first attribute is tangibles. These are what the customers can see and touch. A restaurant has to be clean for example. Or packages need to be delivered in great shape. For both of these, your customers can clearly see the quality. Next is reliability. Service needs to be dependable and accurate. Your customer should receive the lunch they ordered in a timely manner. You customer will also evaluate your responsiveness. How do you react when problems come up, or your customer has a special need? At a restaurant, a customer may complain about slow service or undercooked food. Your prompt and polite response can turn an unhappy customer into a satisfied one. Next on our list is assurance. This is how customers gage their trust and confidence in your company. And it’s probably the hardest one to measure. Customers are more comfortable with employees that are more knowledgeable and courteous. Many restaurants for example urge waiters to sample the menu, so when a customer asks what’s good today, the waiter knows. And the last thing your customer is looking at is empathy. They want to know that you care about their needs and when appropriate, they want personal attention. Your lunch customer may be in a hurry to get back for a business meeting. A little extra service can make a big difference in your quality ratings. If you only get one thing our of this movie, please get this, the most important attribute of service quality is reliability. Your customers want you to do what you said you’d do when you said you would do it. They want to be able to count on your service. The Servqual model provides an excellent definition of high quality service for any business. Take a few minutes to measure a common service you perform. Go through the list. How do you rate on each of these five attributes? How do you rate on each of these five attributes?