Gap Model of Service Quality

The Gap Model of Service Quality (aka the Customer Service Gap Model or the 5 Gap
Model) is a framework which can help us to understand customer satisfaction.The model
shows the five major satisfaction gaps that organizations must address when seeking to meet
customer expectations. The model was first proposed by A. Parasuraman, Valarie Zeithaml,
and Leonard L. Berry in 1985.In the Gap Model of Service Quality, customer satisfaction is
largely a function of perception. If the customer perceives that the service meets their
expectations then they will be satisfied. If not, they’ll be dissatisfied. If they are dissatisfied
then it will be because of one of the five customer service “gaps”.

The Gap Model of Service Quality

Gap 1: Knowledge Gap

The knowledge gap is the difference between the customer’s expectations of the service and
the company’s provision of that service.Essentially, this gap arises because management
doesn’t know exactly what customers expect. There are a number of reasons this could
happen, including:

»Lack of management and customer interaction.

»Lack of communication between service employees and management.

»Insufficient market research.

»Insufficient relationship focus.

»Failure to listen to customer complaints.

Gap 2: The Policy Gap

The policy gap is the difference between management’s understanding of the customer needs
and the translation of that understanding into service delivery policies and standards.

There are a number of reasons why this gap can occur:

»Lack of customer service standards.

»Poorly defined service levels.

Gap 3: The Delivery Gap

The delivery gap is the difference between service delivery policies and standards and the
actual delivery of the service.

This gap can occur for a number of reasons:

»Deficiencies in human resources policies.

»Failure to match supply to demand.

»Employee lack of knowledge of the product.

»Lack of cohesive teamwork to deliver the product or service.

Gap 4: The Communication Gap

The communication gap is the gap between what gets promised to customers through
advertising and what gets delivered.

Again. there are a number of reasons why this can happen:

»Overpromising.

»Viewing external communications as separate to what’s going on internally.

»Insufficient communications between the operations and advertising teams.

Communication gaps lead to customer dissatisfaction. This happens because what they
receive isn’t what they were promised. In the worst case, it may cause them to turn to an
alternative supplier.

Gap 5: The Customer Gap

The customer gap is the difference between customer expectations and customer perceptions.
This gap occurs because customers do not always understand what the service has done for
them or they misinterpret the service quality.Many organizations can be completely blind to
this gap. This gap can happen because of one of the other four gaps, or simply because the
customer perceives the quality of the service incorrectly. In a worst-case scenario, it could
lead to a business losing a large proportion of their customers overnight. Although the
company thought there was no gap, the reality was that their customers were just waiting for
someone to fill their perceived gap.

Using the Model to Address Gaps

When using the Gap Model of Service Quality, then once you have identified a gap you can
use one of the following actions to reduce the gap.

Gap 1: The Knowledge Gap

Close this gap by learning what customers expect. Options to consider include:

»Using customer research.

»Increasing interactions between management and customers.

»Increasing interactions between management and service staff.

»Act on other customer insights you receive once validated.

Gap 2: The Policy Gap

Close this gap by creating the right service quality standards. Options to consider include:

»Ensure a good proportion of senior management remuneration is aligned to service quality.

»Set, communicate and reinforce quality standards.

»Set measurable service quality goals.

»Train managers to be service quality leaders.

»Update policies regularly.

»Reward staff for the achievement of quality goals.

Gap 3: The Delivery Gap

Close this gap by ensuring that performance meets set standards. Options to consider include:

»Train employees.

»Empower employees.
»Provide the right technology, tools, and equipment.

»Focus on internal marketing.

»Take steps to retain high-performing employees.

Gap 4: The Communication Gap

Close this gap by ensuring the product or service delivered matches and promises made.
Options to consider include:

»Getting employee input to your advertising campaigns.

»Use reality advertising by using real customers, real reviews, and real employees etc.

»Ensure advertising campaigns are signed off by the operations team.

»Manage customer expectations realistically.

Gap 5: The Customer Gap

This gap can only be closed by closing the other four gaps in the model. Once this is done
then customer expectations and customer perceptions should align.

The Service Quality Model or SERVQUAL Model was developed and implemented by the
American marketing gurus Valarie Zeithaml, A. Parasuraman and Leonard Berry in 1988. It is
a method to capture and measure the service quality experienced by customers.Initially,
emphasis was on the development of quality systems in the field product quality. Over time,
it became more and more important to improve the quality of related services. Improved
service quality could give organisations a competitive edge. In addition, service in general
became more important, and as a result, the SERVQUAL Model had a serious impact in the
eighties. Back then, measuring service was abstract and not easily quantifiable.The
SERVQUAL Model is primarily a qualitative analysis. If a satisfaction survey mainly
depends on the transactions between supplier and buyer, the observed quality is measured
through generic, environmental factors.
10 dimensions

The first studies according to the SERVQUAL Model, were carried out exclusively for the
services of a telecommunications, a banking and a maintenance company. The previously
mentioned researched surveyed consumers and their perceptions of the experienced service
quality of these three organisations.From the original questionnaire of almost 100 items, 25
finally remained that were considered important by the consumers regarding customer
service. In the end, this resulted in the following ten dimensions that still play an important
role in the SERVQUAL Model:

 Reliability
 Responsiveness
 Competence
 Access
 Courtesy
 Communication
 Credibility
 Security
 Knowing the customer
 Tangibles

The reliability depends on to what extent the service is accurate and honest. Responsiveness
is about promptly and adequately responding to customer questions or complaints.
Competence relates to the expertise an organisation has and the access determines if a
customer can quickly and efficiently contact the right department. Courtesy is the trying to be
polite to customers and communication is about clear, honest and prompt information for
clients. Credibility is about to what extent the organisation’s message is believable and
reliable. Security is meant to add trust to the service and proper access for the consumer.
Knowing the customer includes a personal approach and responding well to customers’ needs
and wishes. The tangibles are tangible information; that what is visible to the customers in the
form of for instance the visibility of staff (work clothes/uniform), the decoration and
cleanliness of an office building and all other facilities.
A smaller version of the SERVQUAL Model is the RATER model. Where the SERVQUAL
Model works with 10 dimensions to measure the quality of service, the RATER model works
with 5 dimensions.

5 gaps

Both the communication between the customer and the service-providing organisation, as
well as the organisation’s internal communication, are of vital importance for the level of
quality of the service. It is good when organisations know the expectancy pattern of their
customers. Therefore, the SERVQUAL Model identifies five gaps that can arise between the
customer’s needs and the service that a company offers.

1. Knowledge gap

A gap arises when an organisation’s knowledge of customer expectations is lacking,

2. Standards gap

The organisation has already formed its own idea about what the customer expects from their
service. If this idea is wrong from the start and does not correspond to what customers
actually expect, there is a significant risk that the organisation will translate it wrongly into a
quality policy and corresponding rules.

3. Delivery gap

A gap can also occur when the organisation offers service that is different from what the
consumer had expected. This also involves an incorrect implementation. For instance, in the
way employees carry out policy.

4. Communications gap

Sometimes, the external (marketing) communication that the organisation sends out, can
create the wrong expectations among customers. It also happens that the organisation
communicates and promises things that are not in line with what they can actually deliver.
5. Satisfaction gap

Dissatisfaction results from a (significant) difference between the service a customer expects
and the service they actually experience. Eventually, this will lead to the biggest gap in the
experience of quality.