Improving service quality in
America: Lessons learned
Leonard L. Berry, A. Parasuraman, and Valarie A. Zeithaml
Executive Over view
The winning strategy of customers is to present them with a good quality service product .yet most
company’s waste money on non practicable service programs .In service-improvement strategy there
lot guidelines to help managers chart. In this article ten lessons from an extensive ten-year study of
service quality in America which is help to the service improve across industries.
Service will driven the success of the company .Any companies. Success will driven by the quality of
the service.
In America this are the questions that focus to study service quality.
What is service quality?
How can service quality best be measured?
What is the nature of customer expectations for service and what are the
Sources of these expectations?
What are the principal causes of service-quality deficiencies?
What can organizations do to improve service quality?
Lesson one: Listening
The downtown Chicago Marriott hotel had a problem to find $20,000 to put irons and ironing boards
in all guest rooms.
The manager used the $22,000 that was un- nessarsarily used to put color telelivisone sets in the
bathrooms, which the customers didn’t want.
Most companies spend money in that doesn’t help the courses of service- improvement. The decision
making of managers should be done by ongoing service research process install by the companies.
Lesson two: Reliability
We fund from our reach that there are five broad service dimensions that is customers used as a
criteria to judge service quality.
In these dimensions reliability is the most important one it is 32% in total.
Lesson three: Basic service
Reliability is the lesson of basic service .in our entire customer research we didn’t found any
extravagant customer [Link] from illustrate the basic service.
Automobile Repair Customers: Be Competent ("Fix it right the first time");
Explain Things ("Explain why you need the suggested repairs—provide an
Itemized list"); be Respectful ("Don't treat me like a dumb female").
Hotel Customers: Provide a Clean Room ("Don't have a deep-pile carpet that
can't be completely cleaned . . . you can literally see germs down there");
Provide a Secure Room ("Good bolts and peephole on door"); Treat me like a
Guest ("It is almost like they're looking you over to decide whether or not
They’re going to let you have a room"); Keep your Promises ("They said the
Room would be ready, but it wasn't at the promised time").
Equipment Repair Customers: Share my Sense of Urgency ("Speed of
Response. One time I had to buy a second piece of equipment because of the
Huge down time with the first piece"); be Competent ("Sometimes you are
Quoting stuff from their instruction manuals to their own people and them
Don’t even know what it means"); be Prepared ("Have all the parts ready").
Automobile Insurance Customers: Keep me informed ("I shouldn't have to
Learn about insurance law changes from the newspaper"); be on my Side ("I
Don’t want them to treat me like I am criminal just because I have a claim");
Fair Play ("Don't drop me when something goes wrong"); Prefect me from
Catastrophe ("Make sure my estate is covered in the event of a major
Accident"); Provide Prompt Service ("I want fast settlement of claims").
Clearly, none of these comments would suggest the inflated, unreasonably high
Expectation levels that some executives attribute to today's customers.
Lesson four: Service design
In a service systems there are various elements functioning together. It will include the people who
are working in the service [Link] can reduces if there is design flows in any part of a service
system. People delivering the service can easily get blamed for poor service quality but the riyal
problem is in the service system design system.
IN part of a design challenge is to deliver a quality service while managing the details of the service
the lesson of service should involved in developing a holistic view of the service.
Lesson five: Recovery
If the customer complaints are not responded by the companies in an effect, the service is a failure.
Many dissatisfied customers do not complain directly to the company—to avoid a confrontation, or
because they perceive no convenient way to complain, or do not believe complaining will do much
good. Customers' reluctance to complain even when they are faced with serious problems has been
well documented. ^
Companies can overcome some of this reluctance and improve recovery service
In three ways:
1. Encourage customers to complain and make it easy for them to do so.
Managers who wish to improve problem-resolution service must overcome the
Common customer perception that companies don't really care when things
Go wrong. Many firms rely exclusively on reactive recovery strategies in
Which customers must initiate contact? Comment cards available in the
Service facility and toll-free telephone numbers are examples of reactive
Systems. These approaches are useful but they preclude customers unwilling
To take the first step. Thus, proactive strategies, in which the company makes
The first contact should be considered. Customers checking out of the Harvey
Hotel in Piano, Texas, may be approached by a "Lobby Lizard," a member of
Management, who asks: "How can we do better?" This proactive feedback
Method gives management the opportunity to recover with an unhappy guest
And provides ideas for service improvement. g. Many firms rely exclusively on reactive
recovery strategies in
Which customers must initiate contact? Comment cards available in the
Service facility and toll-free telephone numbers are examples of reactive
Systems. These approaches are useful but they preclude customers unwilling
To take the first step. Thus, proactive strategies, in which the company makes
The first contact should be considered. Customers checking out of the Harvey
Hotel in Piano, Texas, may be approached by a "Lobby Lizard," a member of
Management, who asks: "How can we do better?" This proactive feedback
Method gives management the opportunity to recover with an unhappy guest
And provides ideas for service improvement.
