Introduction to the service quality measurement models SERVQUAL and SERVPERF

INTRODUCING THE SERVICE QUALITY MEASUREMENT MODELS SERVQUAL AND SERVPERF

A. The SERVQUAL service quality measurement model is a popular assessment tool developed by Valarie A. Zeithaml, A. Parasuraman and Leonard L. Berry. SERVQUAL focuses on measuring the gap between customers’ expectations and their actual assessment of service quality.

In particular, the SERVQUAL scale is a model used to manage service quality, developed by Zeithaml, Parasuraman & Berry in the mid-1980s to measure quality in the service sector. The SERVQUAL scale is composed of two words SERVice – Service and QUALity – Quality. This scale includes 22 questions to measure five components of service quality, which are: reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and tangibles. ) and empathy.

Below are 22 questions in the SERVQUAL scale divided into 5 groups to measure five components of service quality:

1. Reliability:

• Are this company’s employees always polite and friendly to customers?
• Do this company’s employees always respond quickly and professionally to customers?
• Do this company’s employees always ensure accuracy and completeness for customers?
• Do this company’s employees always ensure the confidentiality of customer information?
• Does this company consistently provide high quality service to customers?
• Does this company always provide on-time service to customers?

1. Responsiveness:

• Does this company always provide services according to customer requirements?
• Does this company always keep in touch with customers to inform about service progress?
• Does this company always keep in touch with customers to inform them about changes in services?
• Does this company always keep in touch with customers to inform about service problems?
• Does this company stay in touch with customers to inform them of solutions to service problems?
• Does this company always keep in touch with customers to inform them about new promotions?
• Does this company keep in touch with customers to inform them about new products?

1. Assurance:

• Does this company have enthusiastic and attentive employees when serving customers?
• Does this company have employees with good professional knowledge when serving customers?
• Does this company have employees with good communication skills when serving customers?
• Does this company have employees with good attitudes when serving customers?

1. Tangibles:

• Are the equipment and designs of this company very modern and luxurious?
• Is this company’s working environment comfortable and convenient?

1. Empathy:

• Are this company’s products and services very suitable and diverse?
• Is the price of this company’s products and services very reasonable compared to the quality of products and services provided?
• This company’s ability to resolve problems is very good.

B. The SERVPERF service quality measurement model is a variation of the SERVQUAL model first identified by Cronin and Taylor (1992). On the SERVPERF scale, service quality is measured by customer perception (Service quality = Perception level).

SERVPERF measures service quality based on 5 main components:

1. Reliability: Assesses the ability to provide reliable and accurate services.
2. Assurance: Measures the knowledge, skills and behavior of service staff.
3. Tangibles: Evaluate physical elements related to the service, such as facilities and equipment.
4. Responsiveness: Measures the ability to respond quickly and kindly to customer requests.
5. Empathy: Evaluates the level of concern and care for customers.

Each of these dimensions is measured through a customer survey with a list of related questions. For example, a question related to dependability might be: “Do service staff complete services as promised and on time?”

SERVPERF provides a multidimensional assessment method for service quality, helping organizations understand their weaknesses and improve service quality to better meet customer needs.

So basically, we have a simple regression model as follows:

The sample data to run this model is coded as Data23071401 and Data23071402. If you need a sample data set, you can refer to it here → here.

References:

Cronin Jr, J. J., & Taylor, S. A. (1992). Measuring service quality: a review and extension. Journal of Marketing, 56(3), 55–68.

Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. A., & Berry, L. (1988). SERVQUAL: A multiple-item scale for measuring consumer perceptions of service quality. 1988, 64(1), 12–40.