SERVQUAL or Gaps Model

There are seven major gaps in the service quality concept, which are shown in Figure 1. The model is an extention of Parasuraman et al. (1985). According to the following explanation the three important gaps, which are more associated with the external customers are Gap1, Gap5 and Gap6; since they have a direct relationship with customers.

· Gap1: Customers’ expectations versus management perceptions: as a result of the lack of a marketing research orientation, inadequate upward communication and too many layers of management.

· Gap2: Management perceptions versus service specifications: as a result of inadequate commitment to service quality, a perception of unfeasibility, inadequate task standardisation and an absence of goal setting.

· Gap3: Service specifications versus service delivery: as a result of role ambiguity and conflict, poor employee-job fit and poor technology-job fit, inappropriate supervisory control systems, lack of perceived control and lack of teamwork.


· Gap4: Service delivery versus external communication: as a result of inadequate horizontal communications and propensity to over-promise.


· Gap5: The discrepancy between customer expectations and their perceptions of the service delivered: as a result of the influences exerted from the customer side and the shortfalls (gaps) on the part of the service provider. In this case, customer expectations are influenced by the extent of personal needs, word of mouth recommendation and past service experiences.


· Gap6: The discrepancy between customer expectations and employees’ perceptions: as a result of the differences in the understanding of customer expectations by front-line service providers.

· Gap7: The discrepancy between employee’s perceptions and management perceptions: as a result of the differences in the understanding of customer expectations between managers and service providers.

The SERVQUAL instrument has been the predominant method used to
measure consumers’ perceptions of service quality. It has five generic dimensions or factors and are stated as follows (van Iwaarden et al., 2003):

(1) Tangibles. Physical facilities, equipment and appearance of personnel.

(2) Reliability. Ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately.

(3) Responsiveness. Willingness to help customers and provide prompt service.

(4) Assurance (including competence, courtesy, credibility and security). Knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to inspire trust and confidence.

(5) Empathy (including access, communication, understanding the customer). Caring and individualized attention that the firm provides to its customers.