2. Respond quickly and personally. Companies often take too long to
Respond to unhappy customers, and then respond impersonally. By
Responding quickly, a firm conveys a sense of urgency. Quick response
Demonstrates that the customer's concern is the company's concern. By
Responding personally, with a telephone call or a visit, the firm creates an
Opportunity for dialogue with the customer—an opportunity to listen, ask
Questions, explain, apologize, and provide an appropriate remedy. North
Carolina's Wachovia Bank has a "sundown rule"—the bank must establish
Contact with an unhappy customer before sunset on the day the complaint is
Received
.
3. Develop a problem resolution system. Service employees need specific
Training on how to deal with angry customers and how to help customers
Solve service problems. In some cases, they need access to information
Systems that will tell them more about the customer, the situation causing
The problem and possible solutions. When American Express card holders
Telephone the company's toll-free number listed on their monthly statement,
They speak to a highly trained customer service representative with the
Authority to solve eighty-five percent of the problems on the spot.
The lesson of recovery is taking the long view of restoring the customer's
Confidence in the company. How a company handles recovery service speaks
Volumes to customers and employees alike about the company's true values
Lesson six: Surprising customers
Quick response determines the costumers concern is the companies concern.
An example of surprising customers comes from Continental Cablevision, a Cable television system
in St. Paul, Minnesota. Continental has programmed a channel called "TV House Calls" in which a
representative demonstrates, live, the solution to a subscriber's problem while that customer is
watching.
Customer reaction has been extremely positive. A company spokesman says:"People are absolutely
astounded. You can almost see jaws dropping at the other end of the phone when they experience
this."*
Companies must seek excellence on both the outcome and process dimensions Of service to develop
a reputation for truly outstanding service. Excellent service Reliability allows a company to
compete. The addition of excellent process Service creates a reputation for superior service quality.
To reach these heights, Companies must capitalize on opportunities to surprise their customers.
Managers should consider this question: "What is the 'wow' factor in our
Service?"
Lesson seven: Fair Play
The lesson of fair play concerns the company's underlying value system. Does Management
place stakeholders' trust over short-term earnings? Does Management asks the question
"Is it fair?" not just the question "Is it legal?"
Managers interested in delivering excellent service must also be interested in
Being fair to customers.
Lesson Eight: Team work
The presence of service "teammates" is an important dynamic in sustaining Servers' motivation to
serve. Coworkers who support each other and achieve Together can be an antidote to service
burnout. Team involvement can be Rejuvenating, inspirational, and fun. Our research shows
convincingly that Service-performance shortfalls are highly correlated with the absence of
Teamwork. Service team building should not be left to chance. The chain of internal Services
required offering the end service normally spans multiple functions. Companies must actively work
at fostering teamwork across these functions, not Just within them. This may involve frequent
meetings of the functions and other Communications; shared performance goals, measurements,
and rewards; and Cross-training employees in various facets of the service chain.
Lesson Nine: Employee Research
Employee research is as important to service improvement as customer Research, for three
reasons. First, employees are themselves customers of internal service, and thus are the
only people who can assess internal service Quality. Because internal service quality affects
external service quality, measuring internal service quality is essential. Second, employees
can offer Insight into conditions that reduce service quality in the organization. Employees
experience the company's service delivery system day after day. They see more than
customers see and they see it from a different angle. Employee research helps reveal why
service problems occur, and what Companies might do to solve these problems. ^ Third,
employee research serves as an early-warning system. Because of employees' more
intensive exposure to The service delivery system, they often see the system breaking down
before Customers do.
Lesson Ten: Servant Leadership
Improving service involves undoing what exists as much as creating what doesn’t.
Delivering excellent service requires a special form of leadership we Call "servant
leadership." Servant leaders serve the servers, inspiring and enabling them to achieve.
Such leaders fundamentally believe in the capacity Of people to achieve, viewing their own
role as setting a direction and a Standard of excellence, and giving people the tools and
freedom to perform. Because these leaders believe in their people, they invest much of their
Personal energy coaching and teaching them, challenging them, inspiring them, and, of
course, listening to them
A Final Perspective
By now it should be clear that our ten lessons are not mutually exclusive and that they must be
viewed in a holistic manner. To that end, we have constructed
In Exhibit 2 a service quality rings to capture these interrelationships. Listening
Is positioned on the outer ring because listening has an impact on all the other
Lessons. Identifying the basics of service, improving service system design,
Recovering from service shortfalls—these and other essentials of service quality
Involve listening behavior. Reliability is pictured in the center, because
Reliability is the core of service quality. Little else matters to customers when
The service is unreliable. The sequence of the lessons is purposeful. The service
System should be designed to deliver the basic service excellently. Recovery
Service usually provides an opportunity to surprise customers and to
Demonstrate fair play. Teamwork, employee research, and servant leadership
Are critical factors in an organization's emotional readiness to deliver quality?
Service