Abstract

The article presents two sets of ideas: first, the entire method used to develop a new scale for measuring consumers' perceptions of the quality of a service, and second, the final set of five factors and 22 specific question items that address them. This abstract cannot readily present the methods used because of their thoroughness, but essentially the authors (1) searched previous research to settle on measurement dimensions such as perception, quality, etc., (2) settled on a list of ten quality factors found related to service businesses and (3) compiled a list of 97 specific questions that yielded the ten factor assessments. Their research over several phases then worked the factor list from ten down to five, and the item support list from 97 to 22. In this process they studied appliance repair and maintenance, retail banking, long‐distance telephoning, securities brokerage and credit cards. Because one should not attempt to do a service‐quality study of this type without reference to the full article, we will not try to list all of the items. But the five factors are:Tangibles: physical facilities, appearance of the employees, etc. Reliability: ability to perform the service dependably and accurately Responsiveness: willingness to help Assurance: ability to create trust and confidence Empathy: degree of personal attention providedThe recommended approach is to gather a group of respondents who have used the service under study during a recent period of time. These people are first asked about their expectations from firms providing this general type of service. They are then asked the same statements (slightly reworded, of course) about their experience with the specific supplier firm being studied. To demonstrate the list's character, here are the specific items that contribute to the overall score on expectations about the factor of reliability:Question 5: “When these firms promise to do something by a certain time, they should do so.” Question 6: “When customers have problems, these firms should be sympathetic and reassuring.” Question 7: “These firms should be dependable.” Question 8: “They should provide their services at the time they promise to do so.” Question 9: “They should keep their records accurately.”The respondent is asked to score each statement on a seven‐point agree–disagree scale. Weightings derived from the research permit calculation of final scores for use by managements. Involved in the analysis is a comparison of items in expectations (e.g., Question 5 above) and perceptions of actual performance (e.g., when XYZ Company promises to do something by a certain time it does so.) The authors propose a wide range of possible applications of the SERVQUAL scale. For example, they feel it is most valuable when used to track service quality over time; and they encourage firms to make the study three or four times a year. The multiple‐factor scale can be used to determine the relative importance of the five factors in any one firm's industry, because, for example, reliability and responsiveness will vary industry to industry, and even segment to segment within the same industry. And, as this example suggests, the method aids in defining and selecting segments for use in marketing strategy. And, because many service providers have multiple locations, the scale can be used to compare perceived performance location by location.